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Customer Reviews: Average Rating:  Rating :  - Zombies, Punk Rock and Aliens Equals Pure Campy Fun!
WILD ZERO (2000) is living proof just how weird, oddly brilliant (at the same time stupid) and outrageously cheesy Japanese films can be. Granted this style of filmmaking is not for everyone. This film pretty much has everything from zombies, aliens, rock & roll, super powered rock stars, zombie and transgender love...There's crowbar brutality, bazooka abuse, razor-sharp laser targeting GUITAR picks, electrical eyebeams and a gun-slinging shower scene...The film is NOT to be taken seriously, as the plot lacks structure, characters look like they're rejects from "Grease" but for some unbelievable reason, it all manages to click together. WHAT THE HECK?!
Synopsis derived from dvd back cover:
ACE (Masashi Endo), a rockabilly fan who really wants to be cool, is on his way to see his favorite rock band; Guitar Wolf, when a strange thing occurs...aliens invade the earth and people start returning to life as flesh-eating zombies! Enlisting the aid of the real-life Japanese punk/rock band Guitar Wolf, Ace and the members of the band get entangled with many misadventures with insane managers in tight shorts, transsexuals, naked women shooting guns in the shower and blood-thirsty zombies ready to tear them apart!
The one thing that stands out in the film are its characters. They are all underdeveloped but in their own way very colorful and interesting. If you pay attention to their mannerisms and costumes, you'll figure out just what they're all about. Seems like everyone has a purpose; from Masao with the butterfly knives, to the woman in the shower, to the Yakuza gang, from Guitar Wolf up to the lead; Ace. It seems like everyone in the film wants their share of screen time and everyone has a subplot. The events linking all the bizarre incidents all share their own credibility.
Now, this is not an action film so don't expect it to be one or you'll be disappointed. The film is slow-paced in the beginning until it reaches its second half. It's no "Versus"; the film is pretty much a satirical horror film that makes fun of itself. It is meant to be different and the film manages to stand on its own with its very unique style. It exaggerates smaller things with the action, acting and the special effects itself is a bit over-the-top. The EFX is cheesy and campy as was its intention. If you saw "SARS WARS Bangkok Zombie Crisis", you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. The zombies pretty much look like rejects from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video with a bluish color that is so vibrant to once again exaggerate the stereotypical appearance of the "undead". The zombies also move much like the ones in "Night of the Living Dead" (it was even mentioned), slow-moving, shambling dead "things".
Cool poses, a lot of hair gel and combing, this is a Japanese film so expect another play on philosophy based on courage and Rock and Roll. Love has no boundaries not even death or gender; it has zombies making out and transgender love. The best way to see this film is to approach it without any expectations and do not pay any attention to other reviewers who say that it has non-stop zombie action. There is quite a bit of blood and gore, brains are brutally blown away and innards of the zombies' victims are eaten on camera. Again, the movie tends to exaggerate, so they all end up looking cheesy and stupidly amusing (?). Of course, no film like this would survive without a few "splattering blood" effects.
If you want to see something totally over-the-top with utter silliness and oddball humor; then you may be ready for "Wild Zero". The film isn't going to win any awards but hey, it may be the ultimate Asian Cult film; I'm sure some folks will like it while others will hate it. The film does require a very large suspension of disbelief. Director and writer Tetsuro Takeuchi knew exactly what he wanted to do, film a movie to make fun of itself and to pay tribute to the self-proclaimed coolest rock band in the world; Guitar Wolf...again, it is all a matter of exaggeration.
Recommended timidly to fans of Asian Cult Cinema [3+ Stars]
Note: Alcohol may maximize its viewing experience.
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