Wild Zero is one of the stranger films I’ve seen in a long time. What other film combines UFOs, zombies, transvestite love, and Japan’s most famous garage band?

The stars of Wild Zero are Guitar Wolf - a Japanese rock band who play themselves. The movie follows Ace, a young Guitar Wolf fan who happens to witness an altercation between the band and the owners of a club. Frightened from the fight, Ace is given a whistle by Guitar Wolf which he can blow if he’s ever in trouble. Lucky for him, trouble was soon to follow as a meteorite (or was it the UFOs?) starts turning the locals into zombies. Ace ends up saving a young girl, Tobio, but the two soon find themselves cornered. They think they are about to die, so Ace expresses his love for Tobio. She responds by taking off her clothes and turns out to be a man. Ace goes ballistic, kills some zombies with a crowbar, Guitar Wolf shows up with some advice, Ace realizes he really does love Tobio, zombie heads explode, and all is right with the world again. Except for the pesky UFOs which are taken out by Guitar Wolf’s guitar.

I was a fan of Guitar Wolf before I saw Wild Zero, and as such I really enjoyed the music, loud motorcycles, and appearances by the band (despite how strange they may have been). The zombie scenes were good and it was wonderful to see old-school blue makeup zombies again. It’s a strange movie and downright stupid in many places, but it also has a charm of its own. But there’s no way Wild Zero could in any way be considered a good movie. It’s the Plan 9 from Outer Space of Japan.

Guitar Wolf fans with a good sense of humor will probably enjoy Wild Zero, but everyone else will be left scratching their heads.

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