Fido

Title: Fido
Director: Andrew Currie
Cast: Billy Connolly, Carrie-Anne Moss, Henry Czerny
Year: 2006
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sequences of zombie violence and gore, and comic horror situations.
Date of Review: March 27, 2007

Lassie…with zombies. The money I would pay to pitch that idea to the studios is monumental (if I had any, that is) and that is the basic plot of Fido, the most recent inductee into the zombie genre. It’s the story of a picture-perfect 1950s community, and more specifically a picture-perfect 1950s family. They live in a time when the zombie apocalypse has already happened and now gated communities exist where people can live out their lives as if nothing ever happened. And thanks to ZomCon – a semi-futuristic company responsible for the "collar" which makes zombies docile and harmless – the zombie threat has instead turned into a blessing in disguise, as all menial jobs can now be carried out by the completely submissive and ever-growing zombie population.

Billy Connolly stars as the titular character, Fido. He is a zombie, and he is Timmy’s best friend. Timmy is a lonely little boy, whose father is more interested in golf than him, and whose mother is obsessed with what the neighbours think of their house. Fido is brought into the picture when the mother, Helen (Carrie-Ann Moss’ best performance since Memento) buys him from ZomCon as a houseworker so that they aren’t "the only house on the street without one". The father, Bill, is afraid of zombies, and doesn’t want Fido in or around the house - and it’s both hilarious and disturbing to see how people look at him as if there’s something wrong with him because he is afraid of these walking corpses. It’s all got the feeling of an episode of Leave it to Beaver, but with a gory, zombie-filled twist.

As with any other zombie movie of particular significance, Fido has a strong message relevant to the times it has been released in, regardless of the fact that it takes place in the 1950s. Violence is so regularly accepted in society, that a child actually points a loaded rifle at the head of another child during Target Practice Class at school, and all he gets is detention. And when the head of security for ZomCon is talking to an elementary school class, he asks if anyone has ever had to kill a zombie before, to which many of the children excitedly raise their hands, followed by him continuing to openly talk about people having their flesh eaten by undead family members. Of course, like most of its socially conscious predecessors, the message is quite heavy-handed, but it is fully aware of this, as it both looks and feels like a science fiction film from the 1950s. There is rampant overacting (that wonderful happy-go-luckiness that was a trademark of the era) and the shots inside vehicles make great use of fake backgrounds, and the driver is constantly turning the steering wheel even on a perfectly straight roads.

The dynamite script and tongue-in-cheek acting really add to the fun of the movie. Carrie-Anne Moss is absolutely hilarious as she slowly becomes attracted – yes…in THAT way – to Fido, who shows her more attention and affection than Bill (played by recognizable character actor Dylan Baker). But the real show-stealing performance is from Toronto-born actor Henry Czerny, who plays Jonathan Bottoms, ZomCon’s head of security and the latest addition to the friendly neighbourhood of Willard. He is a decorated hero from the "Zombie Wars", and a completely cold and heartless man whose utter indifference towards all the violence and mayhem the zombie threat poses makes him even funnier. In one scene, he talks about how horrible the zombies have been in making families have to kill each other, then remarks "I’d take Cindy’s [his wife] head off in a second if I had to", to which his wife simply smiles and replies "oh he’s so sweet…he always says that!". The humor in the film is very sarcastic, and at times almost Monty Python-esque.

While Fido doesn’t really bring anything particularly new to the table in terms of the actual zombie action and gore, what is there is great. It even provides a back-story, going through how some radioactive space dust was absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere, with main side effect being - of course - raising of the dead. There was then an all-out zombie war, in which humans prevailed, leaving us with this wonderfully sugar-coated view of 1950s America...with zombies. Anyone familiar with the zombie genre knows that quite often the actual reason for the dead returning to life is often left out, instead having it happen almost completely at random, but in Fido that is not so, and the opening propaganda reel which outlines these world-changing events adds even more to the nostalgic, 1950s-sci-fi feel of the film.

Since it’s the one of the only other zombie comedies to come out in the past few years, Fido will undoubtedly be compared to 2004's runaway hit Shaun of the Dead, but beyond the actual subject matter there really isn’t much of a comparison. They are such different films - with Shaun of the Dead spoofing the zombie genre itself, while Fido makes another entry into the genre which just happens to be funny. Considering its Canadian indie roots and lack of any media exposure, Fido will surely fly under the radar, maybe achieving some cult status in the years to come. But for now, if you drive by your local theatre and notice those four letters up in lights, do yourself a favor and buy a ticket - it’s a funny, gory romp with a lot to say.

8.5 / 10