Horror has always been one of cinema’s most enduring genres – from the silent-era classics like Nosferatu, to modern-day blockbusters like Get Out and Hereditary. Today, horror is not just a genre but a global cultural phenomenon – especially on social media.
On TikTok alone, hashtags like #HorrorMovie (913.7K video creations), #ScaryMovie (441.1K), and #CreepyTok (275.6K) show just how invested audiences are in all things spooky. Mainstream horror titles dominate the conversation – think The Conjuring, A Quiet Place, or even 28 Years Later (which already has 69.5K videos under its hashtag). But for all the viral buzz, sometimes it’s the lesser-known films that truly catch audiences off guard – and leave a lasting impact.
One such gem is the 2017 Japanese indie horror-comedy One Cut of the Dead – a film you’ve probably never heard of, but one that critics and fans alike call a masterpiece of originality, and one of the best horror films ever made.
Directed by Shin’ichirō Ueda, One Cut of the Dead (Japanese title Kamera o Tomeru na! – “Don’t Stop the Camera!”) begins as a simple zombie flick being filmed live in one take. But what unfolds is something far more surprising and intelligent than its premise suggests.
Structured like a film-within-a-film, it first immerses viewers in a chaotic, seemingly amateur zombie movie, and then shifts gears to show what really happened behind the scenes.
The second half rewinds time to peel back the layers of chaos, revealing the technical wizardry, comedic missteps, and heart behind the production.
The entire film was made on a microbudget of just ¥3 million (around £15,105), with a cast of unknown actors. Originally shown in a small Tokyo cinema for just six days, the film exploded after international audiences discovered it at Italy’s Udine Film Festival.
It went on to gross over $30 million worldwide – more than 1,000 times its budget – and became a global cult hit.
Critically, One Cut of the Dead has been almost universally acclaimed. It currently holds a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and is the only found footage horror film to do so as of July 2025.
Reviewers praise its innovation, humour, and clever narrative structure. One shared: “So when my fiancé and I started watching this, we were like ‘wtf?’, but by the end of the movie I had a different ‘wtf’ of ‘why’s this fantastic?’ This movie is so meta I had no idea what was going on for the first third, but the film just keeps getting deeper and deeper into its brilliance. This is a must watch, and one of the best mockumentaries around.”
Another added: “I don’t think there’s any way that I would’ve ever predicted what this movie was whenever I first started watching it. I love movies that keep me on my toes and surprise me in genuine ways. This one 100% did. It’s totally campy, but that’s actually what the charm of it is.”
Even years after its release, One Cut of the Dead still leaves an impression: “Saw this at the cinema with my fiancé years ago, had no idea it was part of the 100% club – it definitely deserves its spot as one of the most clever horror movies I’ve ever seen.”