Arts & Entertainment

 

Fido

Vince Yim, OP Domesticated Zombie

cinematography, but also with the style of
E... depicts a ‘50s the advertising and the music. The standout
America turned completely | ™oment is a PSA for dealing with zombies,
upside down, where in which a little girl screams, “Grandpa’s
radiation from outer space _fallen...and he’s getting up!”
caused the dead to walk the Social commentary in the zombie genre

is nothing new, but this film also has very
thinly veiled references to the current
political climate, in which fear is keeping

earth. After a devastating
war, a corporation called
ZomCon found a way

everybody isolated. As the filmmakers
themselves are Canadian, they can get away
with being a bit more scathing, although
they don’t out-and-out say it.

Acting is fairly solid, although
everybody is largely playing against type.
The normally verbose Billy Connoly has
no dialogue whatsoever as the titular hero,
while Carrie-Anne Moss (best known for

her work in The Matrix) goes from busting
heads to baking cookies. Also notable is
Henry Czerny as the villainous head of
ZomCon.

A bit of a landmark for Canadian
cinema, Fido is a solid film that turns the
conventions of the genre on its head and
generates a lot of laughs (and revulsion) in
the process.

 

to enslave the zombie
population and keep
everybody safe. Now,
everybody has a zombie
in the home to perform
menial tasks, like deliver
newspapers and clean the
yard. Fido focuses on the
Robinson family, who has
recently gotten a zombie
manservant (played by Billy
Connoly).

Best described as the
unholy demon spawn of
Night of the Living Dead
and Lassie, the film takes
the “gee-whiz” goodness of
the ‘50s sitcom and mixes
it with George Romero-
esque horror and a dash of
social commentary. The
end results are shocking and
jaw-droppingly hilarious.

The dark comedy is what
really sets this film apart,
especially with the cavalier
attitudes towards death. This
is due to the filmmakers
skirting certain conventions
of the zombie genre,
mostly being the manner in
which zombies are created.
Typically, one becomes a
zombie by being bitten by
one, although in this film,
the residual radiation causes
anyone who dies (for ANY
reason) to become a zombie.
Hence, the head of the
Robinson family (played by
Dylan Baker Hall) is trying
to save for a proper burial
for his family, in which the
head is interned separately
from the body (the methods
for killing a zombie still
apply here).

This leads to some very
funny (if slightly disturbing)
moments, such as when
the children are involved
in “outdoor education,”
which has them doing
target practice against
zombie dummies with
live ammunition, where
other kids are sing-song
chanting, “In the brain, not
the chest, headshots are
the very best.” They also
pay homage to the ‘50s
with the lush Technicolor

12

2006/07

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