Zombie Command

Aliens have landed in the quiet countryside town of Asahi and the dead are rising from their graves with an insatiable hunger for human flesh. It’s up to Japanese punkabilly band Guitar Wolf to save the world.

The film follows the adventures of Ace (Masashi Endô), an aspiring musician and die hard Guitar Wolf fan, his love for Rock and Roll is only matched later by his love for Tobio (Kwancharu Shitichai).

Whilst attending a Guitar Wolf concert, Ace stumbles upon a Mexican stand-off between Guitar Wolf and the venue’s manager, the scantily clad and generally bizarre Captain (Makoto Inamiya) and inadvertently saves the lives of his favourite band – getting smacked in the face for his troubles. This deed does not go unnoticed and Ace and Guitar Wolf become blood brothers. With that bond comes a whistle that Ace can blow on whenever he is in trouble (no, really). Guitar Wolf then hit the road to get to their next gig.

Following Guitar Wolf on his motorcycle, Ace becomes the accidental hero once again by interrupting an ill-timed petrol station robbery and saving ‘damsel’ in distress, Tobio. All the while the news coverage continues to discuss the mysterious “meteorite” that has landed in the Japanese countryside. Later we learn that there is no meteorite and that aliens have come to Earth and their arrival has, somehow, awoken the dead.

It’s not long before Ace encounters the living dead and, with Guitar Wolf as his spiritual guide, finds the courage to turn his bike around, return to the Gas station and rescue Tobio – who by now is overrun with zombies. As is often the way, love blossoms in the unlikeliest of situations and Ace and Tobio become close as they flee the undead and seek refuge in an abandoned building. Before long, all hell breaks loose and Ace calls upon Guitar Wolf to save the day.

Wild Zero is completely bonkers. The film has a classic B-movie feel to it and it’s obvious that the film is paying homage to the genre. The movie oozes ‘cult’ and it has been made with that in mind, after all it stars a punk rock band, has UFOs and Zombies. It’s fair to say that my eyebrow was firmly raised during the opening scenes of the film but as time went on I found myself smirking, then grinning and later laughing out loud at the complete insanity. The film is genuinely (and intentionally) funny with half decent performances from the majority of the cast. The sub plots interweave nicely in a Tarantino style (albeit far more obviously) but Wild Zero is not a film without flaws. The zombie make-up leaves a little to be desired and the CGI exploding heads are pretty poor. There are also a couple of scenes that are just a little too cheesy to be funny (guitar pick shurikens spring to mind) and towards the latter part of the movie the novelty factor wears off a little and the film starts to drag.

That being said, for the most part the film is fun and enjoyable and comes recommended. If you like your zombie movies slick, scary and believable; look elsewhere. If you like them splashed with blood, booze, fire, insanity and, above all else, Rock and Roll; Wild Zero will be right up your street.

7 out of 10 Zombie Fingers

NB: If you think zombie movies are a dish best served with a bottle of Bushmills, the DVD features a drinking game that would leave you well and truly smashed by the end of the movie. By the time the credits roll, you will no doubt feel this is the best movie ever.

Follow @Epic_Problem on Twitter for guaranteed* zany Japanese zombie adventures.
*Guarantee expires 1979, terms & conditions apply, see press for details.