Enjoy this Monday with Mildred!

This is also Zombie World Tour post!

Fido

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve loaned out this movie.  One time I got it back with the cover paper soaked in coffee, so it was a learning experience – never loan anything to that person.  The reason it’s a travelling pants kinda film is that it’s so funny and clever and easy for non-zombie people to watch that I use it as a hook to snare more zombie fans.

This Canadian undead tour is even more pleasant than Pontypool and just as good a movie.  The writing is solid and gives us a funny romp with just the right amount of tension, the cinematography is gorgeous, very much looking like a 1950s Technicolor picture, and the acting is fine all the way around.

Set in the fictional town of Willard (one of several easter eggs pointed at the granddaddy of all modern zombie films Night of the Living Dead), the movie begins with a Movietone News feature outlining the history of zombies (via cosmic dust), the enormous war against them, and the victorious outcome complete with a pacifying collar that makes them into undying servants.  The story takes place in a highly stylized, beautifully colorful 1950s enclave of perfectly dressed people, perfectly shined cars, perfectly coiffed lawns, and perfectly socialized society.

Fido is a movie about a boy and his zombie, and of course a boy named Timmy is going to get into all manner of trouble that only a faithful dog, or zombie, can help him escape from.  Carrie-Anne Moss plays Timmy’s frustrated, though perfect, mom, and Dylan Baker plays the zombiephobic dad. Scottish comedian Billy Connolly is completely hilarious as Timmy’s zombie Fido, without saying one word.

For all its frivolity, there is an underlying sense of dread perfectly captured with its brightly colored 1950s appearance, and a subtle acknowledgement of how brittle the social structure is in this perfect time.  The moment even one of the precariously balanced cards this society is balanced on is knocked out, a cascade of frightening and funny events develop.

Timmy learns a lot about growing up, and his family learns a lot about themselves through their series of mishaps.  As with Tremors, Fido has a terrible, funny line that I quote often.  No, I said terrible, not terribly.  Some reviewers have remarked how the movie is a one joke wonder but I don’t think it’s that simple.  Between the family’s life lessons and the obvious but important social messages a good zombie film needs, I think there’s enough meat to satisfy anyone looking for funny zombies with only a small amount of gore and a few tense moments. Fido is suitable for just about anyone, so show it to a friend and get them hooked.

LINKS:

• Fido – IMDB
• Fido (Film) – Wikipedia

Fido (2006) Official Trailer #1 – Zombie Comedy Movie HD