Review: One Cut Of The Dead

It's been quite a journey for me to finally see this. I initially had a ticket to see it at the Leeds Film Festival last November. But due to transport problems, I was unable to see it. Then unbeknowst to me, a second screening was created at the last minute due to the raving reviews it got from the first one.
I only found out on the day of the screening and could not get a ticket in time.

So I had to wait until it's home release, and was clearly excited to see this due to the reviews it was getting based on its hilariousness and originality.

Now that I've seen it, I certainly echo the statements from the reviews. It starts off as something that has a concept that sounds great on paper and the end product looks pretty entertaining and funny at times.

Then it suddenly changes your perspective of the story and adds an element that certainly took me a while to work out what this film was trying to be.
Once everything fell into place, it makes you re-evaluate everything you have just seen and I thought it was one of the most unique and original concepts I have ever seen put to film.

What gave it that extra special quality is that the crazier it got with its concept, the funnier it got and the more endearing the characters became.

I have to give huge props to Shininchiro Ueda for creating this. His frenetic and rompy direction and clever and feel-good screenplay is the biggest reason for it becoming the success that it has become.

Also, there were some top performances by Takayuki Hamatsu, Yuzuki Akiyama, Harumi Shuhama, Kazuaki Nagaya and Hiroshi Ichihara in particular.

I had a lot of fun when watching this. The strength of the concept and execution of it is what is making this one of the best films of the decade. While the performances weren't award-winning, they certainly enhanced the viewing experienced and embraced the tone and vibe of the film really well.

Everyone that contributed to this film should be forever praised as they have created a rare breed. In an age where you feel every type of story has been made, this one will certainly have caught off-guard on multiple occasions. You'll have no idea where this film is going.

This would be such an ideal film to watch with a group of friends as that group interaction will most definitely elevate your enjoyment of this brilliantly bonkers story. I would recommended that no matter how strange you feel the film is getting and no matter how lost you feel, trust me, it will all make sense in the end.

Rating: 8/10