In the shadow of flat carnage

In 2011, French director Michel Hazanavicius won five Oscars for “The Artist,” a poem from a silent film.

If you see the first third of his new work “Final Cut of the Dead”, you would like to ask the 55-year-old to give them all back. Unfortunately, it takes a little too long before you definitely realize that he’s pursuing a clever idea: he’s trying to satirize his guild. For more than 30 minutes you can watch as the actor Romain Duris throws away his nerves as a director on the set of a splatter film, which turns out to be a remake of the Japanese classic “One Cut of the Dead” (2017). It’s an orgy of screaming, blood, zombies and lousy gameplay that barely unfolds the juicy situational comedy that real horror trash builds up.

The film never recovers

In the second act, the field of horror is cleared by telling how Duris wants to establish himself as a filmmaker to be taken seriously. Thanks to powerful producers, there is a chance in the live broadcast of the carnage at the start, the origin of which is now being rolled out.

There is definitely wit and sophistication in his exaggeration of the industry, which is based on a craving for recognition and economic constraints. However, the pointed narrative never recovers from its flat beginning. The fact that not all jokes ignite and faecal comedy degenerates into platitudes doesn’t help either.

“Final Cut of the Dead”: F 2022, 110 minutes,

OÖN rating:

• The trailer for the film: