Horror in the 2000s: Pontypool (2008)

An interesting, uniquely Canadian tale about the residents of Pontypool, Ontario.

Grant Mazzie is a radio announcer in the small town of Pontypool. He seems like a big fish in a small pond and has a large personality. He's at the radio station with his station manager Sydney and technical assistant Laurel-Ann. They both know what he's about and I don't think this comes as any surprise to Grant. He's been doing this gig for a long time now and knows how to perform once the "on air" light illuminates.

The film is set primarily within the radio station. Long shots of lingering faces and descriptions of what's happening. This is tell not show. Usually a cardinal sin in the film world but works nicely here. Tension is built organically over time and this is a slow boil.

Ken Loney, our traffic helicopter man is on the line with Grant with his usual traffic report. This day is different though. He's describing reports of a nearby riot and deaths have occurred. This is not the standard day in Pontypool. All of this happened at the office of a Dr. Mendez. Very odd.

This story is picking up steam and they're contacted by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). Something must be very wrong and nobody knows what's happening.

A break in transmission happens with a message in French. This is not standard operating procedure in their world. Laurel-Ann quickly translates the message of unknown origin and it appears on Grant's screen. He begins reading on the air without knowing what it says.

"For your safety, please avoid contact with close family members and restrain from the following; all terms of endearment, rhetorical discourse. For greater safety please avoid the English language. Please do not translate this message."

We witness Mr. Mazzie realize what he has just done. Something is very wrong here. Who sent this message over the airwaves? How did they override their signal. The most important questions becomes, what is happening out there?

Spoiler but not a spoiler. This is an interesting spin on the ever popular zombie theme.

Instead of zombies the virus or infection is language. This is a brilliant idea and I can't believe I've never seen anything like this before.

Certain words can be the trigger. You end up repeating them over and over. This is the early sign of the virus taking hold. The trick is altering your own perception of the word and assigning a new meaning to it. A new language within language must be created to survive.

I hope you're bilingual as those who are not are at a much higher risk!

Can you imagine language being a point of infection? This is the basis of the film and a scary one to think of especially during these times. A unique film that has stuck in the recesses of my brain for many years and a welcome distraction from the standard zombie fare.

Rotten Tomatoes is sitting at a 84% critics rating and a 68% audience rating. I was always under the impression nobody has seen this film. This is a fun one and deviates from the mold. A resounding 7 for me and recommended.

A killer cut of a trailer too that makes me want to watch it.

All media courtesy of themoviedb.org

Thanks for running this interesting challenge @wiseagent and be sure to visit the informational posting for all the details.

I noticed @badnewsbeards is running a fun horror movie challenge so check it out. I'm probably not abiding by the rules but I'll be including the #horrorchallenge tag in my horror related postings anyhow. If this is a problem, let me know. Have fun in your personal challenge and I look forward to reading your entries!