Wild Zero (2000) directed by Tetsuro Takeuchi.
(MF Title: “Rock’n'Roll saves the world, free of charge.”)
Starring Masashi Endô, Makoto Inamiya, Masao Sato, Guitar Wolf, Bass Wolf and Drum Wolf.
Zombie Film Rating:

Overview: Alien invaders cause the dead to return to life around the world. The living fight against all odds for their very survival as the numbers of the undead steadily increase. The key battle in this war, however, is being fought not in London, Washington, Moscow or Berlin, but in a small town called Asahi.

Humanities best hope lies in the band Guitar Wolf, a rock and roll wannabe named Ace, a tranvestite, an arms dealer and a style-deficient club manager. The actions of these few will decide the fate of the world. Will rock and roll save the day? Can love conquer all? Do zombies date?

All these questions, and more, will be answered…..

Summary: As the movie opens we meet “Ace” a wannabe rocker, who idolizes the band “Guitar Wolf”. Ace then races off to the local club where Guitar Wolf is playing, and after enjoying the set decides to approach the club manager (The “Captain”) convincing him that Ace is a rocker worthy of showcasing.

Guitar Wolf in the meantime have finished their set, and on their way to the “captains” office they come across a beaten prostitute in the employ of the captain. This incident triggers a confrontation between the band and the staff of the club which culminates in a Mexican stand-off in the Captains office.

The stand off is interupted by the arrival of Ace, who while listening in from the hallway, charges in when he hears the Captain asert that “Rock and Roll is dead”. Ace serves as a distraction that allows Guitar Wolf to kill “generic evil guy #79″ and wound the Captain (they shoot a finger off). Ace is knocked out in the short battle, and when he regains consciousness Guitar Wolf himself takes Ace as a blood brother as repayment, giving him a whistle to use when he is “in danger”.

We now flash forward to the town of Asahi where, despite it’s sleepy appearance, all sorts of events are taking place. First on the hit parade is an arms deal between “generic tough chick #23″ and the Yakuza. While enroute the Yakuza run into a small group of people in the middle of the road, naturally these turn out to be zombies and the after the driver commits suicide (Uh, huh?) the remaining two gangsters are consumed in short order. Generic tough chick #23 continues waiting at the meet location, and when the Yakuza fail to arrive she returns home.

We cut now to an Esso station where the staff have disappeared, and a small group of customers are gathering. Tobio (a young hitchhiker) and two workmen are standing around when Masao and his two friends arrive, Masao produces two knives and half executes a robbery (I say half executes because he threatens the occupants of the store, but never gets around to taking any money).

The robbery attempt is interupted by Ace who scares Masao (and his friends) off. He and Tobio fall almost instantly in love, but Ace has a gig to get to (yep, Guitar Wolf is playing a nearby town) and he jumps on his motorcycle and rides off. As he’s leaving town Ace comes across the van driven by the workmen from the Esso, and he discovers the half consumed bodies of the workmen, surrounded by feasting zombies.

Now fearing for Tobio (and guided by an apparition of Guitar Wolf) he races back to the Esso and grabbing Tobio they flee on foot to an abandoned building. Once safely esconced inside the building Tobio reveals that she is a he, causing Ace more than a little discomfort. Ace runs from Tobio, and again the apparition of Guitar Wolf speaks to him, telling him that love knows no boundaries. Ace is consumed with regret, and goes after Tobio, smashing zombie skulls on the way. He also makes use of the whistle given to him by Guitar Wolf, which alerts the band that he is in trouble.

At this point things become a little confused, with the band, the captain and the arms dealer all arriving back in this little town and alternately trying to kill each other or the zombies with wild abandon.

Finally the power of rock and roll prevails, with Guitar Wolf smiting the alien mother-ship with his Guitar Sword, and the Captains evil being destroyed forever. Naturally Tobio and Ace live happily ever after.

Critique: I’ve only recently even heard of any of these Asian entries into the Zombie genre, and I’ve been enjoying them more than alot of the North American and European efforts of late.

This is no exception, the subtitles remain a minor irritant, but the film is entertaining and generally well paced. The plot is as contrived as any zombie film, the special effects were a little cheeseball, and the acting is a little rough in places, but overall this effort is an enjoyable zombie romp.

The Final Word: Get it…if for no other reason than for the Japanese “Adios Amigos”.

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.