Fido Review

Written by: moviemaven   

It is damned near an impossibility to stroll the video shelves (or the online queues) without stumbling over six or seven catastrophic entries into this tired genre. Yet they still remain among my favorite types of films. And because that is so, I am constantly on the lookout for a good one. But one doesn't always have time to wait for Romero to put out his latest fare. If our watching depended upon that, we'd be dead ourselves before we got a good collection going. Unfortunately his are far between and only treats for the weary fan to look forward to from time to time.

Fido is a film I have followed from the first news break. I thought the idea to be extremely fresh and clever. I waited rather impatiently. It was a long time later that I actually got the opportunity to enjoy it, but it is well worth the wait. I will even venture to say that you don't have to be a zombie fan to enjoy the Hell out of this romp. I immediately watched it twice then recommended it to several friends (not all of whom are horror fans),

The premise is simple. Zombies are calmed and turned into hired help. Now doesn't that sound safe and healthy, kids? There we go pokin' things with sticks again... tsk tsk. But all goes pretty well for a while. The government and giant corporations always look out for us as we all know. And red tape can apparently control a lot of the undead. Fido handles this much-mucked category with a flair that is rarely seen these days. The art direction and color usage are immaculate. You get the sense of a real post-war USA complete with A-line dresses and fedoras to beat the band.  You even get retro "duck and cover" style PSA's informing us that old people can't be trusted.  It's sort of like George Romero moved to Pleasantville. You get all the social commentary you can wave a machete at plus tons of wit. I had so much fun I watched it again right away.

You can't beat such a stellar cast either. Billy Connolly is Fido and his lovable antics put even the famed Bub to shame. Round out the ensemble with Tim Blake Nelson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Dylan Baker and Henry Czerny and I guarantee you haven't had more fun since Shaun of the Dead. You'll laugh and cry and run right out to buy a head casket...unless you don't mind sticking around.

I usually try to be tougher with ratings, but I just can't bear giving anything less than a ten. Fido hits it right on the head. LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT