Review of Fido (2006) by Christopher B — 26 May 2012

Absolutely delicious. Brilliant idea. I'd really rather you just watched it rather than read this (could even be a family film), but we all have different tastes afterall. No pun intended.

Starts off with a "where did they come from" 50s-style news reel explaining the space dust origin of zombies, the subsequent Zombie Wars, and the groundbreaking scientific discovery by Zomcon that one must destroy the brain to kill a zombie. Then lightning strikes, you see, because Zomcon also created the "domestication collar," whose red light assures you "that the zombie's desire for human flesh has been contained, making the zombie as gentle as a household pet.".

I know, genius, right? Now we have a new force for the service industry.

Enter poor sweet 12 year old Timmy Robinson (K'Sun Ray, who obviously has a bright future ahead of him). He thinks for himself and has no friends. He even feels bad for all the zombies that might be buried deep in coffins trying to claw their way out because they were buried before everyone began burying the heads seperately. Then his mother (Carrie-Anne Moss from The Matrix) gets the family a new pet to compete with the six zombies the new neighbors have (whose patriarch, Mr. Bottoms (Czerny), also happens to be the head of security at Zomcon). 'Fido,' as Timmy names him, sticks up for Timmy against the bratty boyscout brothers, and the two are like peas and carrots from then on (but you know, good).

Trouble is, Fido's collar starts to malfunction. I know, I didn't see it coming either. True, the community will be better without Mrs. Henderson, but jeez Timmy sure does have a problem on his hands. Luckily the neighbor Mr. Theopolis (Tim Blake Nelson of "O Brother Where Art Thou?" and "The Good Girl") used to work for Zomcon, and he and his "pet" Tammy help repair the collar. That doesn't take care of Mr. Bottoms, though, as he starts to investigate Mrs. Henderson's disappearance and things get even more interesting.

I laughed my ass off. Such terrific writing, and the acting was suberb. Dylan Baker and Henry Czerny are fantastic 50s dads. Billy Connolly is believable as a zombie torn between the man he was and the decaying pile of flesh he is now, and I loved that nicotine addiction follows us PAST death. I loved the style and colors. The cars. I adored the music. I kicked myself for not writing it first.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Andrew Currie, Dennis Heaton & Robert Chomiak. Fucking awesome.