Flesh-eating zombies, exploding heads, UFOs, transgendered love, and rock & roll are all on display in this uber-"B"-flick starring Japanese punk band Guitar Wolf. Helmed by noted video director Takeuchi Tetsuro -- known as "MTV Man" in Japan -- the film duly opens during a Guitar Wolf concert with leather-clad rocker Ace (Endo Masashi) watching agog in the audience. During a bloody confrontation between Guitar Wolf and his sleazy, hot pants-wearing manager the Captain (Makoto Inamiya), Ace tries to defend his idols, only to get socked in the mouth for his effort. Guitar Wolf makes Ace his blood brother, gives him a whistle to sound during times of trouble, then races off to their next gig. Following Guitar Wolf on his motorcycle, Ace happens upon a comely waif named Tabio (Shitichai Kwancharu) during a gas station robbery. Soon, the threat of a knife-welding lunatic seems paltry compared to the sudden appearance of a legion of zombies hungry for living flesh. In the heat of a pitched battle between the young couple and the horde of the undead, true love blooms. Then, when things start getting really weird, Guitar Wolf comes to the rescue with guns and guitars a-blazin'. This film was screened during the Midnight Madness program at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
is neutral about it.
Billed as "
Night of the Living Dead meets
Rock 'n' Roll High School," this film's giddy energy and unrepentantly silly story line are a hoot and a holler of fun. Guitar Wolf, along with his bandmates Drum Wolf and Bass Wolf (all three of whom were reportedly blind drunk during the length of the shoot), make for convincing punk rock superheroes; in one scene Guitar Wolf dispatches with a gaggle of zombies with a hail of flying guitar picks, while in another he cleaves a UFO with a samurai sword stashed in the fret of his trusty instrument. Other characters, such as Makoto Inamiya's womanizing lounge-lizard villain and Haruka Nakajo as a sexy bazooka-wielding assassin, are equally pungent and delightfully bizarre. Shot in Thailand, the film's army of the undead was reportedly played by Thai military staff and their families. While not a film for the
Steel Magnolias crowd, Wild Zero is an exuberantly weird and entertaining flick. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide