Fido

Andrew Currie
2006

Andrew Currie's "Fido" is set in what is presumably an alternative American history in which an unanticipated zombie war, where people are forced to kill the reanimated bodies of friends and family members, gives way to hermetically sealed communities, boasting that easily recognizable tow-the-line conformity of the 1950's. The citizens are kept safe from the flesh eating hordes scratching at the town's gates by a mega-corporation that has managed to pacify the walking dead and put them to work through electronic collars. Enter the Robinson family: frustrated housewife acquires zombie servant to keep up with the neighbors, meek husband fears/loathes zombie servant, loner son (aptly named Timmy) befriends zombie servant. Unfortunately this interesting and outlandish premise is all the film has to offer. The facsimile Norman Rockwell America presented is too obtusely plastic and ironic, and the zombie makeups are woefully weak, comprising of little more than a thick layer of gray greasepaint. There's an almost complete absence of gore, which is a shame seeing as how comedic horror flicks can get away with tons of hilariously exaggerated nastiness. This one probably looked great on paper, but didn't have the proper budget or art direction to be fully realized.