Fido Brings Zombie Social Criticism Back From the Dead

Just when it looked like the recent wave of zombie mania had crested, out of left field (Canada) comes Fido,, a delightful romp through a post-apocalyptic 1950’s Americana - with zombies. The story of a boy and his Zombie, Fido’s premise is simple: humans, having survived a “zombie war” during the past decade, have proved the victors, and have learned to domesticate zombies, transforming them from flesh-eating zombie monsters to passive zombie slaves.

The movie opens on a class presentation about zombies and Zomcom, the ominous corporate/governmental entity that manages day-to-day life in post-zombie Americana. A Zomcom representative asks a room full of eleven year-olds, “How many of you have ever killed a zombie?” Two students raise their hands.

Thus is the comedy in Fido - as dark as it gets. Fido is about an America where only 10% of people can afford “real” funerals (where the head is removed and buried separately), while the other 90% return as zombies (and property of Zomcom). Unlicensed funerals are forbidden. The elderly present the gravest threat - prone to die and return as zombies at any moment, Zomcom has moved most retirement communities into former prisons.

When the Robinsons, the last family on the block without a zombie, finally get their own, little Timmy realizes that he’s finally found the friend his father is too busy to be. Thus Fido, mutely played by Billy Connelly, slowly becomes a part of the Robinson family, progressing from pet to…well, you’d better just watch the movie.