Kamera o Tomeru na! A cult classic with heart that subverts expectations.

 It's time for a cult classic that has heart and subverts expectations in the best possible way. Kamera o Tomeru na! Also known as One Cut of the Dead, Shinichiro Ueda's micro-budget zombie comedy took the way by storm when it was released back in 2017. For a movie that had a budget as low as 2 million yen, it was a remarkable success, thanks to word of mouth both in Japan and internationally. When it comes to reviewing or writing a blog post about it, it really is tough because honestly, you want to head into movies like this without any kind of spoilers. I'll try my best to give a good enough overview to make you want to watch it without giving too much away. 

A hack director and his crew are shooting a cheap zombie movie in an old, abandoned Japanese World War 2 facility. The facility that appears to be a warehouse, is a said to have been a site in which the military performed experiments on humans. Whilst in the process of filming, the crew suddenly find themselves under attack by seemingly real zombies.

I have to address something. To be completely transparent and honest, and to avoid the labels of paid shill or whatnot, the first 37 or so minutes of the movie can be considered rough to say the least. This is definitely the section of the movie that looks the cheapest. Despite that and against the popular opinion online, I actually greatly enjoyed the opening. Sure, it's cheap-looking, but it is meant to be this way and it all pays off in the end. What makes it worthwhile for me are the characters of the director being whacky and the pom-lady, Nao, growing into her own. There's some fun interactions, including one with the second of the real zombies introduced. Using one-long continuous, uninterrupted take with the camera moving with the characters, was a genius decision. It fits the sequence perfectly once you get what it's going for. 

Following this, we get some end-credits. Please do stay watching as these are credits for the movie that aren't at the end. I can't say much more without deeply spoiling it. After the credits, we get scenes featuring much more conventional, traditional movie-making techniques as far as camera shots and direction is concerned. This portion follows the director seen within the opening 37 minutes, Higurashi, and some of his selected crew, as they struggle with making the movie that they were filming at the start. What this section provides is a really neat look at movie-making from a meta-standpoint. The whole process from the budgetary constraints to the creative gaffes and the various differing opinions showcase the struggles of guerrilla film-making in a fun way. The crew really are trying to make the best short zombie movie as they possibly can whilst being incredibly limited. They are short on time, have a small cast with no A-listers in sight and of course, have limited resources on hand. It's endearing. 

Lastly, we end up back at the beginning. The final sequence of the movie takes place back on the filming location at the old, abandoned warehouse. This time around, we witness the making of the movie from Higurashi's perspective with all of the problems that plagued his short movie. We see the very last-minute replacements that occur, with actors dropping out of roles to be replaced with Higurashi himself in one instance. It's a lot more fun than I'm making it sound, please believe that. 

The glue that holds this movie together is Takayuki Hamatsu. For a man whom was starring in his first ever feature-length production, what a way to start a career. At the start, he was captivating as a whacky, zany director that seemed to become more and more unhinged with his move-making philosophy being moulded around realism to the point were he was okay with real zombies munching on his actors. By the end, he came across as a very sympathetic character as a man trying his best to make the best of a difficult situation. 

I also greatly enjoyed Harumi Shuhama in her role. At the beginning of the movie, she's the steadfast and lovable Nao. In that portion of the movie, I loved her interactions with Kurihara. Especially her demonstration of the rather questionable self-defence techniques, which she delivers with a hilarious POM! Affectionately, I labelled her the POM lady for her antics. After the beginning portion, we see Harumi as a mother and wife and how she steps up when no one else will. 

Overall, I loved One Cut of the Dead. It subverted expectations in the very best way imaginable. It worked so well to the point were I was enthralled even by the end credits. Credit to Shinichiro Ueda for breathing fresh life into the zombie genre, which is even more impressive given the fact that he himself has stated that he doesn't particularly enjoy the genre. Such a fun movie filled with heart and soul.