Pontypool (McDonald, 2008)

[ayaa1977]

Synopsis: In the small town of Pontypool, Ontario, reports come to the morning team in a radio station about mobs of angry residents taking out to streets and starting violent bloody riots. But not knowing what's causing the infectious deadly symptoms, the host and his producer most figure it out before the rioters reach the station, or before they catch the symptom themselves.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/RsGPsbAd7Dc&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/RsGPsbAd7Dc&rel=1</a>

This film is a psychological horror which is set in a limited space, in fact it is exclusively set in that Radio station, so it is rely on fear of the unknown, you just hear for the most part the second hand narration for what is going on from eyewitnesses who call the station before they're gone. It is a very effective and chilling concept, and it is written in a very tight way that it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Half way through you discover what causing that and why it is inevitable that everyone will be exposed to this unique infection and it's a scary thought.

I can see why many people regard this film highly when they form their list for the year, 2009 was a very good year for horror films (Pontypool was released in Canada in 2008 but in the rest of world it came out in 2009), and although it is not my favorite of the year but it is definitely up there. The ending was not 100% satisfying to me, but that is because the rest of the film was so great and the ending was slightly not as powerful. It is a film that any horror buff should watch and possibly more than once to fully grasp it, and I give it 4/5.         

[madali]

Pontypool (McDonald, 2008)
IMDB Link

At first it seemed like it could be a great movie. Set inside a radio station with only three characters. The DJ is hosting a late night show. It’s a small town radio show and the content is not really that exciting. Things start changing when they get reports in with some strange happenings in the small town. Riots, people dying, the army getting involved, but no official news. It seems there is some kind of outbreak going on in the town and we, as the audience, only have the radio station point of view.

This is an excellent twist on the zombie/outbreak genre. We’re always smack in the middle of the action, but what would it feel like to be stuck in a radio station, getting calls, and trying to communicate it to the people?

But this is a Canadian film and Canadian films are generally not that good. So they can’t really handle that premise very well and eventually it starts sucking. The people seem to get infected by…words. That is, if they understand a certain concept, they get infected, and I soon realize that it is a message movie, probably about how information can affect people’s mindsets and manipulate them into violence, such as religion or war. Soon, the movie starts sucking, because the people do not seem to be acting realistic. I like the zombie genre because it is supposed to have people reacting realistically in an unrealistic situation. “Pontypool” has people acting unrealistically in an unrealistic situation, which kills the mood for me.

2/5