Fido - Could almost be a sequel to ‘Shaun of the Dead’

If you’re a zombie-movie fan, you’ve probably seen the brilliant ‘Shaun of the Dead’ (and if you haven’t – stop reading and watch it now!).  On the off chance you haven’t caught it yet, I won’t go into how it ends, but if you know, you could almost look at ‘Fido’ as a semi-sequel.  Okay, not really, but in principal it’s like a continuation.

In Fido’s world, we appear to still be living in 1950s America.  We’re never told we are, but everyone still dresses and behaves like they are (plus there isn’t an iphone or Twitter account in sight).  And, at the beginning of the film, we’re treated to some brief (but very funny) black and white newsreel footage informing us that, ten years after the ‘zombie wars,’ we’re now living in a safe society, happily using the undead as servants (courtesy of collars which control their flesh-eating impulses).

It’s almost an ideal world.  You never have to do your own laundry again, thanks to a kindly rotting corpse who will do it all for you (assuming you don’t mind your laundry slightly torn and hideously unfolded).  If truth be told, the undead, while willing/forced to comply, they aren’t that good yet at the tasks they’ve been assigned.

And then we’re introduced to the Robinsons – the perfect ‘nuclear’ American family, living a perfect life – zombie free.  However, pressure on society dictates that every good house needs its own undead butler, therefore they bow to public pressure and purchase the zombiefied form of Billy Connolly.  What follows is a tale of friendship between the family (or most of them) and their ‘pet zombie’ who little Timmy Robinson christens ‘Fido.’ Of course no relationship ever runs smoothly and it’s never easy when one party has to wear a collar that prevents him from tearing innocent old ladies apart every time the collar fails.

Basically, if you’re a zombie fan, not only should you have watched ‘Shaun of the Dead,’ but you’re also probably aware of George Romero’s classic ‘Dawn of the Dead.’ Apart from the cool action sequences, a lot of people admired the social satire he wove in, commenting on a consumer society.  Well, if you’re in the mood for more than just gore (of which Fido also delivers on), you may enjoy the numerous swipes the film takes at peer pressure, people’s frailties about not being good enough and even some touching moments (partially played out by a character that can only groan).

I read online that Billy Connolly watched to play the titular role because he was intrigued by the opportunity to portray a sympathetic character with only expressions and movements, i.e. no dialogue.  I’m not normally a fan of Billy’s acting (I thought he should have stuck to stand-up comedy!), but here he hits every note, as does every one of the cast.  A fair proportion of the film is taken up with children and their relationships and it’s easy to hate child actors, but here their presence never detracts from the story.

What you have here is a refreshing take on a (currently overused) genre with gore, heart and, above all, enough laughs to put it up there with the great ‘Shaun.’

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one