Fido

Fido

Directed by: Andrew Currie

Starring: Carrie-Ann Moss

Genre: Horror/Comedy

Run Time: 91 min.

Release Date: June 2007

On The Web: Official Site

Teaser: Movie Trailer

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

We’ve all heard the saying, “You have to see it to believe it.” And that statement was never truer when talking about FIDO, a zomcom (zombie comedy) of the highest order. Often referred to as the “PLEASANTVILLE of Zombie films”, Fido certainly has that time-gone-by feel and look to it, but gives us some comedic talent from surprising locations.

Scottish-born comedian Billy Connolly (THE BOONDOCK SAINTS) stars as Fido. Normally a pretty loud and brash actor/comedian, here Connolly has zero lines (unless you consider occasional moans and groans lines) as the newly installed zombie in the Robinson household. Installed? you ask. Yes, installed. Post-zombie wars, the world now uses the undead staggerers for menial tasks thanks to a new control collar placed around each zombie that makes them docile and family friendly. This all takes place circa 1950s America, too, a time when LASSIE and other innocent shows began littering TV stations across the nation.

Not surprisingly, since we’re talking Lassie, the young son of the Robinson house is named, yep, Timmy. Timmy is played by relative newcomer K’Sun Ray who is more familiar to television audiences as Jason in the series SMITH. But here the young actor shows his comedic muscle by taking ‘Lil’ Timmy’ and making him Fido’s best friend. Fido, in turn, becomes Timmy’s best friend also. The two form a boy-and-his-dog relationship that transcends the Lassie version and takes it to a hysterically funny level (“What’s wrong, boy? Is someone in trouble?”)

More surprising than young K’Sun Ray, though, was Carrie-Ann Moss (THE MATRIX trilogy) as Timmy’s mother Helen Robinson. Stuck in an emotionless relationship with husband Bill (Dylan Baker, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE), Helen finds solace with her son and a strange awakening to her feminine needs with Fido. It’s creepy, sappy, nostalgic and terribly funny all at once.

There is so much going on in the film that it’s tough to cover all of it with one simple review, so I’m not even gonna try. But I will say that sex, sexual repression, death and funerals, zombie-paranoia, big business, big government, and plays on morality are all interspersed throughout Fido.

If you’re a fan of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, you owe it to yourself to see this. Not only is Fido a great indie film, it is a great film in its own right. Be prepared to laugh yourself silly.