Fido (2006)

Space radiation turns dead into Zombies. Zomcon fights zombies and finds ways to pacify and use them. On preteen Timmy's 1950s suburban street, all have a zombie doing menial chores. Timmy's zombie becomes his pet/friend and is named Fido.

Director:

Andrew Currie

Writers:

Robert Chomiak, Andrew Currie

Stars:

Kesun Loder, Billy Connolly, Carrie-Anne Moss

13 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Kaye	...	Narrator (voice)
Jan Skorzewski	...	Eating Zombie
Kevin Tyell	...	Zombie's Victim
Andy Parkin	...	Dr. Hrothgar Geiger
Lynn Pendleton	...	1940's Mother
Gary Slater	...	Father Zombie
Taylor Petri	...	Little Girl
Glenn Richards	...	Vicious Zombie
Raphael Kepinski	...	Collar Light Zombie
Carl-James Kalbfleisch	...	Child Zombie
Tiffany Lyndall-Knight	...	Miss Mills
Kesun Loder	...	Timmy Robinson (as K'Sun Ray)
Alexia Fast	...	Cindy Bottoms
Henry Czerny	...	Mr. Bottoms
Aaron Brown	...	Roy Fraser

Storyline

In an Earthly world resembling the 1950s, a cloud of space radiation has shrouded the planet, resulting in the dead becoming zombies that desire live human flesh. A company called Zomcon has been able to control the zombie population. Zombies can be temporarily neutralized by being shot, but can only be permanently neutralized by their brain being destroyed. Their ultimate disposal is through cremation, or burial, the latter which requires decapitation with the head being buried separately from the body. Conversely, Zomcon has created the domestication collar, when activated and placed on a zombie makes the zombie controllable and thus an eternally productive creature within society. Because all dead initially become zombies, the elderly are viewed negatively and suspectly. And all people, adult or child, learn to shoot to kill to protect society. Zomcon is the go to organization for all things zombie. In the town of Willard, the Robinsons - father Bill, mother Helen, and adolescent ...

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Plot Keywords:

neighbor | suburb | classroom | character name as title | next door neighbor | 

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Taglines:

He'll steal your heart... or eat it!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for zombie-related violence

Details

Official Sites:

Anagram Pictures

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 2007 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Ena zombi anamesa mas

Filming Locations:

Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,203, 17 June 2007

Gross USA:

$298,110

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films, Anagram Pictures, Astral Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White (one scene) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Stormare (Fargo) was originally cast for the role of Fido, but upon being cast in Prison Break opted out of the film a week before principal photography was to begin, as per the DVD commentary.

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Goofs

When Timmy is hiding behind the red car watching his father pull in, the hood pops on Timmy's father's car.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: [with schlocky sensationalism] Zomcon presents A Bright New World. From the darkest depths of outer space came an evil no man could predict. A cloud of radiation engulfed our great planet. Scientists discovered that these space particles caused the reanimation of dead bodies. Zombies. Creature with but one destructive need, to devour the flesh of the living. And so we were forced to defend our homeland. The Zombie Wars. Mankind against legions of the undead.
Narrator: But in our darkest hour,...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Any similarity to actual persons, living, dead or undead is purely unintentional.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood on Set: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer/Nancy Drew/Fido (2007)

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Soundtracks

Put a Lid on it
Written and Performed by Tom Maxwell and the Squirrel Nut Zippers
Courtesy of Tom Maxwell, by arrangement with Lionsgate

User Reviews

It's Like Leave It To Beaver With A Brain-Hungry Butler

A year or so ago, I was watching the TV news when a story was broadcast about a zombie movie being filmed in my area. Since then I have paid particular attention to this movie called 'Fido' as it finished production and began playing at festivals. Two weeks ago Fido began playing in my local theater. And, just yesterday, I read a newspaper article which stated Fido is not attracting audiences in it's limited release, with the exception of our local theater. In fact, here it is outdrawing all other shows at The Paramount Theater, including 300. Of course, this makes sense as many locals want to see their city on screen or spot themselves roaming around in zombie make-up. And for any other locals who haven't seen Fido yet but are considering it, I can say there are many images on screen, from the school to city park to the forbidden zone, that you will recognize. In fact, they make the Okanagan Valley look beautiful. That's right beautiful scenery in a zombie movie! However, Fido itself is a very good movie. Yes, despite its flaws, it is better then most of the 20 other movies playing in my local market. Fido is best described as an episode of Lassie in which the collie has been replaced by a member of the undead. This is a clever premise. And the movie even goes further by taking advantage of the 1950's emphasize on conformity and playing up the cold-war paranoia which led to McCarthyism. Furthermore, it builds on the notion that zombies can be tamed or trained which George Romero first introduced in Day Of The Dead.

K'Sun Ray plays a small town boy who's mother (Carrie-Ann Moss) longs for a zombie servant so she can be like all the other house wives on her block. However, his dad (Dylan Baker) is against the idea as he once had to kill his own 'zombie father'. Eventually, the family does acquire a zombie named 'Fido' (played by Billy Connolly), and adjusts to life with the undead. Billy Connolly was inspired casting. He is able to convey Fido's confusion, longing, hatred, and loyalty through only his eyes, lumbering body, and grunts. Connolly shows that he can play understated characters better than his outrageously comedic ones. This is his best role since Mrs. Brown.

Fido follows in the footsteps of other recent zomcoms such as Shawn Of The Dead and Zombie Honeymoon. Being someone who appreciates Bruce Campbell and Misty Mundae movies more than Eli Roth and Jigsaw ones, I prefer humor over gore in my horror. However, I understand the criticism of those horror fans who feel there is not enough 'undead carnage' in Fido. Yet, I am sure patient viewers will be rewarded by the films gentle humor.

The movie does break down in it's third act. It's as if the writers were so wrapped up in the cute premise of domesticated zombies in the 1950s, they forgot about the story arc. However, given my interest in horror comedies and my appreciation for seeing the neighborhood on screen, I rate Fido 9 out of 10.