Wild Zero (2000)

	Director: Tetsuro Takeuchi
	Starring: Guitar Wolf, Drum Wolf, Bass Wolf, Masashi Endô
	Run Time: 98 mins
	Certificate: 18
	Rating:

Plot
Aliens are invading the planet and turning people into zombies! After saving his heroes, the band Guitar Wolf, from their manager, wannabe rocker Ace is made a blood brother of the band. When he gets caught up in the zombie carnage, he calls on Guitar Wolf for help.

Review
How on Earth do I review Wild Zero? One of the craziest, most bizarre and downright loud films you're ever likely to see, Wild Zero is a zombie film like never before. "This is Rock 'n' Roll jet movie" proclaims the front cover and I'd be hard pressed to disagree if I knew what that meant.

You could consider Wild Zero one long music video for the band Guitar Wolf as pretty much all of their screen time is taken up by them playing their tunes and shredding their guitars. They're a very loud group, seemingly wanting to resurrect old school rock and roll music with a slightly newer, more polished twang to it. They are an effortlessly cool group, with the lead Guitar Wolf probably not looking out of place in a Tarantino flick. They like to comb their hair a lot and they wear leather jackets. The rest of the characters are just as crazy. You've got Ace, a guy who looks to have time travelled from the 50s. The band's manager is a slimy piece of work, with a bowl hair cut and a pair of tiny short-shorts that may make a few viewers squirm in their seats at the thought something may pop out. You've got Tobio, a female with a secret. There's a bitchy female weapons dealer. And a few shady Yakuza guys thrown in for good measure. Not a whole deal makes sense in the film so the characters get free-reign to go crazy at times and that they do.

Wild Zero rarely stops for breath either. If you're not listening to Guitar Wolf strumming away, then you're watching zombies getting their heads blown off, magical guitar plectrums being used as shurikens, UFOs flying around and a magic guitar which turns into a sword. Don't ask me, just sit and watch it all because by the time the magical instruments start up, you're ready to believe anything. There's a decent amount of gore too with it being a zombie film so expect flying limbs and flesh-eating. There's an uncanny knack of heads exploding every time someone shoots a zombie too - or human for that matter. And by exploding, I mean really blowing up. There are countless other explosions, chases and fights throughout the film too. I'll be honest with you, I usually have plenty to say about films and can do reviews in a reasonably cohesive manner but I'm having great difficulty with this. There's so much wrong with the film but ironically enough, that's what makes it so right. You don't question anything that happens because you wouldn't believe yourself if you were expecting something to happen and it does. Believe in the power of rock 'n' roll!

Verdict
It's hard to really categorize Wild Zero because it's not an out-and-out horror film although there are plenty of the undead about and enough blood and guts to warrant the higher rating. Director Tetsuro Takeuchi has taken in a load of cult subjects like rock 'n' roll, zombies and aliens and thrown them all together in the hope they will stick - and most of it does. Wild Zero has become a cult film - a new genre unto it's self. It's not a really great film but it's one that I can wholly state that everyone needs to see at some point just to appreciate life a little more!