Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

lojitsu A-Z Horror Movie of the Day..."Pontypool" (NR - 2008 - Canada)Sub-Genre: Monster/Zombie My Score: 6.6Cast=5 Acting=8 Plot=9 Ending=7 Story=7 Scare=7 Jump=4 F/X=7 Monster=8 Gore=4A radio host interprets the possible outbreak of a deadly virus which infects the small Ontario town he is stationed in. "Do we really want to provide a genocide with elevator music?" This plot is so neat that it makes the movie a joy to watch. There are holes in the story, but it's still not bad. The thing that bugged me the most was the lack of gore. Think about it as more of a cerebral zombie flick...most of the film you just hear what's going on and fill in the blanks with your imagination.

goldenarrow-99823 "God bug" - mad scientist Dr Mendes Wow! What a pleasant surprise this was.Or rather, what a disturbing, unsettling and downright creepy surprise it was.Never have I seen a 'zombie' film with such little violence and blood. In fact I can't recall any actual violence that I saw, other than poor Laurel-Ann trying too hard to get close to Mazzy. Even when Grant & Sydney have to beat one of the 'conversationalists' to death, we only see them stamping away from just above the victim.Interesting that they are to be called 'conversationalists' rather than 'zombies' according to director Bruce McDonald;"There are three stages to this virus. The first stage is you might begin to repeat a word. Something gets stuck. And usually it's words that are terms of endearment like sweetheart or honey. The second stage is your language becomes scrambled and you can't express yourself properly. The third stage you become so distraught at your condition that the only way out of the situation you feel, as an infected person, is to try and chew your way through the mouth of another person." Interview with Bruce McDonald I accept this but only to a certain extent. From stage one to two it's a credible step. But from scrambled words to eating faces is one biiiiiiiiiig leap!As is often the case with a good film, it got me thinking. The idea that a virus (or whatever you want to call it) can be transmitted through words is really novel but how did it originate....?Wonder if it's not biological/chemical weapons that whoever is the US's current number one enemy possesses but a toxic vocabulary?Or maybe nobody has yet mastered it and the Pentagon are working on it. They will have me 'removed' for going public and blowing the whistle on their little scam.

songod-95003 Upon watching this film for a second time I realized just how much it reminded me of the famous "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast Orson Welles aired in 1939. With just the medium of radio he successfully created an atmosphere of panic so real people listening (who had not caught the beginning where it stated that the following was a radio drama) fled their homes thinking aliens from Mars had invaded Grovers Mill, New Jersey! "Pontypool" takes place almost exclusively inside a small radio station in the town of Pontypool, Ontario Canada. What starts out as an ordinary day slowly morphs into an extraordinary situation told almost entirely through eye witness call ins, a weather reporters sky view, and eventually the towns doctor who has a preposterous yet undeniably believable theory as to what is going on.Director Bruce McDonald and writer Tony Burgess expertly create an atmosphere of frustration, disbelief, and panic all within the confines of a single set. Never once did I feel limited by not seeing what was going on outside. Like the aforementioned "War of the Worlds" radio drama, the situation unfolded by audio reports coupled with the unexpected entrance of the doctor.For blood and gore fans there is a scene that is both shocking and heartbreaking. But this film is generally not for that audience... unless they have good imaginations and can be taken in by "eyewitness" accounts of brutality.The other part of the tale that is refreshing is that the antagonism that is affecting people is not a virus nor is it the dead come back to life. No... it is something... as the doctor explains... preposterous yet undeniably believable.The casting of Stephen McHattie as the past his prime but not ready to go quietly DJ was a masterstroke. He brings to life Grant Mazzy in a way I cannot imagine another doing as perfectly. He mixes a jaded world view with pathos, anger, humor, and a just the right touch of madness as all around him slides into madness.It is to be noted that in the IMDb trivia section, the writer admits to being heavily influenced by Orson Welles legendary radio drama when conceiving first the book, then radio broadcast, and finally film. It shows, as stated, and it shows gloriously.

sol- Originally conceived as a film with no visuals (an idea later abandoned), this claustrophobic thriller focus on a maverick radio talk show host who continues to keep broadcasting while outside reports suggest that a deadly virus has infected his small town. 'Pontypool' has gained a reputation as a unique spin on the zombie genre, but it is actually far closer to the likes of 'The Crazies' than most zombie movies as the virus interferes with speech and causes its victims to become aggressive as their speech becomes incoherent. It is a novel idea, and while the film leaves open several unanswered questions in terms of how words become infected and how the infection spreads, it is creepy to sit through all the same. Claude Foisy's music is appropriately disquieting, the attention to sound is great and the filmmakers use the single location well. Especially remarkable is how director Bruce McDonald relies on 'the implied'. We see little violence, with it left up to our imagination when we hear horrific outsider reports from a "helicopter" journalist and listeners phoning in. Not all of the plot developments work (such as the convenient introduction of a doctor to explain the virus), but generally speaking, the film sends a tingle down the spine regardless of how much one understands all of it. Stephen McHattie is also excellent as the spunky radio host who gradually progresses from projecting scepticism to genuine fear.