[Movies] Fido (2006)

Zombies are all the rage these days. Whether it's a new movie concept, a popular multi-player video game or even a comic book, the token element that seems to be used time and time again is zombies. Let's face it - people seem to have developed a taste for zombies, if you pardon the pun. I'm generally okay with zombies myself, although I'm not necessarily a fan.

As much as this idea is getting more and more repetitive in recent times, there are still those major gems that really present zombies in a more interesting and refreshing light. One of the better ones that come to mind is the Simon Pegg comedy, Shaun of the Dead. That was a really good movie and a great way to take a new spin on the whole zombie thing. Not all movie makers are quite that way and tend to focus on movies that will give them the bigger (and quicker) return on their investment. This results in a lot of low quality, copycat films that just insult our general intelligence.

Then there are those ones that seem to come out of nowhere and surprise you. Oh yes, these are the movies that remind us why this medium will always be popular.

Cover of Fido

Fido is an unusual zombie movie that's pretty much a comedy, albeit a darker one. In a world not too unlike our own, it turns out deadly rays of space now reanimate the dead as flesh-eating zombies. Since it was more and more impossible to entirely stop this threat, a company called Zomcom eventually developed a way to control the zombies with shock collars and now this 1950's style community has zombies as personal servants.

At the core of this story is the unassuming family of Timmy Robinson (K'Sun Ray) who live in the fictional town of Willard. His mother, Helen (Carrie-Anne Moss) decides to finally buy the family a zombie despite how afraid of zombies her husband, Bill (Dylan Baker) happens to be. The family then learn to adapt to life with a zombie in the house whom Timmy eventually names as Fido (Billy Connolly). The two start to develop a bond and naturally this gets tested once Fido's collar becomes damaged and his true zombie urges are let loose.

It's slightly bizarre to see Carrie-Anne Moss a.k.a. Trinity from the Matrix movies staring in a role that presents her as a 1950's style home maker. Sure, she's still a bit strong for a woman and she's rather handy with a revolver, but overall it just seems so far away from her signature role. Don't get me wrong, she handles it really well and I now can't imagine anyone else fulfilling the role of Helen.

The story as a whole is okay - nothing significantly amazing but still fun and full of fun references to older TV culture. Given that they treat Fido more and more like a pet / dog, the parallels are just hilarious and naturally they actors milked it for all it was worth. This is not a typical laugh-until-your-sides-hurt kind of movie - it's certainly witty and it has its moments, but it's still a darker comedy and the presence of zombies all over the place definitely plays a big factor in things. The folks behind the movie wanted to make sure you didn't forget the potential danger of such zombies, and does so rather well.

And Billy Connolly was pretty great as Fido. He wasn't always an over-the-top killing machine throughout the movie - he made sure to present a more, um, well I guess we can say "human" face to the zombie infestation and really did earn the family's love and affection a a character. Then again, it was still very satisfying to watch him attack other characters in the movie that I found rather annoying, hehehe.

Overall, Fido is an alternative and smart zombie comedy that is worth a view. It gets 4 bloody baseballs out of 5.