Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:05 am
The age old tale of a boy and his dog...except the dog is a zombie.
Sounds silly right? It is, but read on.
This film is set after World War Z. Not the World War Z from the excellent Max Brooks book, but one similar to it. A corporation named Zomcom was able to figure out how to kill and then enslave the zombie hordes. Humans now live in gated towns and cities with zombie servants. The cities are also very much stuck in the 50s since all of our "social" progress would've been stalled due to the zombie war.
I imagine the pitch for this film was Leave it to Beaver & Lassie meet Night of the Living Dead.
This movie plays out very much like the television shows of old. Everyone and everything has that 50s style of life. The wives are home and play second fiddle to their working husband. People are judged on their material possessions such as how many zombies they own, etc.
For zombie fans, the "rules" get broken here as you would expect, but it's ok because this is a dark comedy. So don't get all pissy when a zombie doesn't instantly tear the flesh off a nearby human.
Anyway, the storyline follows one family specifically: The dad is terrified of zombies due to his experience in the zombie war and has no desire to become one after he dies. His whole life seems to revolve around those facts. The wife is the typical lonely housewife who is neglected by her husband. The son, Timmy (ha!), is a friendless kid who seems to be held back by his parents more than any social disorder of his own.
Anyway, this family gets their very own zombie "to keep up with the neighbors" and that's when the fun starts.
I know this movie was kind of cheesy, but dammit it was entertaining and I really liked it. I'm even pondering adding it to my collection.
Special mention for the acting and sets. The acting is very well done and played exactly like the old 50s/60s TV shows (Beaver/Lassie) and the horror movies of that time. Ditto for all the sets and props.
There are a few flaws in Fido as you'd expect. Like I said, the zombie rules are a bit broken and there is no real explanation to Timmy's social outcast status outside of hints that it's due to his father's oddities.
Other minor nagging aside, this film is damn good, IMHO. Admittedly, zombie and dark comedy fans will appreciate it more, but if one can get past the premise, I think they'd find it entertaining.
Maybe not the comedy it's proclaimed to be on the box, but it is entertaining. Absolutely worth a rental for film lovers.
8 out of 10.
Sounds silly right? It is, but read on.
This film is set after World War Z. Not the World War Z from the excellent Max Brooks book, but one similar to it. A corporation named Zomcom was able to figure out how to kill and then enslave the zombie hordes. Humans now live in gated towns and cities with zombie servants. The cities are also very much stuck in the 50s since all of our "social" progress would've been stalled due to the zombie war.
I imagine the pitch for this film was Leave it to Beaver & Lassie meet Night of the Living Dead.
This movie plays out very much like the television shows of old. Everyone and everything has that 50s style of life. The wives are home and play second fiddle to their working husband. People are judged on their material possessions such as how many zombies they own, etc.
For zombie fans, the "rules" get broken here as you would expect, but it's ok because this is a dark comedy. So don't get all pissy when a zombie doesn't instantly tear the flesh off a nearby human.
Anyway, the storyline follows one family specifically: The dad is terrified of zombies due to his experience in the zombie war and has no desire to become one after he dies. His whole life seems to revolve around those facts. The wife is the typical lonely housewife who is neglected by her husband. The son, Timmy (ha!), is a friendless kid who seems to be held back by his parents more than any social disorder of his own.
Anyway, this family gets their very own zombie "to keep up with the neighbors" and that's when the fun starts.
I know this movie was kind of cheesy, but dammit it was entertaining and I really liked it. I'm even pondering adding it to my collection.
Special mention for the acting and sets. The acting is very well done and played exactly like the old 50s/60s TV shows (Beaver/Lassie) and the horror movies of that time. Ditto for all the sets and props.
There are a few flaws in Fido as you'd expect. Like I said, the zombie rules are a bit broken and there is no real explanation to Timmy's social outcast status outside of hints that it's due to his father's oddities.
Other minor nagging aside, this film is damn good, IMHO. Admittedly, zombie and dark comedy fans will appreciate it more, but if one can get past the premise, I think they'd find it entertaining.
Maybe not the comedy it's proclaimed to be on the box, but it is entertaining. Absolutely worth a rental for film lovers.
8 out of 10.