Pontypool

Indeed, 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*

Stephen 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

One 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 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.

Pontypool 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.