Pontypool is a film that at first appears to be one thing but reveals itself to be something different. Or at least it takes a genre we know and turns it on its head, defying all of the clichés we've come to recognise. It's unnerving, sardonic, and a hoop-load of fun.
When a mysterious virus breaks out in a small town in Ontario, Canada, chatty radio host Grant Mazzy is left holed up with his two colleagues where they can do nothing but sit and wait. Mazzy stays true to his radio hosting ways as he keeps the public informed from his booth as the virus outbreak grows ever worse.
Pontypool - which is, according to the movie, a nickname given to a very small Ontario town - is essentially a zombie film (although director Bruce McDonald has insisted repeatedly they be referred to as "Conversationalists"), but it's a zombie film with a twist. Not to give too much away, but suffice it to say that it's unlike any other film of the horror sub-genre I've ever seen or heard of, using an everyday aspect of life and human interaction as its hook. And I really can't believe someone hasn't thought of it before.
It's a great mixture of terror, thrills, and dark humour, all the while with its tongue lodged firmly in its cheek. It never clearly defines itself as one thing or the other, and that's one of the beauties of it. It can be enjoyed by a host of different types of movie fans, from those who love uneasy tones and jump-scares, to those wanting something a bit different than what we usually get with this type of thing. And director Bruce McDonald and screenwriter Tony Burgess (based on his novel Pontypool Changes Everything) keep the whole thing as a strange kind of morbid fun.
But the real brilliance of Pontypool is how it goes against what we expect from the zombie film. Sure there is the idea of a mysterious infection breaking out and spreading quickly from person to person, as well as elements of gore and the "small group of people trying to stay alive" routine. But that's not only to be expected but it's needed, is it not? It's in how the zombie storyline plays out and is shown that makes the movie stand out from others of its type.
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