Review of Fido (2006) by Mitchel S — 19 Sep 2009

â??Fidoâ?? is a wonderful zombie comedy film set in a 1950â??s style world in which zombies were vanquished during a huge world war and humans live in artificial bliss due to the efforts of a massive anti-zombie corporation. In order to achieve a harmonious world where zombies and humans can live together, the corporation creates collars that control zombies and turn them into docile servants. A bored housewife decides to invest in a zombie slave, and to everyoneâ??s dismay, the zombie slave becomes best friends with her young son. What follows is a hilarious comedy blended with sufficient zombie gore and a great storyline.

The art direction in this movie is incredible. Being a fan of 1950s era style, I truly appreciated the wonderful costumes and accesories and the fabulous way in which the â??Pleasantvilleâ??-style town was created. You really feel as if you are in a 1950s TV show sit-com, but in full vibrant colour. Carrie-Anne Moss sports some delicious housewifey outfits that are so gloriously all-out 1950s, and the language and the way the actors carry themselves on screen make it feel like an authentic 1950s TV show/movie.

A lot of the kills are off-screen, but the few that are on-screen are suprisingly vivid and well done. The special effects werenâ??t exactly â??Dawn of the Deadâ?? remake style, but they certainly werenâ??t crappy either. Zombies generally looked authentic and they walked slowly for a change! Actually, walking slowly is kind of a joke considering how at their slow stumbling pace they still manage to wreck havoc when they escape and maul down a lot more people than in movies with super speed zombies.

I really enjoyed this movie and think itâ??s a great example of how a zombie movie can be made so much better when you throw in an interesting twist rather than just remaking something thatâ??s already been done or just setting the movie in â??present dayâ?? to scare the shit out of people by making them believe â??Hey, this could happen in MY present day! OMG!â?? Even if you donâ??t find this a laugh riot, Iâ??m sure youâ??ll appreciate the slight romance between the zombie slave and his owner the housewife; it certainly added some hilarious tension that I cannot ever remember experiencing in a zombie movie.