Fido: Forget World War II — the defining moment in America’s 20th Century history came when space particles reanimated the corpses of the dead. Now it’s the 1950s and society exists in areas enclosed by fence from zombie “wild zones”, while within, zombies controlled by blinking dog-collars tame their brain-eating fever and make them suitable for domestic work.

Enter the Robinson family. They’re the only ones on the block without domestic zombies, until new neighbors — the Bottoms — move in. Mr. Bottom (Henry Czerny) is head of security at Zomcom, the corporation that domesticated the brain-munching legions. Mrs. Robinson (Carrie-Anne Moss), in an attempt to fit in, tells her new neighbors (who have a dozen) that they have a single zombie (Billy Connolly). This doesn’t much go over well with Mr. Robinson, who refuses to admit that he’s afraid of zombies (a traumatic experience in his past), and is overly concerned with making sure he and his family have proper funerals. His neglected son Timmy, meanwhile, finds in the new zombie pet (which he names “Fido”) the father figure he’s never really had. Everything’s perfect … until Fido’s collar starts to malfunction …

The movie is no Shaun of the Dead, but it is witty and funny and a little … erm, sick … and totally worth the time to stick it on your Netflix queue. From the rebellion of a son (and his mom backing him up) telling his dad that he doesn’t want a funeral (he’d prefer to be zombified, thank you very much) to the possibility of his mother getting knocked up by the house zombie, which, oddly, if far more emotionally available than her husband.

Good zombie flick. Check it out!

Also check out Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party, which I’m watching right now. You might not recognize his name, but you’d recognize his face, I’m sure. The film is documentarish, following Tobolowsky on the day leading up to his birthday party, focused primarily on the stories he tells of the life-altering events he’s encountered: from being denied dinner twice (across the world!) by Ronald Reagan, to engaging in a cold war with a dolphin, and jumping in a tank full of so-called-vegetarian pirahnas, it’s an enjoyable flick. Check it out.