One Cut of the Dead opens in a run-down, abandoned warehouse where a film crew are making a zombie film. But this is no ordinary warehouse. It’s been said that it’s a site where military experiments took place… Out of nowhere, real zombies arrive and terrorize the crew!
It may sound like your average zombie film, but One Cut of the Dead is something different. Beginning with an unbroken 37-minute shot, the film then completely switches direction and turns the zombie genre upside down. Young director Shinichiro Ueda and his cast of non-professionals have created a fresh and entertaining genre re-invention, which has become both a massive hit not just in Japan, but across the world. With a budget of just $27,000 the film has grossed nearly $30 million domestically.