Review: ‘FINAL CUT’ is a Pale Imitation of a True Original

I don’t think anyone who really knows me questions my view on remakes – I hate them. If you want to reboot a film and make it your own that’s one thing, but why mess with with something that’s already great? And the low budget Japanese zombie film One Cut of the Dead is original, filmed with heart, and in short… is absolutely amazing. But when Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) decided to remake a film, I was willing to give it a shot. So let’s take a look at his version: Final Cut.

Final Cut Synopsis

A remake of Shin’ichirô Ueda’s cult hit One Cut of the Dead, Final Cut follows small film crew attempt to shoot a zombie horror movie on a shoestring budget, but they encounter more than just technical difficulties when real zombies suddenly begin attacking them.

So just a few minutes in and I realize this is, in fact, a shot-by-shot remake. I will be honest, the last shot-by-shot remake I watched was Psycho, by another respected filmmaker, Gus Van Sant, and that was a disaster. But let’s keep watching. Actually, no — why are the names the same? That’s right, they kept the Japanese names from the original, but never go back and explain why (at least not to my satisfaction). Hazanavicius makes a few minor changes along the way, but the bulk of the film remains the same.

What Works:

• The actors really give it their all. The French really do excel in comedy. Romain Duris (The Spanish Apartment) is fantastic as the overwhelmed director. My favorite character though, is definitely the soundman Fatih (Jean-Pascal Zadi – Simply Black), who, bless his heart, is just grooving among the chaos.

What Doesn’t

• They really breeze past the fact that they are making a remake. A more inspired direction would have really explored the difficulties of making a remake. Here they drop a thin sliver of a joke or two. It’s just not enough to keep things interesting.
• The set is not as creepy as the original either. It resembles a film lot more than a cursed factory.
• This is just not fresh material. Granted, if you have never seen the original film, your opinion may differ wildly from mine. But anyone who watched (and like me adores) the original can’t help noticing that much of the kitchy fun has been drained out of it. Part of the magic of One Cut of the Dead was the originality of the ideas and the brash, infectious joy of the ragtag crew who came together to make an unknown filmmaker’s dream come true. It’s impossible to catch that lightning in a bottle a second time.

If you are a massive fan of remakes, absolutely give this one a shot. For me, this was a miss.

Final Cut is in theaters on July 14, 2023. You can check out the official trailer below.