Things go badly for a hack director and film crew shooting a low budget zombie movie in an abandoned WWII Japanese facility when they are attacked by real zombies.

Breathing some new life into the reanimation film genre, Kamera o tomeru na! or One Cut Of The Dead, is a low budget but thrilling zombie movie filmed by Shin’ichirô Ueda, in an impressive debut feature, along with his cast of unknown actors that gave brilliantly dead-on performances (pun intended).

A zombie movie, about the making of a zombie movie…about the making of a zombie movie. One Cut Of The Dead is told in non-chronological order, is partly filmed in one cut, and whoa, was this film quite a ride! The first act of the movie is shot in one single take, with the camera following the cast from kill to kill (or rather feast to feast) in and around a plant-chocked facility. Also, the film is shot on a handheld camera, and the unsteadiness has a nausea-inducing effect, perfect for the brains and guts setting. I can’t get over how perfect the editing was, which was done by the director himself, who built a clever and hilarious script while also paying homage to the zombie horror genre with plenty of grim suspense and carnage. And since the actors shooting the film-within-a-film are already drenched in the prop blood, it makes it hard to discern between what is real and what is fake, adding to the chaotic atmosphere of their disorganized movie shoot where everything that can go wrong pretty much does go wrong.

One Cut Of The Dead goes like this: A demanding director, with aspirations of being an auteur, takes his unsuspecting cast and crew to an abandoned and crumbling water plant to shoot a  movie. When one of the actors comments on the inherent creepiness of their shooting location, one of the production assistants tells them about the location’s urban legend – that the government held reanimation experiments on those very same grounds. An uncanny coincidence, seeing as how they are in the midst of shooting a zombie film. Just as soon as they brush off this coincidence chaos descends upon the production, as the script comes to life when actual zombies begin to show up. The director, overjoyed by the opportunity to capture authentic fear and havoc, insists that they do not stop filming, and even instigates the danger to get the perfect shots.

One take, no cuts, from start to finish, the live broadcast of the making of a zombie movie – an interesting premise for Ueda’s debut feature, which is a clever script full of interesting and distinct characters. I loved the acting in this movie, I have not a single complaint about any character, which is surprising since it seems its cast are relative newcomers: Takayuki Hamatsu stars as the talented Director Higurashi, Yuzuki Akiyama as the pretty pop-star, Chinatsu, Harumi Shuhama Harumi Shuhama as loveable method actress, Nao, and Kazuaki Nagaya Kazuaki Nagaya as lead actor, Ko.  This movie seemingly breaks the 4th wall when a mysterious someone wipes away the blood that had spattered onto the lens. What?! Trust me, do not move from your seat until you see the end of the SECOND set of credits roll. It had all the twists of an M. Night Shyamalan movie with an Edgar Wright quick wit – it is a non-stop thrill ride up until when the director finally yells “Cut!”.

I honestly don’t believe I’ve laughed so hard since Shaun Of The Dead. While I’m not sure that this black comedy replaces that Wright’s modern masterpiece, it certainly has the same spirit – a brilliant and wholly metaphysical entry into the zombie/reanimated film genre. Shin’ichirô Ueda’s drop-dead funny zombie movie, One Cut Of The Dead is for sure worth a watch and will be again and again.