Wild Zero

I love rock'n'roll and I love zombie movies, and 'Wild Zero' combines the two into a fantastically entertaining and energetic movie that I'm certain in years to come will be regarded as a trash classic. I usually like my zombie movies to be serious, but in this case I didn't mind the silliness at all. In fact I absolutely loved every minute of it! Cult Japanese trio Guitar Wolf, who deftly mix punk, rockabilly, garage and surf influences, star in this impossible to categorize fun fun fun romp which jumps genres as fast as Johnny Ramone changes bar chords. Masashi Endo plays Ace, a major Guitar Wolf fan, who helps the band out of a tight spot with a nasty promoter. Guitar Wolf give him a whistle and tell him to use it if he's ever in a jam. Little does Ace know he'll soon be stuck in the middle of a rampaging zombie horde! Believe me, there is has been nothing quite like this movie ever before. It's stupid but GOOD stupid. No, make that GREAT stupid. I thought it was absolutely wonderful and if Ed Wood, Lucio Fulci, Link Wray and The Dickies mean anything to you then this is ESSENTIAL viewing! I'm usually wary of sequels but if 'Wild Zero' ever has one I'll be queueing up to see it!

Wild Zero is not a perfect movie. It is beyond perfection. It has transcended into a realm of unbelievable excellence. If I rated things on a scale of stars, 1-10, it would receive a million billion.

Weak acting? Goofy special effects? These comments are probably from people who thought Braveheart and Gladiator were good movies. Wild Zero is the type of movie that is impossible to criticise. You watch Wild Zero and your blood will pump, your adrenaline will ransack your brain, your tender--I have said too much.

After all, this is rock 'n' roll jet movie. Guitar Wolf, the group, prove themselves to be inhuman in their sheer ability to be cool. With trash and chaosssssss!!!!, the last twenty minutes will blow your mind. This is the feel good movie of eternity. There is thrill, speed and stupid zombies. There are exploding heads, random alien encounters, and even more sudden and inexplicable gaining of superpowers.

There is no adrenaline rush that is more rush than this film once it kicks into motion. But don't think it is all brutality of screen, as the movie has poignant moments and an important message on love and growing up. Of course, you could also sit back and be terrified by the Captain's draw-string shorts (pejoratively nicknamed "the junk trunk" by my group of friends).

Watch this movie with friends or watch it alone. It's just more fun when you can see your friends' minds be blown. But if you see a Guitar Wolf movie this year--nay, if you see a movie in this lifetime, see Wild Zero! Rock 'n' roll!!

(Note: Some phrases in this review were lifted from the video box. See if you can go through and pick them out)

I was told by some friends of mine, "You have to see this movie. It will rock your face off." They were right.

Wild Zero is without a doubt the most amazing Japanese Rock Zombie flick ever.

If you believe that rock and roll is here to stay, that greasers should roam the streets of Japan, and that extraneous characters should be disposed of as quickly as possible and turned into zombies, then this film is for you.

The exploding zombie head budget is high in this film, but the writing budget seems to have suffered as a result. With zombie flicks, though, you pay your money and you take your chances.

The action revolves around the Japanese garage punk band Guitar Wolf. A trio of coiffed, leather-bound super cool rockers. Ace, our main character is a wannabe rocker and number one fan of Guitar Wolf. One fateful night he finds himself in the middle of a gunfight between Guitar Wolf and an evil hot pant wearing wigged club owner. Guitar Wolf recognizes the lad as having a heart dedicated to the true spirit of rock and roll and makes him a blood brother and furnishes him with a "wolf whistle" to blow if he is ever in trouble. Trouble comes quickly in the form of UFO's and the living dead. Along the way we meet an adorable transsexual desperate for love and a bad ass female weapons dealer. Featuring guitar picks used like ninja throwing stars, a naked woman blasting zombies in the shower, slicing a UFO in half with a Samurai sword, more exploding zombie heads then you can shake a stick at, and of course, plenty of rock and roll, guitar punk sensibility. To enjoy "Wild Zero" you really have to throw out any misconceptions you might have that a film that suffers from bad editing, bad continuity, and a lack of coherent story could possibly be anything but awful. Wild Zero proves that a film can suffer these slings and arrows and still shine brilliantly. It's all about the Rock and Roll! The music in this film kicks some serious ass! It's just a whole bunch of awesomeness. For some additional fun the DVD includes a drinking game you can play while watching the film. A drinking symbol appears sporadically throughout the film like each time a character drinks, says Rock 'n Roll, or a head explodes. I can only imagine that the addition of alcohol would enhance the experience.

Guitar Wolf, Bass Wolf & Drum Wolf are the triumvirate of rock 'n roll cool. They face the greatest foe of rock 'n roll : Squares. Square are best epitomized by the Captain, who dresses in an all white, skin tight outfit at the beginning (also has a nice mop-top). Apparently he enjoys wearing short shorts (BAD THOUGHT ... unclean... unclean). He and those that he represents don't care about rock 'n roll, they only care about money and power.

One might think this is a typical rock 'n roll movie, but it isn't. After our initial showdown between the squares and the Wolf Trio, the movie takes an unexpected twist. This movie then turns into a survival horror movie. It seems that aliens are involved and they are bringing back the dead. So we end up with the Captain versus the Wolf Trio, in the backdrop of a zombie plague/alien invasion. The supporting cast consists of yakuza henchmen, bungling thieves (one of which is a Japanese Steve Buscemi impersonator and another who is a Japanese Margaret Cho impersonator), a female arms dealer, our hero who's trying to be like Guitar Wolf (Ace), Ace's "female" love interest (Tobio) and layer upon layer of various gray zombies.

This movie is a lot of fun and a twist on the zombie movie genre. The music is great. It has a rock n' roll in-your-face feel. I think Guitar Wolf provided the entire soundtrack. Some of the great scenes where the music is blasting and zombies are dropping left and right, you just want to scream and kick down some doors. A funny innovation in this movie is the pee cam (like Miike's turd cam). The finale is quite over the top. Remember watch this movie, kick ass and chew bubble gum. If you need to drink milk, put some cocaine in it first.

RIP Billy.

-Celluloid Rehab