I would have watched a series with Stephen McHattie playing a small town DJ. With his cowboy hat on. Man he's good in this.
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MisterSaxon22 August 2009The zombie horror genre is an over-saturated one; and it takes something truly original to remind you why you loved them in the first place. "Pontypool" is such a movie. If you think this is going to be a straightforward zombie flick, it's time to think again.
The first half of the movie moves slowly but efficiently, as a radio host and the two women in his team begin to realise that something is most definitely wrong in their normally quiet little town. With the aid of some wonderful cinematography and an intelligent script, the audience is holed up inside the radio station as reports begin to filter through of mysterious events which are growing ever more threatening in nature.
The second half of the story, when the cause of the danger becomes known and our protagonists are forced to protect themselves, will either impress you (as it did me) or completely lose you. If you're lucky enough to experience the former, you'll realise that this movie has far more going for it than your standard 'mindless zombies run around eating brains' movie. It's a cerebral horror movie, designed to make you think as you watch.
The acting is solid throughout. Stephen McHattie (who had small parts in "Watchmen" and "A History Of Violence" amongst others, and whose voice and appearance reminds me of Lance Henriksen) is perfectly cast in the central role, and is backed by great performances by Lisa Houle and Georgina Reilly. As most of the early scenes of rising dread come from their characters listening to others calling the radio show, their reactions are essential to maintaining suspense and they do a fantastic job.
If you're a fan of more intelligent horror fare (such as the earlier work of David Cronenberg), you'd be advised to take a look here. It's a movie that defies expectations and provides a refreshing injection into a genre of movie that has become increasingly tired as of late.
Highly recommended. -
I really, really, hate to give anything away but many people seem to be missing the obvious... that words hold power, they are infectious and can lead to unintended consequences. Stephen McHattie steals the show as the cowboy hat wearing radio talk show host Grant Mazzy. Mazzy was recently fired from his real gig and is now the morning show in the small town of Pontypool. Between reports of school closings and traffic reports, Mazzy tries to provoke (wake up) his audience with charged language but Mazzy is about to learn that words have consequences. First he offends his producer and a casual joke turns out not to be funny when it hits too close to home. Then reports of mob violence start flooding the station. As the bloodshed escalates and threatens Mazzy and his morning crew they slowly learn the true nature of the threat and the power of their own words. Pontypool holds relevant lessons for us all. There is some blood and mild gore but the really scary part is how many Pontypool type zombies are already among us.
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ILostMyNameCanIHaveYours28 June 2010Pontypool is one of the few horror movie that used a little creativity and proves you don't need a high budget to a make horror film. The story circles around a local radio station and its crew of three people. As the day moves on they slowly start to here reports of violence happening all over the region. This includes riots, people killing each other and intervention from the Canadian Government. Soon they find themselves hiding in the station from the horror out side they are reporting. If that was not bad enough, they can't figure what's going on. Pontypool takes a very different and more effective way at trying to scare its audience. Most western horror these days seem to mainly focus on jump scares or brutal kill scenes alone. Pontypool on the other hand gives a few vague descriptions on what's actually going on out there. For most of the movie you really are just listening to a broadcast and testimonies of eye witness. This leaves the viewer having his own imagination working against him for a big chunk of the film. For me this was the most strongest for the first half of the film when we don't know what's causing the hysteria. I actually only have one real complaint which I felt the ending could have been better. I didn't hate the ending it just feels kind of weak compared to what we see earlier. I would go into more detail but that would results in some spoilers.
Overall it's a fun creepy horror movie that could be enjoyable for Halloween. I give it a few extra points for what they were able to pull off on a low budget and for an interesting experiment in horror.
Thats why I give this radio broadcast from hell an 8 out of 10. -
Samiam31 August 2009Pontypool is essentially a zombie flick, but it is the most inventive since Dawn of the Dead. Author/Screenwriter Tony Burgess, throws out a very scary 'What if' kind of idea which sustains the movie for a good hour. Unfortunately when the hour is up, chaos follows for the remaining twenty five minutes. It feels like the movie as a whole is trying to make a metaphor, or send out a message about humanity. However you choose to interpret it, you won't find greatness here, but you'll find something.
It starts off in the dead of Winter, in the town of Pontypool, Ontario. Grant Mimzy is the local radio man, operating with his team in a basement. One day, he hears from his man in the field (who apparently watches the town from his chopper), that a strange riot is taking place in town. The news is so bizarre that at first, Mimzy thinks it is a hoax. Eventually the scary truth emerges, a virus has broken out in Pontypool. This virus is not transmitted, through food, not through the air or physical contact. It is spreading through word of mouth. While hiding from the rest of the infected town, Mimzy and his crew must find a way to stop the virus before they themselves along with the rest of Canada becomes infected.
If I may digress for a moment, I'd like to point out how something can be hilarious in one context and very disturbing in another. The first symptom of the virus in Pontypool is sputtering gibberish, which will probably unsettle the audience. The same kind of gibberish, is sputtered by John Cleese in the Monty Python 'Inspector Tiger' skit, and it's funny.
When watching Pontypool, you kind of enjoy the disturbing feeling. This is how you can tell when a horror film is good, and up until the climax Pontypool is pretty good. For some reason, the filmmakers cannot, keep it together. They are clearly intent on having a non-cliché, unconventional climax. What they come up with, is as inexplicable as trigonometry to a first grader. Then it gets even worse, the film has no ending. Maybe the idea makes more sense in Burgess' novel format. Books can get away with stretching things out in ways that film cannot. As a movie, the Pontypool story is over-rushed in its conclusion
Movies like Pontypool are tricky to recommend because there are an equal number of ups and downs. It is up for the viewer to decide with rules the other out (the ups or downs). May as well try it. -
movieman_kev31 October 2012Stephen McHattie's mesmerizing performance as down-on-his-luck Radio talk show host, Grant Mazzy, bolsters an already intriguing premise that deals with a peculiar zombie outbreak that centers around linguistics in a way that I not only found interesting but the movie actually had me eagerly anticipating the sequel, but also making a beeline to get hold of both the books that originated their respective movies. That, my friend, is the sign of a good film. The only real trepidation the film caused me is the ending which I found awfully lackluster. Otherwise, the film caught my fancy.
Ps: Stick through the credits as the movie isn't truly over -
kngilber22 September 2008I saw this film at the Toronto film festival, and I must say it was superb. It's a zombie flick that isn't a zombie flick--it really breaks out of the genre. At times honestly hilarious and truly suspenseful at others, it was one of my top three films I saw at the festival. The IMDb synopsis doesn't do it justice. The main character loves to throw out references to linguistics and literary critics, and the "transmission" of the virus fits perfectly. Stephen McHattie did a fantastic job, as did Lisa Houle and Georgina Reilly. Even though the "we're stuck in a building surrounded by zombies" is a well-used setup, Pontypool is so different from most zombie movies that it doesn't feel hackneyed. Altogether, it's a totally fresh, exciting movie. If you can get your hands on it, watch it!
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rasecz22 March 2009One of the things the great Orson Welles is known for is a radio broadcast reporting on an alien invasion. Credulous folks did not see the hoax. Pontypool follows a similar line with Martians replaced by zombies and hoax by satire.
In my hierarchy zombie films are the cheapjack of cinema. Surprising then I would be watching one. Nonetheless I stayed to the end of Pontypool on the strength of its various non-zombie elements.
First, the film brought to mind the radio days of yore, before TV arrived to pollute our living rooms. The evening serials for children with voices and sound effects elicited an imagery of thrilling adventures and exciting conflicts of good versus evil. Would not miss a single episode. In this there was a counterexample to the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words.
Second, the core conceit of a zombie-inducing disease transmitted by a word, or words, ties in nicely with the viral memes of Dawkins. (See his talk at TED for a short explanation.) If the word is mightier than the sword, here a word is more virulent than a bomb. The zombie state is a metaphor for anti-social acts that otherwise normal people are led to commit because their minds have been contaminated.
Third, the self-deprecating humor. The bits about the poisoning of the public airwaves. The chopper-riding reporter in the middle of a blinding snow storm reporting on the traffic. The irritating language tics -- you know -- of some, here captured by endless zombie repetitiveness and the tendency of the zombies to chew their own tongues into a bloody mass. In places the film elevates itself to satire and laughing at the silliness of the explicit plot happens often.
Finally, the superb performance of Stephen McHattie as the morning radio talk show host of the small AM 660 CLSY station in Pontypool. If there is a single reason to watch this film it is McHattie.
The film is beautifully economical. The entire action, except for the opening scene, takes places in a radio station. As such the film is mostly words. In that it is self-referential: a film about a day at a radio station's studio that is a purveyor of words. I would not be surprised to find Pontypool reach the level of cult film. -
I remember purchasing this book back in 2008 because it was a Canadian zombie story that takes place in a little nowhere Ontario town called Pontypool. The back of the book had me laughing and intrigued by the description.
A virus. Flesh eating zombies. A body count in the millions has decimated Ontario's population. What if you woke up and began your morning by devoting the rest of your life to a murderous rampage, a never-ending cannibalistic spree? And what if you were only one of thousands who shared the same compulsion? This novel depicts just such an epidemic. It's the compelling, terrifying story of a devastating virus.
I will not tell you how you catch it so as not to include spoilers, but once it has you, it leads you on a strange journeyinto another world where the undead chase you down the streets of the smallest towns and largest cities.
If you are expecting a night of the living dead style film... this is not it. This movie does a fantastic job of drawing you into the world of the characters, their relationships and everything falling apart around them; you are not an outside observer. You are for all intensive purposes just another Pontypool citizen wondering "Wiskey-Tango-Foxtrot".
This movie is a great treat for four reasons 1) The focus on the actors as the actors were perfectly cast. You may recognize an actress from the recent release of Dark Room 2) The choice to follow the "Aliens" model of never placing the source of "fear and unease" front stage. By not letting you in on the whole thing and only providing glimpses, your imagination will take the scenes further than any expensive CGI ever could. 3) The writing and angle of the movie. You feel like you are part of the movie as you only know what the main actors know... nothing more! 4)The intro and the voice of the main actor really pull you in like a warm sedative as you spiral downward into the insanity of your own imagination.
Enjoy... we did! -
Knoedelkop28 June 2012Indeed, Pontypool is one of those movies that will appeal to a certain number of people, but it's just not for everyone. However, it does feature some refreshingly new twists and turns to the classical zombie-infestation-overflows-a-village horror story. These new twists and differences are beautifully explained during the movie, and won't leave you with any questions at the end, something that doesn't happen often enough in this genre.
The acting by Stephen McHattie and Lisa Houle is decent enough, especially for a horror movie. Especially the first part of the movie, where the tension is built up, relies for the most part on their acting and they pull it off nicely. The camera-work is good but nothing special, the setting is dark but what can you expect from this genre of film!
All in all, I believe Pontypool stands out of the bulk of today's horror movies. It won't make it to be an all time classic of the genre, but it's a nice movie to watch (atleast for once), especially if you like a somewhat mysterious atmosphere and less blood and gore than is usual for a zombie movie. If you, on top of that, try to really comprehend the new twists and turns and the explanation for the zombie infestation and use your imagination, this film will leave you wondering and ensure you'll have had a good time.
*First review ever* -
BA_Harrison23 July 2010In director Bruce McDonald's decidedly unconventional horror film Pontypool, certain words of spoken English carry a virus that is transmitted to the listener only when they are comprehended; the infected person then develops strange speech patterns, violent tendencies, and attempts to further spread the disease by talking to others.
Canadian 'Shock Jock' DJ Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) is hosting his early morning talk-radio show when an outbreak of the virus occurs in the nearby town of Pontypool; as reports come in about sudden riots and inexplicable mob scenes, Mazzy and his radio crew, producer Sydney Briar (Lisa Houle) and assistant Laurel-Ann (Georgina Reilly), slowly begin to realise the awful truth about their situation.
Pontypool has the kind of unique, thought-provoking premise that would usually demand several viewings in order for me to get a firm grip on and form solid opinions about precisely what has occurred; what a shame then that the single radio station setting, the stilted dialogue, and stage-like execution aren't anywhere near enthralling enough for me to want to repeat the experience in a hurry.
The more pretentious of horror fans will no doubt defend the film regardless of its rather monotonous nature, but I guess I'll just have to be content with my initial, perhaps somewhat basic understanding of the film and get back to my traditional (and, more importantly, fun) zombie flicks—you know... the sort where you actually see the threat rather than just hear it described over the airwaves. -
Sovereign_x200022 February 2011Pontypool was an amazing film for a number of reasons.The story pays a respectful homage to horror greats like Night of the Living Dead and 28 Days later without ever becoming cliché. The approach to the mass "infection" was something that I never saw coming. The acting was excellent and I got the genuine impression I was listening to talk/news radio. The authenticity of the radio broadcast and culminating events were enough to actually draw me into the anxiety that the characters felt,which says a lot considering the 2-dimensional feel of the majority of movies I have seen as of late. I highly recommend this movie to any real sci-fi/horror fan that is fed up with the standard fair.Also, watch the final frames after the credits! Great job. 10/10
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I avoided Pontypool for a long time mistaking it for a conventional zombie movie but it absolutely is not. Pontypool is a twist on both the zombie concept and the way the story is told which leaves a great deal to the audience's imagination. The lead actor is charismatic and has an incredible voice for radio and the professional chemistry with his producer is really exciting to watch. There is the occasional cliche and needless, clumsy exposition but there is a huge amount of originality which places this well into the upper echelons of psychological horror films. It's also very funny in places.
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wwarby20 December 2012For the first half of the movie I thought the basic premise - a small group of staff isolated in a radio station and learning about the outbreak of a virus in the outside world through the airwaves - was solid, even if the execution was poor. That's an idea that could have looked great on paper, but would have needed stellar dialogue to compensate for the total absence of action; instead we get dull, rambling conversation between a DJ and his producer, interspersed with calls from the outside world that don't quite seem to drive the plot forward in the way that they should.
A little over half way through is where it really comes apart. They discover that the virus is transmitted by the speaking of certain infected words. Yes, *words*. Only English ones though, apparently. I couldn't have been more incredulous if they had discovered the method of transmission was for a victim's feet to turn into hairy sharks and tickle the virus onto people with their shark moustaches. Seriously.
Even if you find a way to get on board with the idea of a virus that transmits itself by infecting a spoken language, there's little to like here. There's very little action or excitement, the characters are annoying the story doesn't really go anywhere. Give it a miss. -
Pontypool, pontypool, pontypool. . . Say the word - or any word that sticks with you - and you may understand it and the understanding will infect you with the virus that is going around in Pontypool Ontario. At the screening I attended the audience was right with it, listening, reacting, hanging in there with local radio station politics being set-up as a term of endearment - perhaps honey - may have triggered a psychological zombie state and the question is how to keep the scary people from breaking down the sound proof glass. The performances are the focus and bring the movie to life, disproving the usual Hollywood argument of show-don't-tell. If you are still capable of being intrigued by ideas then see Pontypool. I suspect M. Night Shymalan might have read the same book Pontypool Changes Everything by Tony Burges (despite the name and interest in words, apparently not related to 'Nadsat' language creator Anthony Burgess; needs one more 's'). If you didn't like The Happening, there are no guarantees here. I liked it, but I do think this movie is more satisfying and certainly demonstrates the impact of the old Aristotelian unities of time, place and conflict. Very good movie, but I give you fair warning that it is also interesting.
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lewiskendell28 August 2010"Do you really want to provide a genocide with elevator music?"
This is certainly one of the most unique movies that I've seen this year. There's no doubt about that.
I give Pontypool massive props for putting it's own spin on the zombie/virus genre. We see the story unfold through the eyes of a few people at a radio station, and we get no more information than they do. They don't have many answers, and neither do we. The story started off pretty slow, but there are some seriously tense and creepy moments that happen as we hear what's going on in the outside world. Eventually, the radio station itself is no longer the safe place it initially seemed to be. virtually none of the violence and little of the gore happens on-screen, but it all makes sense within the scenario.
Pontypool's main weakness is that when the answers do start coming, they're a little too ambitious and "different". I'm all for variety and anything that dares to be more creative than the standard old zombies, but the story here gets more muddled as it goes on, and the explanations aren't really communicated clearly. Perhaps we were expected to read between the lines, and I had a nagging feeling that some knowledge of the political situation in the part of Canada where this movie was set would have given me a bit more clarity.
I give Pontypool an A- for effort and originality, but a C- for execution. With a few changes to the story, this could have been brilliant. As it stands, it's flawed, but still worth watching if you like your horror low-key and you're looking for something other than the same old thing. -
SnoopyStyle16 February 2014Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) is a grumpy shock jock on radio in the small town of Pontypool. He runs across a crazy lady in the snow storm who seems to be speaking gibberish and then disappears. As he does his program with Sydney Briar (Lisa Houle) and producer Laurel-Ann Drummond (Georgina Reilly), strange local news start coming in. People are turning into violent maniacs, and it seems to be spreading through the use of language.
This is an interesting variation on the modern zombie from director Bruce McDonald and writer Tony Burgess. It starts like a modern day 'War of the Worlds' radio broadcast. It's an intriguing start. When the disease gets to the radio station, it turns into a small zombie horror movie. I do have some question about the logic of the spread of the disease. And the resolution isn't thrilling and causes a lot of head scratching. Also I don't know what the brown-faced group is suppose to be, but it definitely isn't funny. -
christopher-underwood2 March 2012I thoroughly enjoyed this and was completely taken by surprise. My DVD box has a quote across the top, 'The Best Zombie Film Of The Year' and this is probably both correct and most misleading. As others have mentioned it is best to go into this not expecting rampaging and bloodthirsty zombies, but to allow the very unusual and original film work it's magic. Stephen McHattie is outstanding in the central role and most convincing as he (and we!) struggle too interpret information received. This is far removed from being a 'sit back and wallow' movie and I certainly found myself on the edge of my seat thrilled, perturbed and anxious to work out just what was going on. Highly recommended.
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Diggler3124 August 2009Pontypool is the story of a radio host and his crew that hear of an outbreak of a virus or some sort of mass hysteria within the town of Pontypool. Locked up inside the station they keep on getting reports of people turning violent and killing one another.
The movie itself was shot on a relatively low budget, though you would not seem to notice as it is very professionally shot. The acting I felt was really good for the first half though as the tension rose (and by god it was tense as a piano wire!) the acting started to falter.
I need to read the book, which I have a copy on the way. Maybe it will also make a bit of sense as the film seemed to have a couple of odd bits.
Overall I enjoyed this, it had me on edge for most of the film, unluckily some of the acting later on took away the dread factor for me.
I give this a 6-10 -
constantgardner21 June 2009My husband and I watched this last night. Excellent movie. Well done and I imagine the costs of filming were not that great and this should smack some other movie makers as the thing to do. Scary. Suspenseful. Thought provoking. We really enjoyed it and it was not predictable. Be sure to watch past the credits. As usual, another independent film outweighs the crap put out in the mainstream. And, maybe there is also a lesson that good acting can be more important than expensive sets, props and special effects. And, amazingly, no shameless plugs for advertising. No hidden political agendas. There was no needless action or violence. There was no need for gratuitous and pointless sex scenes to keep audience interest.
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Vinzi12 October 2010I haven't read all the reviews here, so I don't know if anyone has picked up on this interesting detail, but I am going to base my review on that anyway. I'm not going to summarize the plot again, I am just going to point out a few details, which might give this movie a little more depth, and makes it deserve a little more credit than your average run-of-the-mill zombie flick.
Somewhere along the movie, we see a semi-wide shot with the protagonists in the background, and the focus being on a book lying inconspicuously on a table in the foreground. The book is of course "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson. For those who haven't read the book, it deals, among other topics, with the notion that drugs, viruses and religions are fundamentally and structurally the same thing, namely "self-replicating parasitic information" (paraphrased from the German Wikipedia entry for Snow Crash). Also, communication is seen as a sort of "virus" enabling the indoctrination of people.
Rings a bell yet ?
There is a short quote by the author William S. Burroughs (the author of the controversial "Naked Lunch" and collaborator on the movie of the same title) that says "Language is a virus from outer space" ... to which Laurie Anderson, US performance artist and collaborator with Burroughs, adds the lyrics "that is why I'd rather hear your name than see your face". The quote is never uttered verbatim in the movie itself, but it kept floating around my head while I was watching it.
Take, for example, any group of followers of some religious belief that are "speaking in tongues" in a group. Don't they have an uncanny resemblance to the "conversionalists" (as they are called in the credits) of this movie? Vacant faces, incoherent babbling, raised arms, repeating words or phrases in a drone -Father thou art in Heaven...- ... minus the blood, of course ...
***
I'm usually not a big fan of Zombie movies. I just don't see the point in watching putrefying corpse in gray make-up shuffling around in torn clothes and dentally ripping the faces off the barely living with gusto.
I did enjoy 'Zombieland' though, because it gave the genre a little kick in the butt. Maybe, because of the "different approach" also present in Pontypool, and with my background as an language student (although that was a long time ago), I also liked this movie quite a bit.
Of course there are the gory scenes, but probably not enough of them for the real Zombie-Movie-Aficionado to be satisfied, so this explains some of the negative reviews on here. This is not necessarily a "simple" and "rip your guts out" horror flick. Some background knowledge *is* required to fully appreciate it
I'm not trying to sound arrogant or elitist, but I could indeed enjoy the movie intellectually, not only because the acting is quite good from all major characters involved, and the story keeps you on your toes, but also for its (sometimes tongue-in-cheek) subtext that language can be abused to make people *sick*, *dependent*, *submissive*, etc.
***
Even when you're not a big Zombie fan like myself, but you do like languages and the study of them, you might want to give this little gem a try. -
poolandrews4 September 2010Pontypool is set in the small town of Pontypool in Ontario in Canada & starts as local radio station DJ Grany Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) drives into work during a snowstorm, it's winter & it's dark & cold & Mazzy hates the winter. Mazzy starts his show, his producer Sydney Briar (Lisa Houle) listens & looks on while his technician Laurel-Ann (Georgina Reilly) pushes the buttons that need pushing. Disturbing reports of strange incidents start coming into the station, reports & eyewitness accounts of riots where people chant random words & phrases while attacking other people & property. Neither Mazzy or Sydney know what to make of the reports or whether to even believe them but they soon find out the truth for themselves that an infection is spreading that turns people into mindless zombies...
This Canadian production was directed by Bruce McDonald & is a film that many seem to be raving about lavishing all sorts of praise on it, however I see things very differently to those people & thought Pontypool was boring tripe. For a start at over an hour & a half it's far too long, the first forty minutes is slow going with nothing more than the performances to maintain ones interest. Sure Mazzy tries to inject a little life into his boring radio show, from missing cats to what the weather is doing but ultimately I was bored & not captivated. An off-beat comic horror Pontypool presents an infection that is spread by certain words, now I don't know about anyone else I just found that concept extremely hard to relate to & like. I suppose if your looking for a deeper message then you could say Pontypool is a look at how the media can use words & phrases to infect us, to poison us, to manipulate us & change us but I actually think that's giving the film a bit too much credit. I seem to get the impression that a lot of people like Pontypool because it's different which it is, because it's original which, again, I suppose it is & that it's intelligent which I certainly don't think it is. Just because something is different doesn't mean it's great, Pontypool is a good example of this. The somewhat muddled plot has it's problems too, how do people get infected? Is it when they say a word or when they hear a word? What happens to them? Do they need to feed on other words or what? It's all rather vague & Pontypool finally descends into complete gibberish as Mzzy tries to, well, confuse everyone as he tries hard to make people not understand him (including us) but talking nonsense. Apart from it's quirkiness & a few nice lines here & there I can't say I liked Pontypool at all & found it a very frustrating, boring & unrewarding experience.
Set almost entirely in one single location Pontypool might have made a decent stage play but as a film I found it repetitive. The idea of experiencing an outbreak of a new infection through the ears of a confused & scared radio station employees over phone-ins, police reports & eye witness accounts is sound as an idea but talk about stretching it out. To be honest the likes of Night of the Living Dead (1968) & Return of the Living Dead (1985) are more credible, a zombie virus spread through certain words? A bizarre concept for sure that some seem to like & they are entitled to their opinion just as I am to mine. Forget about any proper horror, I didn't think it was scary although there is one jump moment near the start & there's no blood or gore either to speak of. I suppose some will find Pontypool tense as we hear the action unfold for the first forty five minutes rather than see it just like the radio station crew but again my argument is I just found it dull & boring.
With a supposed budget of about $1,500,000 this looks decent enough & has good production values but I still didn't like it. The acting is solid, Stephen McHattie in particular carries large chunks of the film on his own.
Pontypool is a film that seems to getting rave reviews but so what? If I didn't like it I didn't like it & no amount of people who write reviews online saying how good & scary Pontypool is are going to change my mind. I guess I am just offering an alternate view to the popular one, personally I didn't find it scary, refreshing or original at all but that's just me. A sequel, Pontypool Changes (2012) is listed as being in development. -
As with many film genres, the psychological horror film becomes increasingly in danger of being driven into the proverbial ground under a staggering mountain of cliché and repetition, with frustratingly few alternatives to the same old spin on the same old story. However, with Pontypool, Canadian independent director Bruce McDonald manages to not only breathe fresh life into an increasingly withering genre, but concoct a sliver of something altogether unexpected and new in the process. Adapted from screenwriter Tony Burgess' own novel about a small Ontario town overrun by zombies infected by a virus spread through the English language, McDonald's impressively lo-fi sheen proves the perfect fit for a zombie horror film brave enough to engage in notions of semiotics (dismantling the English language and forms of verbal communication) and philosophical reflections on interpersonal communication and survival situation ethics, while somehow managing to remain darkly comedic in the process. Yet, inherent complexities and offbeat humour aside, Pontypool remains a gruesomely effective and taut piece of psychological horror, beautifully paced and peppered with chillingly detached bursts of visceral violence and gore, making it almost essential viewing for any horror film fans.
Taking notes from abiding genre classics such as Alien, McDonald keeps the viewer daringly in the dark throughout the film, offering only tantalizing snippets of information from outside news broadcasts to contextualize the viral outbreak and horror unfolding outside the secluded setting. This focalization alongside the protagonists serves not only to draw the viewer in further in terms of alignment with the characters, but perpetuates a noxious, continual sense of claustrophobia, amplifying the creeping terror to almost unbearable levels. Far from balking at the challenge of keeping a single enclosed setting interesting, McDonald practically drinks in every last inch, managing to make the radio studio appear alternatingly oppressively tight and eerily vast - a masterful exploration of subjective relations to space. Similarly, Claude Foisy's eerie dirge of a spectral musical score perfectly compliments the film's crushingly atmospheric veneer.
And yet McDonald refuses to let genre conventions stifle an impish sense of fun, as the film's grisly realism is counterbalanced by unexpected moments of irrelevant silliness (a man dressed up as Osama Bin Laden appears on Mazzy's radio show with no explanation given), tastefully melding the zombie horror and black comedy genres to create a remarkably unprecedented result. And while the film may not be a flawless entry into the genre (Burgess's script offers the occasionally wooden patches of dialogue, and the daringly ambiguous ending may not be for all tastes), such a unique spin on age old narrative tropes deserves recognition and plaudits from all capable of stomach the material, both in terms of jarring violence and troublesomely complex thematic and philosophical overtones.
Being such a human drama centered piece, without the right cast, the low budget and static location of McDonald's film may have started to fragment, but thankfully the collection of primarily new actors prove more than up for the job. Perpetually underrated character actor Stephen McHattie shines in a rare lead role, giving a remarkably balanced performance as sardonic radio broadcaster Grant Mazzy. Showcasing both a deliciously dry comedic deadpan and potential for raw, dramatic charisma, McHattie deftly carries both the light and dark aspects of the film with ease. Lisa Houle gives an impressively measured performance as Mazzy's harried co-worker, managing to defy 'damsel in distress' stereotypes by being a fully capable and independent individual, yet with an appealing vulnerability equally driving home the credibility of her character. Georgina Reilly is a powerfully commanding presence in a far too brief role, similarly essaying a fully convincing human being forced to succumb to petrifying circumstances. And Hrant Alianak is a delightfully bizarre presence as a quirky doctor who may or may not possess crucial information regarding the viral outbreak.
Easily worth seeing for its unconventional blending of the intellectually complex, chillingly horrifying and bleakly humorous, Pontypool achieves a cinematic gut punch, delivering a reaction unlike most contemporaries and certainly proving far more memorable. While certainly not an appropriate initiation for those unfamiliar with zombie horror, the film's unique hybridity and visceral emotional effect is sure to both sate and fascinate fans of the genre, making Pontypool near indispensable viewing.
-8/10 -
darklydreamingrahu7 August 2011Let me start by saying I liked Pontypool. It's intelligent and the scenes are visceral and carried on the shoulders of its limited cast. The messages about communication and the media are subtle yet clear, and the static location is actually refreshing to a degree. Not to mention I love good zombie films. I liked zombie films before they were reintroduced and re-oversaturated the market. I rated 28 Days Later a 10/10 and 28 Weeks Later a 9/10 and I stand by those reviews. Pontypool is not either of those movies by a long shot. I respect a thinking man's zombie movie and it is what saves Pontypool from being a complete disaster. The setting is great and feels realistic, the writing is above most films of this type, McHattie carries this movie on his shoulder, and the concepts are refreshing and original. Unfortunately, this is not the great zombie film some of these reviews have raved about. People love to give extra credit for effort with low budget productions and I can respect that. People love the underdogs and particularly when they don't completely suck. But the fact is Pontypool suffers from a list of avoidable problems that stops it from greatness.
I'm all for new concepts. I can even dig a zombie-like virus getting spread through the English Language and the understanding of certain words that trigger the effects. The problem here is in the presentation of the idea, not the idea itself. The "revelation" is introduced poorly and unconvincingly. Then when the film attempts to explain itself, it seems like it stumbles over logic. It felt as if the last 45 minutes or so was trying to grasp some "AHA" moment that never happened. While the basic idea is conveyed, when the script attempts to go deeper into the mythology, it struggles to produce convincing logistics. What you are left with is a series of half-ideas built on an interesting premise and covered in satire. Films like this come off more as pretentious than brilliant. It thinks it is a classic but it's not. The lack of visible zombies is also a minor complaint but that could have been overcame by a more thought-out plot.
As it stands, Pontypool is a decent flick. The acting all around is superb and what little direction is necessary is done competently. The concept is original and the messages aren't too preachy. Unfortunately, for a film that relies on the script and intelligence, it falls short in effectively moving the plot. Some scenes are overly long and the explanations of what is going on are convoluted and unbelievable. The offbeat comedy is decently done but not enough to move the film into the realm of dark comedy. Some of the reviews are accurate in saying this is a cerebral horror movie that requires you to think as you watch. The problem was i thought a little too much and was left unsatisfied with the results. I recommend Pontypool to horror fans that can appreciate a slow moving plot and suspense that is built through dialogue almost exclusively. Also, Pontypool is nowhere near as intelligent as some of these reviewers want to make it. I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of them came into this low-budget movie with low expectations and were pleasantly surprised it wasn't horrible and actually made them think a bit. That doesn't make it classic cinema or supremely intelligent. It is what it is. A slow moving and decent horror film carried by the actors and an excellent single idea expanded into a full length movie. 6/10 -
michaelthompsonmcgill16 December 2011This film had some rave reviews, but why ? I truly wanted to like this movie, but could not find a thing in it worth liking, I found it a chore to stay with, and although I waited it out to see how it ended, I honestly could not wait for the end.
The film was like watching paint dry.
I admit I don't normally watch this type of film, I just thought I would watch something different in the run up to Christmas.
A guy on a local radio station, being made to realise that something is happening out on the streets.
And this was it.
This was one big boring waste of time as far as I am concerned.