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Fido
Andrew Currie 2006
Andrew Currie 2006
Fido has a bone to pick with convention.
When George A. Romero made the seminal 'Night Of The Living Dead' in 1968, then subsequently followed it up ten years later with the equally classic 'Dawn of the Dead'. He set the ball rolling for a genre that during the next decade, would spawn dozens of imitators. Only a tiny minority of these films would be any good though. Most of them infact would be so irredeemably bad, that the very mention of the words 'zombie movie' would send a collective shiver down the spines of mainstream cinema goers, the censors, and critics alike. Not because these films were so nerve janglingly scary, oh no, but because (with a few choice exceptions) they were micro budgeted and gratuitously violent rip offs, with no artistic merit whatsoever.
Still, with notoriety came fandom, like its shuffling on screen subjects, the genre just wouldn't die. Nobody seemed to care that all these movies were essentially just the same story spun out over and over again, they just wanted more of the same. Romero's fans seemed to multiply with each passing year, and eventually it must have dawned on the big studios that the lowly zombie was a potential goldmine.
Now the zombie movie is enjoying a renaissance period, Romero has added two more films to his series. His original trilogy has been remade, the '28 Days' franchise is hugely popular, hell we've even had some originality with Edgar Wright's comedy 'Shaun Of The Dead'. All these films however have still stuck to the age old zombie formula, all except 2006's 'Fido' that is...
'Fido' is set in the alternate 1950s suburb of Willard, it's your usual white picket fence kind of neighborhood, appart from the domesticated zombies that is. Ever since the 'zombie wars' a conglomerate called Zomcom (get it?) has been running things, helping to protect from, and keep the population vigilant against 'wild' zombies. Zomcom has developed an electronic collar that suppresses the zombies cravings for human flesh, and as a result they've been reduced to nothing more than slavery. We follow Timmy (K'Sun Ray), who when his parents (Carrie Ann Moss and Dylan Baker) purchase a house zombie, strikes up a touching friendship with the creature (Billy Connelly), whom he names Fido.
I'm going to say this right off, 'Fido' is a minor masterpiece. Before the opening credits had even begun to roll, I was still reeling with laughter from the black and white Zomcom 'educational film' that preceded them. The film is laced with such razor sharp satire, that takes standard zombie film conventions and completely reinvents them with wonderful results. 'Fido' leaves no stone unturned, managing to parody every aspect of the Romero template without ever disrespecting it. The film is unbelievably charming, jam packed with so many creative touches and memorable characters, that it flies by in one great big joy filled blur.
The cast are all great too, television actor K'Sun Ray is definitely one to watch, Moss is delightfully deadpan as his mum, and Connelly manages to inject real soul into Fido despite having no lines. Dylan Baker does his usual edgy turn as Timmy's father, and Henry Czerny is right on the money as fascist head of security at Zomcom. Deserving of special mention though has to be Tim Blake Nelson as Mr. Theopolis, the hilarious neighbour with a live in zombie girlfriend, he stole the movie for me.
'Fido' is like watching 'Pleasantville', 'Edward Scissorhands' and 'The Burbs' with zombies. There's not much gore here, and it's all the better for it, in fact if it wasn't for the odd head shot and severed limb this could pass for wholesome family entertainment.
To sum up this is a charmingly classy and unique take on the zombie film. Make no mistake though, it's a satirical comedy, not a horror, those looking for Romero with one liners, or another 'Shaun of the Dead' won't find what they're looking for here. Fido may be rotten, but this film is fresh. Recommended.
When George A. Romero made the seminal 'Night Of The Living Dead' in 1968, then subsequently followed it up ten years later with the equally classic 'Dawn of the Dead'. He set the ball rolling for a genre that during the next decade, would spawn dozens of imitators. Only a tiny minority of these films would be any good though. Most of them infact would be so irredeemably bad, that the very mention of the words 'zombie movie' would send a collective shiver down the spines of mainstream cinema goers, the censors, and critics alike. Not because these films were so nerve janglingly scary, oh no, but because (with a few choice exceptions) they were micro budgeted and gratuitously violent rip offs, with no artistic merit whatsoever.
Still, with notoriety came fandom, like its shuffling on screen subjects, the genre just wouldn't die. Nobody seemed to care that all these movies were essentially just the same story spun out over and over again, they just wanted more of the same. Romero's fans seemed to multiply with each passing year, and eventually it must have dawned on the big studios that the lowly zombie was a potential goldmine.
Now the zombie movie is enjoying a renaissance period, Romero has added two more films to his series. His original trilogy has been remade, the '28 Days' franchise is hugely popular, hell we've even had some originality with Edgar Wright's comedy 'Shaun Of The Dead'. All these films however have still stuck to the age old zombie formula, all except 2006's 'Fido' that is...
'Fido' is set in the alternate 1950s suburb of Willard, it's your usual white picket fence kind of neighborhood, appart from the domesticated zombies that is. Ever since the 'zombie wars' a conglomerate called Zomcom (get it?) has been running things, helping to protect from, and keep the population vigilant against 'wild' zombies. Zomcom has developed an electronic collar that suppresses the zombies cravings for human flesh, and as a result they've been reduced to nothing more than slavery. We follow Timmy (K'Sun Ray), who when his parents (Carrie Ann Moss and Dylan Baker) purchase a house zombie, strikes up a touching friendship with the creature (Billy Connelly), whom he names Fido.
I'm going to say this right off, 'Fido' is a minor masterpiece. Before the opening credits had even begun to roll, I was still reeling with laughter from the black and white Zomcom 'educational film' that preceded them. The film is laced with such razor sharp satire, that takes standard zombie film conventions and completely reinvents them with wonderful results. 'Fido' leaves no stone unturned, managing to parody every aspect of the Romero template without ever disrespecting it. The film is unbelievably charming, jam packed with so many creative touches and memorable characters, that it flies by in one great big joy filled blur.
The cast are all great too, television actor K'Sun Ray is definitely one to watch, Moss is delightfully deadpan as his mum, and Connelly manages to inject real soul into Fido despite having no lines. Dylan Baker does his usual edgy turn as Timmy's father, and Henry Czerny is right on the money as fascist head of security at Zomcom. Deserving of special mention though has to be Tim Blake Nelson as Mr. Theopolis, the hilarious neighbour with a live in zombie girlfriend, he stole the movie for me.
'Fido' is like watching 'Pleasantville', 'Edward Scissorhands' and 'The Burbs' with zombies. There's not much gore here, and it's all the better for it, in fact if it wasn't for the odd head shot and severed limb this could pass for wholesome family entertainment.
To sum up this is a charmingly classy and unique take on the zombie film. Make no mistake though, it's a satirical comedy, not a horror, those looking for Romero with one liners, or another 'Shaun of the Dead' won't find what they're looking for here. Fido may be rotten, but this film is fresh. Recommended.