Movie Review: FINAL CUT (COUPEZ!)

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: July 14th, 2023 / 09:39 AM

FINAL CUT movie poster | ©2023 Kino Lorber

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Romain Duris, Bérénice Bejo, Grégory Gadebois, Finnegan Oldfield, Matilda Lutz, Sébastien Chassagne, Raphaël Quenard, Lyès Salem, Jean-Pascal Zadi, Simone Hazanavicius, Agnès Hurstel, Charlie Dupont, Raika Hazanavicius, Luàna Bajrami, Florence Janas, Yvon Martin
Writer: Michel Hazanavicius, based on the screenplay for ONE CUT OF THE DEAD by Shinichiro Ueda, inspired by the play GHOST IN THE BOX by Ryoichi Wada
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Release Date: July 14, 2023

Depending on one’s perspective, the new French film FINAL CUT (COUPEZ!) is either a remake of or a sequel to the 2017 Japanese feature ONE CUT OF THE DEAD. Perhaps it is both, as FINAL CUT hews closely to its predecessor, which is referenced (though not by title) as existing in FINAL CUT’s universe. (ONE CUT OF THE DEAD performer Yoshiko Takehara appears here as a different character.)

At the start of FINAL CUT, we are watching the end of a zombie movie with very bad makeup. Then it turns out we’re watching the making of a zombie movie, where the director (Romain Duris) has done thirty-one takes of this scene, and starts screaming at his leading lady (Matilda Lutz) for not crying real tears. She’s crying by the end of his tirade, all right.

But then crew members go missing, and it turns out real zombies are infesting the set. And then …

FINAL CUT has the same plot twist as ONE CUT OF THE DEAD, which won’t be revealed here. It’s not impossible to figure out before we reach it, due to some aspects that are explained in greater depth as FINAL CUT flashes back to show us how everyone winds up as they do.

But to give potential viewers some notion of what to expect, FINAL CUT is far less like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD or even SHAUN OF THE DEAD than a super-gory iteration of THE FABELMANS. Some films start great and then run out of steam. FINAL CUT has some slog at the start, but becomes progressively more fun as it goes.

FINAL CUT writer/director Michel Hazanavicius won the Best Achievement in Directing Oscar for THE ARTIST (which also won Best Picture), his 2011 comedy about Hollywood in the silent film era. It’s no surprise that he loves films and filmmaking, which is readily apparent here.

He gets excellent performances from his cast, which includes THE ARTIST’s Bérénice Bejo as a member of the filmmaking team who practices Krav Maga. Duris displays enormous versatility. Hazanavicius also knows a whole slew of practical moviemaking tricks, which he’s delighted to share with us.

The problem – and the target audience may not even see it as such – is that from what we can tell in FINAL CUT, Hazanavicius’s heart is not in horror. It’s not just that there aren’t any scares here, it’s that it pokes fun at the mere suggestion that zombie movies ought to have rules. (Apart from anything else, didn’t the characters do their homework and actually see any zombie movies before coming in to shoot this one?) It’s a bizarre dismissal, given where our sympathies are supposed to go.

Film fans will come out of FINAL CUT smiling, but the slow beginning would have likely moved faster if there had been more affection for its content.

In French, with English subtitles.

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