In a film set in the Nifty Fifties, Fido offers a very unique view of what could have otherwise been a traditional, gory zombie movie. Writers Robert Chomiak, Andrew Currie (also the director) and Dennis Heaton have created a world in which the elderly are feared, head caskets are a commodity and children are trained in small arms.
The Premise
A cloud of space dust has fallen to Earth and the radiation from it reanimates corpses. The living dead have a craving for flesh and that just won't do, thus Zomcon has been created to solve all you zombie problems. Zombies can be trained for menial tasks, people are buried with separate head caskets and citizens are trained in basic zombie killing tactics.
My Take
The Robinson's are the perfect example of a nuclear family; mom, dad, son and one on the way. Except that little Timmy doesn't seem to have a lot of friends and they are the only family on the block without their own zombie. The head honcho of Zomcon has just moved in down the street with his wife and daughter, and they have six zombies. What is one to do?
In a great example of "keeping up with the Jones's", perfect wife and mother, Helen Robinson (Carrie-Anne Moss), purchases a zombie for their household without consulting her husband. Gasp! Much to the eventual delight of their son Timmy (Kesun Loder), mom and dad decide to keep the zombie because he proves to be so useful. Bill Robinson, the father (played by Dylan Baker), remains suspicious of zombies throughout due to a traumatic childhood incident.
Timmy names the zombie Fido. Fido, who never speaks an intelligible word, is played by Billy Connolly (and if you ever want to talk about your singing days with The Humblebums, I wouldn't say no). There is a series of accidents in which Timmy protects Fido, Mom protects Timmy, and then Fido protects them both proving that zombies may not be the soulless, heartless beings we have made them out to be.
There are some fantastic supporting characters, too. Sonja Bennett and Tim
Blake Nelson are the Robinson's neighbors. Nelson's character, Mr.
Theopolis, once worked for Zomcon and may or may not have been fired for
his inappropriate relationship with Tammy the zombie (Bennett). Cindy
Bottoms, played by Alexia Fast, is Timmy's only human friend.
The Verdict
Expertly written and acted, Fido is one of our new favorite movies to watch in October. I love that it is set in the 1950's and is able to get away with the attitudes and ways of thinking that it does. I strongly recommend this film if you enjoy tongue in cheek comedy, dark humor and zombie movies. I give Fido 10 zombie attacks.
