“One Cut Of The Dead” wrote one of the most beautiful cinematic success stories of the recent past: the undead comedy, shot for the equivalent of only $25,000, only started in two (!) Japanese cinemas – but word soon spread about how original and unique this pearl is. And so the phenomenon spread not only in Japan, but also in the rest of the world. It grossed over $31 million worldwide. And not only that: “One Cut Of The Dead” is right about that FILMSTARTS ranking of the best horror movies of all time finished …
… and with place 47 is even ahead of films such as “ES”, “Saw”, “Paranormal Activity”, “Get Out” or “Tanz der Teufel”. On the French remake”Last part of the deadHowever, the hype has only partially been missed – at least so far. None other than Oscar winner Michel Hazanavicius took over the director’s chair, who also brought his “The Artist” leading lady Bérénice Bejo back to the camera. Nevertheless: during the opening weekend last February, only 2,069 people in Germany got lost in the film. Virtually no one has seen the film in this country or may not even have known it existed. But As of now, you can catch up on “Final Cut Of The Dead” at home:
Final Cut Of The Dead will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and digital for purchase and rental from April 28, 2023. But is the new infusion, made just a few years after the original, worth it? And if so, for whom? Everyone has to answer this question for themselves…
“Final Cut Of The Dead”: It’s fun, but also unnecessary
“One Cut Of The Dead” (which you can find on the superfresh channel on Amazon Prime Video* can stream) and “Final Cut Of The Dead” thrive on their big element of surprise. For this reason, we don’t want to give too much away to anyone who doesn’t know either film – and we can only recommend the trailer to a limited extent (but we’ve included it in the article for the curious, of course). Suffice to say, the story revolves around the shooting of an indie zombie movie, which plunges into sheer chaos when real undead suddenly appear on set…
Taken on its own, “Final Cut Of The Dead” would actually be entertaining, amusing zombie fun that will make you laugh, especially in the final third. The meta-comedy by Michel Hazanavicius is certainly not a bad film, but it is not particularly original either. Because even though the French version was produced for a lot more money, it doesn’t necessarily make it better than the original – on the contrary, as you can read in the FILMSTARTS review, among other things.
In the end, there was a solid 3 out of 5 possible stars, which must be classified correctly, however. Because apart from a few minor changes, “Final Cut Of The Dead” stays very much the same as the celebrated original – which just falls short of the highest rating with 4.5 stars in our review. So the main question is for whom “Final Cut Of The Dead” is actually made. For the French public, of course. But further? The added value is in any case limited:
If you don’t know the original yet, you need to catch up. And those who have already seen the cult hit will hardly get anything new with the remake. In the end, it’s only worth a watch for fans of the French cast and anyone who has a soft spot for original vs. remake comparisons.