Fido

You know what I wish someone could combine the aspects of Lassie, Pleasantville and Night of the Living Dead; I think it would be a great movie, which brings me to this week’s review Fido.
From director Andrew Currie the movie Fido is one of the best movies I have watched in a long time. I scoffed at the idea, when it was presented to me by my local video store clerk. Imagine if you will there was a great zombie outbreak in the 1950s which was only stopped by the corporation of Zomcon and their brilliant idea to put up huge fences around towns and the introduction of the zombie collars which curtail the zombies from wanting to eat human flesh and allows them to become the perfect slave laborers.

The story itself revolves around the Robinson family, who are the only family according to Mrs. Robinson who do not own a zombie, this is mostly due to the fact that Mr. Robinson had to shoot his father during the great zombie war. However when new neighbors (who just so happens to be the head of Zomcom’s Security) move in Mrs. Robinson gets the family a zombie so they do not look like outcasts. Timmy Robinson in an obvious homage to Lassie soon falls into a loving relationship with the zombie and names him Fido because everything needs a name and because he plays fetch. Timmy is a bit of an outcast not only at school but everywhere else he goes. He is constantly being attacked by bullies even the old lady across the street picks on him. It isn’t until Fido sticks up for him does he even begin to believe in himself. Eventually in a zombie movie you have to get to flesh eating, and it comes in when our hero zombie Fido is attacked by a little old lady in the park, which turns off his collar and allows him to start killing. The interesting thing with Fido is he loves the Robinson family, enough so that when his collar is off he can’t bring himself to attack them. The love is also in a sick way is returned by Mrs. Robinson as she grows tired of her coward of a husband and starts to love Fido.

The casting in this movie is great. Carrie Anne Moss, yes Trinity from The Matrix is Mrs. Robinson (and yes Mrs. Robinson can seduce me anytime she pleases) and Billy Connolly who played the Deuce in Boondock Saints plays the title zombie of Fido really get into their roles and you forget that it is someone playing a part. You really will believe this is a 1950s society surrounded by wild lands full of flesh eating zombies.

The DVD is full of deleted scenes, an alternate opening, as well as plenty of photo albums of how they did all of the make-up effects for Fido and last but not least a bloopers section that was at times funnier than the movie. The asking price for the DVD will normally run you around $10.00 which is well worth the purchase.