Final Cut (2022)

Final Cut is a love letter to the messy miracle of filmmaking, and it turns a familiar zombie setup into something cleverly alive, playful, and unexpectedly joyous. Michel Hazanavicius treats the “remake” idea like a toy box, constantly winking at the camera without ever losing the momentum of a genuinely funny, high-energy ride. The tone is giddy and buoyant, powered by a game ensemble—Romain Duris and Bérénice Bejo in particular—who make the chaos feel both ridiculous and weirdly heartfelt. If you want straight horror or a grim zombie apocalypse, this may not be your flavor, but if you’re in the mood for a smart, crowd-pleasing comedy that also celebrates the people behind the camera, it’s an easy recommendation.

Final Cut is clearly trying to be a loving, frantic tribute to scrappy filmmaking, mixing zombie chaos with backstage comedy and a lot of affection for the people who keep a production alive. The problem is that it can feel like it’s spinning its wheels early on, with an opening stretch that’s repetitive and awkward enough to test your patience before the payoff arrives. If you’re sensitive to remakes that hew very close to their originals, you may find it imitative and a bit messy rather than cleverly reimagined. Still, the cast commits hard and there are bursts of genuine fun once the film leans into the behind-the-scenes mayhem, so it works best for viewers who enjoy meta humor and can tolerate a slow wind-up.