Review of Fido (2006) by Luke P — 19 Jul 2009

Of all horror genres, the zombie film must run a close second (behind vampires) to the claim of most over-saturated film sub-genre ever. We've had Nazi zombies (Outpost), zombies on a plane (Flight of the Living Dead), even zombie strippers (Zombie Strippers), not to mention George A Romero's classic trilogy and countless others.

What else is there to left to do with zombies? Well, Andrew Currie and co. have found something. While the idea of a zombie comedy is nothing new (Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's Rom-Zom-Com Shaun of the Dead raised the bar impossibly high), Fido is still an original and unique spin on the old ideas.

Set in the picturesque American town of Willard, where a majority of the population have become zombies due to particles from space, and so are kept as hired hands, their dangerous impulses neutralised by electrical collars, all watched over by mega corporation Zom-Con.

Fido literally has more original ideas in it's opening ten minutes than most films do in their entirety, sometimes so much so that it's hard to take in all the details and ideas this film has to offer.

A great cast lift the material, with Carrie-Anne Moss and the always brilliant but criminally under-rated Dylan Baker as the parents, and Billy Connolly, in a mute but highly expressive comedic role, as the titular Fido, and Tim Blake Nelson as an ex-Zom-Con employee who has taken his relationship with his zombie to the next level.

The film looks great, Currie and his crew excellently evoking the look and feel of 1950's American suburbia, while there are enough funny, surreal (zombie milkman!) and sweet moments to make Fido well worth your time.

A highly original and entertaining little film.