Director: Shin'ichirô Ueda
Year: 2017
Country: Japan
Alternate Titles: Kamera o tomeru na!; Don't Stop the Camera
Genre: Zombie; Horror/Comedy
Plot:
Attempting to film a new zombie movie, the cast and crew find themselves attacked by a horde of ravenous flesh-eating creatures which interrupts the shooting schedule of their production and forces them to actually have to defend themselves from the undead ravaging the set.
Review:
This was an enjoyable and intriguing effort. Among the many impressive elements throughout this one is the manner in which it pulls off the engaging social commentary about the affects of filmmaking. This one really brings up the idea of what constitutes entertainment as the executives constantly shouting out about what they expect and demand on a live-shoot. The backstage exploits of the industry, filled with egotistical actors stuck in roles they don't want to be in, stressed-out stage-hands constantly trying to appease their bosses and the on-the-fly guerrilla tactics that must be employed to ensure the shoot goes off smoothly feature prominently throughout the second half. There are some fun times ahead here looking at this creation of the film that has plenty to enjoy about it commenting on the rushed nature of filmmaking and how creative individuals must sacrifice their vision to make content for disillusioned executives who only care about the profit lines.
As well, the most engaging aspect here is the utterly enjoyable opening sequence. Consisting of a single-take short-length scene featuring the crew being attacked by a zombie outbreak before turning on each other and then chasing each other throughout the complex where they're shooting. Managing to throw in plenty of twists and turns amongst the gory action, all done in one single unbroken take, gives this a wholly unexpected opening that's a real attention-grabber. As the second-half of the film is the filmming of this very sequence which is full of hilarious antics and ingenious fixes to demonstrate how the actual shot got pulled off. It's quite ingenious to see how the different tricks to accomplish the finish product and the different tricks accomplished to get there which manages to hold this one up as quite enjoyable in these different sections.
The cast here is solid and helps to add to the fun. The lead, Takeyuki Higurashi, played by Takayuki Hamatsu, is a rather likeable presence. The tyrannical nature of his character during the movie-within-the-movie is downplayed in favor of a more laidback and thoughtful persona during the behind-the-scenes work. As we get the reasoning why with the backstory, the change is still fun to witness first-hand in a stellar performance. The other big standout performance here is Nao played by Harumi Syuhama as his retired-actress wife who now works as the makeup artist on the shoot who gets involved in the film through rather dubious means. The difference between her sweet motherly duties and the more tyrannical she becomes in the role allows for a nice change that gives her a rather impressive attribute here. The lead in the film, Chinatsu, played by Yuzuki Akiyama is another likable figure here with the sweet and innocent demeanor portrayed in both sections of the film and does well when thrust into the more action-oriented parts of the story. Despite being the shy wallflower that never speaks up in the first half is part and parcel to the first-half and makes for a somewhat bland opening, she comes through and manages to serve as a worthwhile figure to follow. Everyone else serves solid enough roles and never really makes an impression either way.
There really isn't any kind of flaws in this one, as the fact that this one remains as a piece of fiction throughout here without anything else happening does detract this somewhat. The fact that it's all a movie-shoot in both stages does manage to lessen the tension of everything and makes for a cheap experience as none of the attacks mean anything if it's all faked from the start. Seeing the actual behind-the-scenes work on the different props and models to be used for the on-screen effects removes the impact quite handidly. Featuring scenes of the stagehands throwing paint around on the severed limbs or putting together fake torsos to be cut up ends up lessening the tension of the on-screen action. The other flaw to the film is that goofiness and somewhat crazy feeling present isn't all that appealing to all. It might seem odd rather than funny with their over-the-top antics and bizarre situations with the way this one plays out. Otherwise, these here are all that really hold this one down.
Overview: **** 1/2/5
Frankly, this is an exceptionally enjoyable effort that finally offers a unique take on the zombie genre which comes from plenty of strong characters and witty situations. This is definitely worthwhile for those that are trying for something new in the genre or can appreciate bizarre zombie comedies such as these, while others that don't even agree on that should heed caution with the film.
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