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John Allman

If you’ve ever wandered the aisles at the video store or surfed the DVR pay-per-view options and seen a bunch of movies that you’ve never heard of, chances are John has watched them. Why? He loves movies. All kinds of movies. Good, bad, so-bad-they’re good, even the truly unwatchable ones. He mostly loves horror and science-fiction and drive-in exploitation movies that most upstanding model citizens wouldn’t dare watch. Then he writes up his thoughts so you can decide - watch, don’t watch or avoid at all costs. Sometimes he even gets to talk to the cool folks who make some of your favorite films.

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Pontypool

Posted Feb 7, 2010 by John Allman

Updated Feb 7, 2010 at 05:43 PM

Pontypool
Genre: Horror/Zombie
Directed by: Bruce McDonald
Run time: 96 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Format: DVD

The Lowdown: There are rules to surviving a zombie apocalypse.

Stay hidden. Aim for the head. And most importantly, don’t get bitten.

But what if a zombie virus wasn’t transmitted through a bite? What if you could get infected just by asking for help or screaming out, “What the hell is going on?”

“Pontypool” is that rare treat that horror fans often long for, but rarely receive. It’s an original take on a well-worn, but enjoyable, premise.

It also happens to be incredibly well done – both in terms of technical craftsmanship and the writing and acting, most of all the acting.

This Canadian import asks for patience, and director Bruce McDonald more than rewards those who enjoy a visual feast as well as a verbal one. And “Pontypool” is all about the words.

The film opens with an aging shock jock en route to his morning radio show. It’s snowing like hell, and Grant Mazzy (the electrifying Stephen McHattie) comes upon a woman out by the road. Is she real? She disappears before he can find out.

Once Mazzy arrives at work, he’s greeted by his two colleagues, one of whom, his producer Sydney Briar (the great Lisa Houle), can barely tolerate his wicked, incite the masses ways.

McDonald slowly unspools his tale, allowing the morning call-in show to be the focus, as random alerts of a disturbance at a doctor’s office become a terrifying real-time breaking story that Mazzy and Co. can only report on through the frantic reports of the local weather guy.

Soon, the mysterious affliction has made its way into the studio and studio technician Laurel-Ann is ramming her head into the DJ booth, splashing blood and muttering a low chant that neither Mazzy nor Briar can understand.

Not everything makes immediate sense, but that’s part of the fun. The slow reveal only serves to ramp up your anxiety.

To give away more would be a disservice to this taunt frightfest that relies more on the cerebral than the visual. The zombie attacks are few, but effective. The mounting paranoia and dread is infectious. And the smart, decisive conclusion is satisfyingly shocking, which is rare indeed.

This is one to seek out, and to own.

The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – Yes.
Nudity – No.
Gore – Yes.
Drug use – No.
Bad Guys/Killers – Zombies.
Buy/Rent – Buy it.
On the Web – http://www.pontypoolmovie.com/
Release Date – Jan. 26, 2010