Fido (DVD)
Johnny Butane
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Starring Billy Connelly, Carrie-Anne Moss, Dylan Baker, K’Sun Ray
Directed by Andrew Currie
Released by Lionsgate
Really, there’s not a lot to say about Fido that I didn’t already say in my review of the movie, though I admit watching it again at home, with commentary, did give me some new perspectives on this very cool, very different zomcom.
First off, the color palette and the way the frame is used throughout are just amazing. In this day and age when everyone wants their zombie movie to look dirty, director Currie did the exact opposite and made Fido as bright and beautiful as possible; one of the many things that help Fido stand apart from pretty much every other zombie film out there.
Another side that didn’t sit as much with me the first time I saw it was just how much the movie is about relationships. You see Carrie-Anne Moss’ character go through a complete 180 in terms of how she deals with her son Timmy (Ray) and her husband Bill (Baker), but you also see how an undead house zombie (Connelly) can show more human emotion than anyone else in the family and serves as the catalyst for a change in everyone.
If you don’t know what Fido is about, allow me to summarize; back in the 1940’s, instead of going to World War II, we fought the Zombie Wars. After the Earth passed through a cloud of space dust that brought the recently deceased back to life, humanity was in jeopardy of becoming extinct.
Because of the pioneering work of some very egg headed scientists, though, we found a way to control the zombies with the use of an electronic collar that more or less domesticated them. Now, 10 years later, they’re a part of everyday society, doing the menial tasks we can’t be bothered with.
Timmy’s never really cared if he has a zombie or not, but his mother sure does. She’s very big on appearances, you see, so when the new head of security at Zomcom (the company responsible for controlling zombies and making the world a better place) moves in across the street, she knows her family can’t go another day without their own house zombie. Enter Fido, who shows them all a side of themselves they’ve been repressing for far too long but not in some cheesy, feel-good way. Fido is something you really need to experience for yourself to understand but trust me; it’s a great time from top to bottom.
So I’m very sorry to report that there’s just not a lot of meat to this DVD’s bones. For example a “making of” featurette is actually anything but; it’s just an EPK with talking heads and no real info whatsoever. I really wish they’d stop calling these making-ofs, it’s just insulting when you compare it to something like Full Tilt Boogie or 30 Days in Hell.
Some deleted scenes fill in the gap a bit, but as with most scenes that don’t make it into the finished film there’s usually a damn good reason for their exclusion. One with Carrie-Anne in the garage explaining why the family car is all banged up, however, is pretty funny to watch.
They at least try and do something different with all the concept art created for the film with a Fido storybook, giving a condensed run down of the plot set against some great drawings done to layout the movie. You also can watch a rather dull still gallery of Billy Connelly going from motor-mouthed comedian to subtle, silent zombie, or just breeze through the storyboard art on your own.
On the commentary, you have your choice of either listening to director Currie, producer Mary Anne Waterhouse and star Carrie-Anne Moss (well, for about an hour of it), which tends to be a bit dull but will fill you in on the behind-the-scenes that the making-of sure as hell doesn’t have, or you can dig on a half-hour long commentary done by the film’s composer, Don MacDonald. I’m sure that last one’s a treat for fans of the film’s music (which is quite good) but to the rest of us is just filler.
Pop the DVD in your computer (assuming you have a DVD-ROM, of course) and you can play a game in which you put your head on the cutout of a zombie and see what you’d look like dead. Its hours of fun! Actually it is kinda cool but I would’ve sacrificed it in a second for some more real behind-the-scenes info. Isn’t that what DVDs are all about, anyway, learning as much as you can about the movie you just watched? Sigh. Oh, and I hate, hate, hate the cover they chose to use for the release. Just … terrible.
In the end, though, the features are just fluff. You gotta see Fido to really appreciate it or, as I guess could be the case, completely disagree with me (though why would you?) so get out there and get the damn thing already. Make sure you have a nice home entertainment system to watch it on, too, because there’s a lot you could miss without it!
Special Features
4 1/2 out of 5
EXTRAS
2 1/2 out of 5
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