Pontypool

I'm kind of on the fence with this movie, honestly. This was definitely not your typical zombie movie, so please don't go into it expecting lots of blood and gore. Personally, I don't need a ton of special effects and non-stop action to make a movie enjoyable, but for some, this may be a deal breaker. Due to the setting being in a radio station, there was a lot of dialogue that at times I found to be a bit cheesy. Through the description provided by the callers, the viewer is able to visualize for themselves what is going on. I like that this movie makes you work your imagination in that regard. The reason behind the infection was really bizarre and I found it off-putting. The movie didn't make it believable and that kind of ruined it for me a little at the end. I'm glad I watched this movie, but it's not going to be my staple rotation.

"Just listen to me."

You wouldn't know it, but this little dialogue blip haunted me just long enough to know that, subsequent to viewing the trailer, McDonald's Pontypool would be an experience I would never forget. Just when cinema's zombie revival experiment begins to show signs of banality, we are given a gift from an ambitious director that, although certainly difficult to digest, is one the most compelling and original zombie in ages.

Working with truly terrifying source material, McDonald builds a fortress of tension out of, seemingly, nothing at all. Indeed, nearly the entirety of the film takes place within a radio station, and even then, within the confines of a modest sound booth. That said, it is a testament to the staggering talent of both the director and his team when I say that what is accomplished with so little is utterly unnerving. Even for minimalist cinema, this is a film that works with mere shadows, putting its faith in the audience to fill in the frightening details.

Pontypool is that rare horror film that grows more disturbing upon successive viewings. Given its plot, which I will absolutely not spoil, it is admittedly ironic that, the more you analyze and come to learn, the more creepy things become. It's a stunning achievement that I cannot applaud enough; it goes beyond mere psychological horror, nestling quietly in the voids of the uncanny and the abstract, and it will chill you to the bone.

Indeed, this film oozes a taut indy style that few mainstream features can replicate, all the way down to a genuinely sharp script that gives the impeccably chosen cast something intelligent to work with, especially Stephen McHaddy's, who's performance is the stuff of career breakouts.

It needs to be acknowledged that, yes, Pontypool is a zombie movie for people who don't want to watch the conventional zombie movie anymore at least those that aren't directed by Danny Boyle. And no, it doesn't necessarily require a patient or tolerant mind to enjoy the film. That said, this certainly isn't something that you would see greenlit by the heavyweight studios, and for good reason; it lacks the docu-mocku style that has become prevalent in the genre; nor is it a shock-fest; and it is completely devoid of recognizable names. But for those who have the opportunity to get their hands on McDonald's ingenious little gem, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better thinking man's horror film.

Buy Pontypool Now

Let me start by saying that I'm huge lover of zombies and as such I bought this film because the preview looked promising. I liked the movie and I'm glad I bought it, as opposed to renting it, because I'm not sure what just happened. (Also, I think I'd still be waiting for it from NetFlix) The filming quality is decent, as are all of the other elements of the film, but given the lack of a set variety it is apparent that this is a pretty low budget operation. If you want blood and guts this is not for you. This is one of the more thought provoking zombie films I've seen. (Whether it is due to confusion, true ingeniousness, or pretension, is up for debate.) I still don't really understand what causes zombies in this world. I would have given it four stars, but I know I tend to like things that many people don't care for. I recommend you see it if you like this type of movie, but you have to approach it with an open mind.

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** This review contains spoilers. **

Grant Mazzy is a shock jock who used to be big on the radio, but now is condemned to the purgatory of a small town local morning show. He wants to challenge people and incite a reaction like he used to, but his supervisor, Sydney Briar, is only concerned with the basics. Weird reports start coming in from various eye witnesses about riots outside of a doctor's office. Over time, the details come together and the picture starts to become clear: people have started to suddenly go insane and attack others. People are being eaten and killed out there. Their town has descended in to chaos and all they can do is try to report what they know, which isn't much. How long will they be safe holed up at the studio? What is really causing this frightening behavior in people?

I read the book this movie was based on and it was very strange and nonlinear. I didn't really know what to expect from the film version, but I braced myself for weirdness. The film is linear in its storytelling, but still has the ambiguity and odd feeling of the novel. The film is separated pretty clearly into 2 parts. The first part is simply establishing the characters and then throwing them into a crazy situation that they struggle to figure out. There are only three main characters: shock jock Grant Mazzy who is desperate to keep some of his edginess in a run of the mill job, Syndney Briar who is Grant's supervisor and sympathizes with him but also wants to keep the necessities in her show without alienating her audience, and Laurel-Ann Drummond who is the idealistic technical assistant and slightly enamored with Grant. The radio show goes on like normal for a little while until one of their reporters calls in terrified of a large crowd of people outside of a doctor's office, attacking and eating each other and gibbering incoherently. Then, thing hit close to home when their studio is attacked on all sides and Laurel-Ann becomes infected. They experience the horror first hand and try to not contract the disease themselves.

I really like the new concept of zombies in this film. The disease is a virus transmitted through speech and only exists in the English language. It manifests in three stages. In the first stage, the person gets stuck on a word and keeps repeating it over and over without even really realizing it. The second stage is where their ability to speak coherently at all fails and they get frustrating at not being understood by others. The third stage manifests in violence when the frustration gets to be too much to bear and the person with the virus has to attack and eat other people, usually one specific person whose speech they mimic until their victim is dead. The most frightening version of this in the film is when Laurel-Ann becomes infected and goes through all the stages in front of them. The way she continually throws herself against the glass of the sound booth to get at them with no concern for her own well-being is more frightening than a horde of zombies trying to get into the studio.

Three things worked extremely well for me in this film. One is the part where people are calling in and relaying the horrors they have seen to Grant. It's horrifying to hear and feel their terror without seeing what is causing it. The visuals we as the audience can conjure up in our minds are much more frightening than anything any filmmaker can put on the screen. This scene is quite disturbing and more effective than I thought it would be. The second is the claustrophobic setting. Except for the very beginning, the entire film takes place in the radio studio building with only 3 characters being the main focus. The studio itself is fairly small and gets even smaller when parts of it are inaccessible due to zombies. It makes it seem like their whole world is reduced to that small building (or just parts of it) because the world is no longer safe and the danger will eventually make its way to them. The third is the disease itself. It's so unique and weird, but is used as a commentary for our society. People in this film turn murderous when not understood, but language in American society is becoming more and more distorted and less important. The vast majority of people would rather watch a film than read a book and abhor watching foreign films because reading subtitles is too much of a chore. Language to a lot of people is reduced to 140 characters tweets, Facebook updates, and text speak. Discourse and real language is no longer a priority to our society when Jersey Shore is one of the most watched shows on TV.

I really like Pontypool. It is an unexpected film that is a great addition to the zombie genre. Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, and Georgina Reilly give great performances that really set this film apart from the shambling masses of zombies films. The only thing I didn't like about it was the very ending scene after the credits. It just served to confuse the audience. The story is undeniably unique and may not be for everyone, but I would encourage any zombie fan to give it a try.

Want Pontypool Discount?

The film spends the first five minutes explaining where the word "Pontypool" comes from and I still couldn't tell you right after I heard it. Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) is a fallen from grace radio newscaster who likes to philosophize his broadcasts to the dismay of his small Ontario town employer Sydney Briar (Lisa Houle). Laurel-Ann Drummond (Georgina Reilly) who screens calls and runs the boards likes Mazzy's style and sides with him in minor disputes with Sydney.

As Mazzy starts his broadcast the town goes viral in an "Impulse" (1984 Meg Tilly) type of way. What I disliked about the DVD cover description is that it gives you the cause of the infestation, which takes away from the fun of trying to figure it out. The production is shot rather modestly inside a radio station. This could become a zombie play, although the infected people are not true zombies even by our expanded movie definition.

The production has a unique plot and well played. It would definitely make for a conversation piece of anyone's zombie collection.

PARENTAL GUIDE: F-bomb, no sex. no violence. Some Blood.