David Farnor | On 31, Dec 2018

Late last night, eagle-eyed film fans on social media spotted that One Cut of the Dead had apparently been released online on Amazon Prime Video, and was included with Amazon Prime. That upload, however, was an illegal video, with distributor Third Window acting swiftly to get the pirated movie removed from the site, ahead of its official release. The good news is that you don’t have to wait long to see it properly: it’s on the way to the UK this January.

Starting off with a single, long 37-minute take, the Japanese zombie film opens in a run-down, abandoned warehouse where a film crew are making a zombie film. Made by young director Shinichiro Ueda and a cast of non-professionals, the result has become a surprise smash hit: with a budget of just $27,000, it grossed $30 million in Japanese cinemas, despite opening on just two screens.

Now, it’s arriving on UK screens, with a tour of cinemas (starting at London’s Prince Charles Cinema, alongside Bristol’s Watershed, Sheffield’s Showroom and more) before a digital release later in the month.

How last night’s illegal upload happened has not yet been confirmed, although it was possibly through Amazon’s Prime Video Direct, a service that allows users to publish their own videos, in a manner similar to YouTube. This has resulted in a flood of unboxing videos and similar content being included with Amazon Prime. If it also opened a window for someone to add a pirated bootleg of One Cut of the Dead, that raises questions about the checks in place when content is added to the platform. (We have reached out to Amazon for comment.)

“The @amazon and @AmazonUK PRIME version of ONE CUT OF THE DEAD is an unauthorized bootleg release of the film,” Third Window tweeted last night. “As the film’s world sales agent and distributor, we didn’t put it on there and it shouldn’t be there.”

“Thanks to everyone’s support we’ve managed to get the PIRATED version of ONE CUT OF THE DEAD off @primevideouk @PrimeVideo,” they later announced. “No apology or real explanation from Amazon. Considering the financial and legal implications that’s a pretty poor show.”

For those wanting to see One Cut of the Dead, the film is on theatrical release from Friday 4th January 2019, and will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and digital platforms on Monday 28th January 2019. You can pre-order the film on iTunes below.

We are a publication that supports the legitimate streaming of films and TV shows, and aims to make it easier and quicker for film fans to find what they want online legally. For more information on other platforms where One Cut of the Dead will officially be available online, watch this space – or follow @VodzillaMag. In the meantime, here’s the trailer:

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