REVIEW: Pontypool

Pontypool is directed by Bruce McDonalds who has mostly worked in Television as of late though ha s had a few movies in his past. The film itself is an infection and outbreak film that has a few unique twists you won’t see coming if you haven’t read spoilers and I felt were executed amazingly well. It was written for the big screen by Tony Burgess who is the author of the novel it is based upon, “Pontypool Changes Everything.” Now while this isn’t strictly a zombie film it is close enough where I felt a review should be done. The ‘infection’ itself does not spread the way a normal virus does nor does it bring back the dead. It does however spread QUICKLY like a regular zombie virus would AND the infected act very similar to zombies. I don’t count this film as a zombie movie however it’s close enough to style and concept that I felt it worth doing a review to suggest to you.

The film focuses on an ex-shock radio host named Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) who has fallen from grace from the major radio networks in Canada. He recently was fired from a large show that he was doing and now is stuck working in Pontopool, Ontario where he considers each piece of news to be nothing but painful to have to report as there is nothing overly controversial that he can focus on. His entire way to receive ratings is to get people worked up and his new show follows the same formula as much as possible even though he clearly on a much tighter leash than he is used to.

We enter on a day that appears to be perfectly normal for the station but soon realize that something is happening. First a few reports of random violence and murder it quickly builds up as there is an increase of reports building up. The problem is that with the reports we are hearing as the hysteria increases is that there is an increase in people not making sense with what they are saying by either repeating themselves or just not making sense. People are angry, confused, scared, and its becoming nothing but hectic in the streets and soon surrounding the station as well which come to a head as people in the station itself also stop making sense. Grant in a random train of thought comes up with the solution to the problem and it’s one that is completely terrifying in nature. Language itself is what is causing the epidemic.

How do you protect yourself from language itself? If you want to warn people of what is causing the problem you need to talk. Coming up with a cure for the disease? Also need to talk. We do learn that it is (at first at least) only the English language that is causing this but what is humanity without communication. With the majority of the film being shot within a radio station with a small cast we are given a claustrophobic cut off from the world feeling for the entire film. It has a very post apocalyptic vibe that follows us through the film and progressively gets worse which is amazing to pull off when we know that the majority of the world aside from this small location is still safe from any form of the outbreak. It’s a taste of what could be to come and is terrifying in how it is portrayed. For a mostly independent film it is mind blowing at the production quality of every aspect of the movie.

Available at Amazon.