Wild Zero (2000)

Wild, indeed
Wild Zero is a Japanese movie featuring music group Guitar Wolf, who is also the singer of the band. I started watching this movioe twice but only made it in about 20 minutes before I turned it off and gave up. A friend urged me to give it one more shot and I did and fell in love with it. So if you watch it, give it more than 20 minutes, it becomes really funny/interesting/cool.

Wild Zero is kind of like Kiss Meets The Phantom of the Park combined with a Japanese version of The Ramones stuck in a Zombies From Outter Space story. Yes, it's quite a combo. Oh and throw in a love story, some renegade gang members, and a club owner with really short-shorts and you've got it. I love the music in this film, Guitar Wolf rocks. The movie is just crazy and twisted but after watching the whole thing I'm a huge fan. If you like insane-silly movies with lots of action and believe that THERE ARE NO BOUNDRIES IN ROCK AND ROLL check this out.

Cheesy Rock'n'Roll Zombie-Fest
You have to be a die-hard Guitar Wolf fan, or a complete lover of zombie films to really like this film. While I like every genre on the Japanese or any Asian film market, zombie films are really not my type of films. So, I might be a bit biased against the film. But I do know what I like, and this film really takes quite a lot of will power to watch. At least "Battlefield Baseball" had a few funny things going for it. This one as I wrote before is really for the die hard fan of the zombie genre. The film of course centers on the Rock band Guitar Wolf. One character in the film named Ace (Masashi Endo) is a big fan of the group. It is when he sees the band that a meteor shower will occur: Which is actually an alien invasion of Earth.

Soon after these aliens arrive the dead begin coming back to life. [Hey, this is a zombie film] And as we all know by now, there is nothing zombies like better than eating human flesh. [I want these zombie films to please just go away!] Therefore, it is up to our protagonist Ace and the group Guitar Wolf to battle these invading forces and zombies. One more thing, Guitar Wolf [playing himself or course] gives Ace a whistle. This is a special whistle that Ace is to use whenever he finds himself in trouble. And being that this is a zombie flick, well you get the picture. But the film is really in a sense a documentary of the band Guitar Wolf, as you will notice should you view this film.

The special effects in the film are bad, [even for a low budget film such as this one] but then most films of this nature usually are. And as for the acting--well, lets just say that acting classes might have come in handy and helped the actors quite a bit. I know this is supposed to be a zombie film with Rock'n'Roll tossed in, but it is an extremely silly one at that. The film was directed by Tetsuro Takeuchi, and the man needs to tone up on his directorial skills. All in all, the film is really for those who like the band Guitar Wolf---as all of the bands members are in the film. Do not expect too much from this film and you will not be disappointed. [Then again, maybe you will]. Recommended for those who have a bad case of insomnia.

. . . for hardcore punk and/or zombie fans only . . .
In a nutshell: "Dawn of the Dead" by Romero meets "Lola" by the Kinks with a little bit of "Plan 9 from Outer Space" and "The Crying Game" thrown in for good measure.

Plot Summary: A Japanese Rock and Roll Wannabe (Ace), complete with black leather jacket and motorcycle, happens to be in a small town in Japan that just happens to be ground zero for an alien invasion, via zombies. Along the way the band Guitar Wolf, a corrupt manager, an gunrunner/mercenary, and 3 slackers wander through the film. Armed with nothing more than his wits (such as they are) and the "love of rock and roll" Ace has to defend civilization (or at least one cute girl) from the zombies. Over the course of the film the zombies eat people, get shot in the head, show a degree of mobility and intelligence that varies from "potted plant" to "low normal," and generally behave the way anyone who has ever seen a post-Romero zombie film would expect them to. The alien invasion aspect of the film is pretty much just a plot device to explain the zombies and all we ever see of them is their ships flying past.

Review: (Warning, this review contains a "Spoiler") This had the potential to be a nice little zombie movie. Unfortunately, "Wild Zero" decides that we need a "message". Unlike some of the other reviewers, I didn't think that having my horror movie "spiked" with the director's punk rock, free love, down with capitalism, and the power of rock and roll philosophy improved anything.

Bottom Line: This movie is for hardcore zombie move enthusiasts (if you just have to complete your collection and/or you really want to see a bunch of zombie heads exploding - this is the film for you) and fans of Japanese punk rock only. For a much better, albeit still low budget, zombie film check out "Hide and Creep" or if you want big money polish and special effects in your zombie movies check out the Romero classics and the recent remake.