THE

'S

(1999 Dragon Films) Director: Takeuchi Tetsuro Starring: Guitar Wolf and a mess o' zombified mofos......

GOD DAMN.

Just....God damn. I'm friggin' speechless..... Now...one of the reasons I dove headfirst into the realm of B-Flicks in general was something that novelist Stephen King describes in his non-fiction work, "Danse Macbre", as "finding diamonds in the rough".  Y'know...the sensation ya get when ya rent a film, and it turns out to be alot better than the video case made it out to be?

Ladies and germs...the most bad-ass band on the planet...Guitar Wolf!

This is not a new experience for me...it's just that it's been a while since it's happened.  I can remember the first time, in 1981 at the age of 7, seeing ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK at the local hometown drive-in for the first time.  Later, in high school, again when catching a late-night cable broadcast of the Micheal Pare vechile, STREETS OF FIRE.  The best case scenarios were probably during my senior year, seeing both Carpenter's ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 and Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD 2 inaugrially. Well...it happened again tonight, watching of all things, a Japanese zombie rock n' roll flick...with English subtitles, to boot.

Our hero, folks, "Ace"...and his...um, girl, Tobio...I think.

The Plot:  Well..it all boils down to this... Imagine, if you will, The Ramones first starring role, ROCK N ROLL HIGH SCHOOL meets Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD. Only, nearly everyone's Japanese. That's about as simple as I can put it.

Betcha don't see them pansies N'Sync packing heat and bustin' undead heads...

Guitar Wolf, the most bad-ass band on the planet....( hey, any band that boasts a lead singer/guitarist that can shoot laser guitar picks from his hand, hear a dog whistle, electrocute a guy by just wrasslin' with him, carries a katana sheathed in the neck of his electric guitrar, and can cut a big-ass UFO in half  by screaming "Rock n' Rollllll!!!!" and using said piece of cutlery...isn't a man I'd personally want to f**k around with, basically becasue he sounds like the personification of some Jim Croce lyrics), must save their buddy, "Ace", and his he/she girlfriend (trust me on this one...I couldn't figure it out either) from a plague of the walking undead ressurrected by a swarm of UFOs.   THE END.

Just go see the damned thing for yerself.  It is, by far....THE GREATEST FILM ON THE PLANET......that is, until I get the chance to see "Once Upon A Time In Mexico", Robert Rodriguez's third Mariachi film, which sounds almost a screwed up, plot-wise as "Wild Zero", from the online spoilers I've read.  Guitar Wolf is a great band...I personally own a few of their CDs and they seem to be some kinda rage over int he Orient.  Part of the rockabilly punk scene of Japan, GW is comprised of Guitar Wolf (lead vocals and guitar), Bass Wolf (bass), and Drum Wolf (you guessed it...tuba.  No...seriously, drums), and they have a sound eerily similar to a band who obviously influenced them, The Ramones.  as you can tell, they even dress somewhat like 'em.  Knock yerself out and go buy one of their CDs, ya won't be disappointed.  Try online, that's probably your best best. Highly Reccommend.  This film carries the SpeakEasy's "Atomic Mouse" seal of approval...