Pontypool (film)
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| Pontypool | |
|---|---|
 Promotional film poster |
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| Directed by | Bruce McDonald |
| Written by | Tony Burgess |
| Starring | Stephen McHattie Lisa Houle Georgina Reilly Hrant Alianak Rick Roberts Boyd Banks Tony Burgess Rachel Burns |
| Studio | Shadow Shows Entertainment Corporation |
| Distributed by | Maple Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 6, 2009[1] |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Pontypool is a 2008 Canadian horror film directed by Bruce McDonald and adapted by Tony Burgess from his own novel Pontypool Changes Everything.[2] It was simultaneously produced as both a motion picture and as a radio play.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Set in a radio station in Pontypool, Canada, where the morning team, starring Grant Mazzy, starts taking reports of extreme, bloody incidents of violence in riots occurring in town from field reporter Ken Loney in his "Sunshine Chopper" helicopter (actually just his Dodge Dart). As the story unfolds, the radio staff, who are later joined by local doctor Mendez, observe the zombie-like behaviour of the rioters and soon realise their attraction to speech. Eventually they postulate the possibility of a virus being spread through certain words in the English language. That predicament poses a problem for a radio presenter and his staff holed up in the broadcast booth housed in the basement of the town's abandoned church. They are restricted in their ability to warn the outside world and to communicate with each other as slaughter rages beyond its walls.
As Loney succumbs to the infection whilst hiding in a grain silo, radio staff member Laurel Ann becomes infected and tries to break into the booth. Unable to get to her prey, she eventually vomits blood and dies. Mazzy, Briar and Mendez then discover that only the English language seems to be infected, so they survive for a while by speaking French. Mazzy and Briar are able to cure themselves of the disorder by swapping words with others, destroying their meaning. As they try to broadcast the cure to other people the Canadian military starts to broadcast a countdown from 10 to 1. Briar kisses Mazzy as the countdown hits 1, and the film ends with a black screen.
A coda follows the end credits in which the Mazzy and Sydney characters appear in a hyperreal environment. Their short conversation is ambiguous and therefore open to interpretation.
[edit] Reception
Pontypool received positive reviews from critcs , with a an 82% positive rating on rotten tomatoes
[edit] "Conversationalists"
At Rue Morgue's 2008 Festival of Fear expo, director Bruce McDonald stressed the victims of the virus detailed in the film were not zombies, calling them "Conversationalists". He described the stages of the disease:
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.[2]
[edit] Production
Filming took place in Toronto, Ontario, as well as on location in Pontypool, Ontario.
[edit] Origin
Pontypool is based on Tony Burgess' novel Pontypool Changes Everything. Burgess adapted the material for the screen himself. According to McDonald, the writer hashed out a script in 48 hours, their approach inspired by Orson Welles' radio broadcast of War of the Worlds.[4]
[edit] Cast
- Stephen McHattie – Grant Mazzy
- Lisa Houle – Sydney Briar
- Georgina Reilly – Laurel-Ann Drummond
- Hrant Alianak – Dr. Mendez
- Rick Roberts – Ken Loney
- Boyd Banks – Jay (Osama)
- Tony Burgess – Tony (Lawrence)
- Rachel Burns – Colin (Daud)
[edit] Release
The Cinema release was on March 6, 2009 and the DVD coming out on 25 January 2010.[5]
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Maple Pictures Official Site". http://www.MaplePictures.com.
- ^ a b "McDonald Describes Pontypool's "Infected"". ShockTillYouDrop.com. Coming Soon Media. August 26, 2008. http://shocktillyoudrop.com/news/festivaloffearnews.php?id=7454. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
- ^ "Worldplay: Pontypool for World Drama". BBC World Service. June 21, 2009.
- ^ "McDonald describes transformation of screenplay from novel".
- ^ Pontypool finally heading home DVD and US Artwork
[edit] External links
- Pontypool Official Site
- Pontypool at the Internet Movie Database
- Pontypool at Bloody Disgusting Horror
- Interview with Bruce McDonald about Pontypool at ion magazine
- Interview with Bruce McDonald and Actors at FEARnet
- Summary at Shocktilyoudrop.com
- VaultofObscurity.com Review
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