DVD review: Fido

October 26th, 2007 in Comedy, Dvd, Indie, Movies, Reviews, horror

Especially due the success of Shaun of the Dead, the zombie comedy has become a genre with, er, a life of its own. Released this week on DVD is the Canadian film, Fido. This latest entry is the heart warming story of a boy and his pet zombie. Given only a limited release on US screens a few months ago, this is a horror comedy that is certainly deserving of an audience.

Andrew Currie’s film takes place in what appears to be small town America of the 1950s. Instead of World War II, there was a war against flesh eating zombies. A company called Zomcon, directed by a Dr. Geiger, figured out first how to kill the zombies (shooting them in the head, of course), and then figured out how to control zombies by placing electronic braces around their necks. In this alternative vision, zombies have become domesticated, doing menial tasks or acting as servants. In this society, every middle class household has at least one zombie at its beck and call.

The film centers on eleven year old Timmy Robinson, a bullied kid who views having a zombie in the house grudgingly. That changes when the as yet to be named zombie defends Timmy against his young tormentors. At one point, Fido’s neck brace stops working, and he makes a meal out of one of the next door neighbors. The film follows the developing bond between Timmy and Fido, as well as his impact on Timmy’s family. There is a scene in which Timmy sends Fido, who can’t speak but can only make a few growling sounds, home to get his mother to rescue him. Any resemblance between Fido and a long running television series about a boy named Timmy and his loyal, courageous pet is in no way coincidental.

Billy Connelly performs the title role fully expressing himself with body language and facial expressions. Timmy’s parents are played by Carrie-Anne Moss and Dylan Baker who both manage to personify the middle class couple from the 1950s. Tim Blake Nelson, who has made a career of portraying oddball characters, is both funny and creepy as the neighbor who may be to close to his own zombie, as cute as she is from the neck down. The soundtrack includes vintage tunes performed by Kay Starr, Billy Eckstein and Jimmy Witherspoon. The Lionsgate DVD includes deleted scenes, commentary, and details of the production. Fido is one of the more fun films to enjoy this Holloween season.

Fido Official Site

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