One Cut of the Dead 2019

As the cameras rolled on the set of low-budget horror film True Fear, tensions were running high behind the scenes. Director Higurashi, desperate to turn his fortunes around after accumulating significant debts, pushed his cast and crew to their limits. The group had assembled at an abandoned water filtration plant, a location rumored to be haunted by a dark history of zombie activity. In a misguided attempt to breathe life into his moribund project, Higurashi ordered the painting of a blood pentagram on the plant’s walls, hoping to tap into the site’s allegedly malevolent energies and bring forth some genuine undead chaos.

At first, it seemed like a gimmick that would pay off in spades. The camera operator, however, soon found himself transforming into a snarling zombie and biting assistant director Kasahara, who was swiftly infected as well. Actress Chinatsu, actor Ko, and makeup artist Nao quickly sealed themselves inside the plant to protect themselves from the growing horde of undead extras. Higurashi, undeterred by the sudden turn of events, insisted that the real zombies be incorporated into the shoot, much to the dismay of his team.

As the day wore on, the crew’s numbers continued to dwindle. The sound engineer, now a shambling corpse, reappeared on set, and Higurashi callously dispatched him at Chinatsu’s feet. Nao, still reeling from the sudden violence, launched herself into a frenzied attack on the zombified sound engineer, her hands smeared with his blood as she fought to stay alive.

Meanwhile, Chinatsu, Ko, and Nao hatched a desperate plan to escape the plant and outrun their monstrous colleagues. However, Higurashi had other plans in store for them. He manipulated Kasahara’s reanimated form into launching a brutal assault on the trio, forcing Chinatsu and Ko to band together in a last-ditch effort to survive.

Chinatsu found herself at the mercy of the undead, only to be saved by Ko’s timely intervention. As they regrouped with Nao, it became clear that their friend was succumbing to the same curse that had ravaged the rest of the crew. In a heart-wrenching display of loyalty and sacrifice, Ko made the ultimate decision to put Nao out of her misery.

The trio’s tenuous grip on reality began to slip further as they fled the plant in search of sanctuary. Chinatsu’s paranoia reached a fever pitch when she became convinced that she was already infected, leading her to abandon her companions and seek refuge in a nearby building adorned with a symbol of dark magic – a pentagram.

As she stood alone and vulnerable, a mysterious figure emerged from the shadows, leaving behind only the faintest hint of its presence. Chinatsu’s desperate gaze fell upon Ko, who had somehow managed to reanimate and was now shambling towards her like a mindless monster. In a chilling echo of the film’s opening moments, Chinatsu confronted her undead friend, ending their struggle with a brutal decapitation.

Just as all hope seemed lost, Nao stumbled back into view, her eyes still glazed with the remnants of her recent zombification. Her gaze locked onto Chinatsu, and in a moment of eerie familiarity, she began to shuffle towards her former friend. It was then that Chinatsu grasped the axe that would become her instrument of survival – and ultimately, her instrument of revenge.

As the first section of True Fear drew to a close, Chinatsu stood poised on the blood pentagram, her eyes vacant and unfocused as if she had transcended the boundaries between reality and the abyss.

As the narrative veers into a flashback mode, we find ourselves immersed in the personal lives of the fictional cast and crew of One Cut of the Dead, a film-within-a-film that cleverly embeds True Fear within another layer of cinematic storytelling. Takayuki Higurashi, director of a TV drama featuring the troubled actor Manabu Hosoda, is persuaded by network executives to helm a low-budget zombie film shot in one take, designed to launch the Zombie Channel with a bang. Initially hesitant, Takayuki accepts the challenge, driven by his desire to reconnect with his horror-movie-obsessed daughter Mao. The cast of One Cut of the Dead includes Aika Matsumoto as Chinatsu, a pop sensation; Kazuaki Kamiya as Ko, a cynical thespian; Shunsuke Yamagoe as the sound engineer; and Hosoda as the cameraman, bringing his own brand of chaos to the set. As we learn that One Cut of the Dead is also a live show, with no room for reshoots or delays, the stakes are raised, and the tension builds.

As the camera cuts back to the present, we find ourselves behind the scenes of One Cut of the Dead’s chaotic filming process. The absence of the director and makeup artist forces Takayuki and his wife Harumi to step in and assume their respective roles, leading to a series of unexpected challenges. Takayuki’s over-the-top performance in his first scene culminates in a physical confrontation with Matsumoto, while Hosoda staggers around the set, vomiting uncontrollably. Yamagoe’s character’s off-script exit due to diarrhea adds to the mayhem, prompting the cast and crew to improvise and make small talk to cope with the chaos.

As the shoot continues, the main cameraman suffers a back injury, requiring an impromptu replacement. Harumi’s unscripted attacks on real-life cast and crew members during Nao’s chase of Chinatsu force Takayuki to intervene, choking her out before forcibly removing her from interrupting the climactic scene between Chinatsu and Ko. Just when it seems like things can’t get any more surreal, a zombie crew member gives instructions off-camera, only to reveal that the camera crane has been accidentally broken. In response, the real cast and crew form a human pyramid to mimic the crane shot for the final shot, with Mao perched atop Takayuki’s shoulders, holding the camera aloft. The resulting faux-crane shot is nothing short of triumphant, and the entire production team celebrates their successful filming.

As the credits roll, we’re treated to footage of the real-life One Cut of the Dead crew capturing the chaos and camaraderie on set, including a nod to that memorable faux-crane shot taken from the top of a humble stepladder.