Pontypool poster & wallpaper

Beatriz Yuste, Boyd Banks, Daniel Fathers

A psychological thriller in which a deadly virus infects a small Ontario town.

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70% liked it

2,659 ratings

Critics

84% liked it

69 critics

PG, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Bruce McDonald

Release Date: May 29, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (296)

  • briandeguelle
    July 26, 2009
    briandeguelle
    wow what a great movie,a zombie movle with hardly any zombies,sounds weired but not really.Like the blair witch project its uses one key thing your imagination and its works.Your mind is a great tool and gets a work out here.When they are describing details over the radio or tryi...( read more)ng to get eye witness accounts about the outbreak you put yourself in there prostion and it works well.Love these kind of movies.Anyone one who is looking for a more normal zombie movie with zombies in it the maybe this is not for you.Anyone else how like that horror with differents check this little gem out.
    Plus just read there is a sequel due out later next yeat 2010.
  • creepfreak
    June 1, 2009
    creepfreak
    The only good part of this movie were the first 10 minutes, and that's because I was sleeping. When I woke up I endured over an hour of unbearable bullshit, the kind that gives you a rash. At one point I wanted to hug the actors and tell them, "It's okay. Not many people will see...( read more) this movie." I felt bad they signed up for this crap, they seemed like nice people, and I'm sure they didn't know this movie would be an abomination. Sadly I don't know them on a personal level, so I'll just have to pray for them. Maybe they were forced into signing a contract at gunpoint by the executive producer. Another thing, the actors weren't even acting, they were half asleep like I was. Or at least it looked that way. I swear to God, it didn't seem like they were even trying, they dragged themselves along and seemed sluggish, putting no amount of energy in their performances. I think the dialogue was all improv too, because the director probably replaced the script with "Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea". And this might have worked, only if the actors actually knew the camera was rolling. Even writing a review about this movie is making me depressed. I feel like I'm in a black hole. I have sunk into catatonia and I need a bath. Pontypool will do this to you. It's rough...It's mean...

    It's a shit bomb.



    "What's a zombie movie without zombies? A dull zombie movie."
    - New York Post
  • MidnightMadwoman
    April 2, 2009
    MidnightMadwoman
    "This is how my last relationship ended: we're not talking and I'm drunk."

    This is a great and really special little film. It's a really interesting and novel take on zombies, but if i go into detail it'll spoil the big plot point for you (just like it was spoiled for me. Damn...( read more) you, Sun media!). It brings the zombie invasion story down to a really localized and small scale and it shows you the epidemic through the eyes of maybe five people. If I made a zombie movie, it'd probably look like this. In fact, I did write a zombie movie, and when Pontypool came out, the resemblance was striking. I think that the music was an ill-fit, though. It made moments dramatic when they could have easily been comedic. In many instances indeed, it killed the comedy where it was needed. bit of a shame really. Apart from that, I really loved this film.
  • liquidstone14
    March 15, 2009
    liquidstone14
    Equal parts disturbing and comical, Pontypool is a shining example of how real talent can turn a low-budget project into a passionate and sweepingly horrific experience. Although by the one-hour mark, I was not quite sure what the hell I was watching and by the time it was over, ...( read more)well... I was even less sure, what I do know is that, all told, it is a wicked good time.

    Director Bruce McDonald's previous effort, the delirious and dramatic The Tracey Fragments, is on a completely different page. But it does have two major plus points it shares with Pontypool : it's centered a powerhouse lead performance (in that film, Ellen Page and here, Stephen McHattie) and that it nevertheless deserves to be seen on the big screen despite its very modest production values.

    Yes, it's an incredibly cinematic experience, for I have not seen a camera lensing a small space with such vitality and skill since William Friedkin's outstanding Bug. Best seen with thumping, bass-heavy theater speakers, the sound design largely contributes to an escalating sense of dread that is punctuated by effervescent splashes of humor. It's not Shaun of the Dead, in the way that it doesn't cap a horrifying, flesh-eaters-on-the-loose situation with witty gags-- it simply drops unmistakably very funny jokes as the dramatic tension kicks in. Of course, there are times when the laughs are discreet or simply too, eh, weird to be considered ha-ha funny, but the horror and comedy never cockfight instead of backing up each other.

    Essentially a two-act story, the long buildup remains engaging (that is, for mature and demanding viewers) right up until the crazy shit kicks in. But the direction that's taken is fairly unpredictable : we've come to expect a tense, claustrophobic huis clos situation in a setup like this one, but the need to escape is not made central to the characters. It takes the film to a whole new level : the walls of its titular radio station become a micro-climate, where we often doubt what characters see and hear, but we are not tempted to point out their irrational behavior. It will leave tons of viewers unsatisfied, that's for sure, but it briskly dodges nearly all the zombie movie clichés in a handsweep. Even as the films descends deeper and deeper into flat-out oddities, I was gripped and ready to accept whatever was thrown my way.

    It wouldn't be possible to not praise McHattie's excellent work as enigmatic and yappy radio show host Grant Mazzy. Just writing about his performance-- and voice-- makes me want to see the film all over again. Georgina Reilly and Lisa Houle make strong and admirable supporting females, one of which the fate still has me a bit traumatized.

    I don't think Pontypool could ever be received by a widespread public, even though visually, it sure has the slick, polished look to make appealing trailers and TV spots. But for a genre fan, it's more than just a variation on the zombie theme, and by the time it's made apparent to the characters that simply muttering french words means virus immunity, you'll know what kind of twisted little gem you've put yourself in front of.

    Also : post-credits scene, I love you.
  • dublingunner
    November 7, 2009
    dublingunner
    a riot breaks out in pontypool and a radio dj covers it, nice atmosphere and all the gore is off screen
  • voodoomarijuana
    October 27, 2009
    voodoomarijuana
    Heard it was spooky ill let you know
  • edgewaterz
    October 23, 2009
    edgewaterz
    Not a lot of action but a solid new addition that is true to the zombie genre.
  • SteveHorrorFan
    October 20, 2009
    SteveHorrorFan
    Review
    The zombie genre is over-stuffed to the point of leaking pus, but writer/director Bruce McDonald has a plot that may prove a breath of fresh air for the flesh eating monsters. It's name is Pontypool, and it is definitely unlike any zombie movie you've ever se...( read more)en. It'd be a stretch to consider it a full-out undead opus at all. What works about this film is it's strong lead actors, shock jock Grant Mazzy (McHattie), and Sydney Briar (Lisa Houle) brilliantly talk us through what seems to be several riots taking place through out the small town of Pontypool, Ontario.


    If your looking for zombie action, this movie is not for you. But, unlike your average head exploding, brain devouring walking corpse films, Pontypool doesn't rely on the action or gore effects. Instead, we're isolated in a radio station on cold, stormy morning. All the action takes place here, but never once does it start to feel claustrophobic. The action lies in reports broadcasted in telling grueling accounts of murder and mayhem that's going on in the town. We're not shown such acts of violence, but it's left to our imagination to picture the chaos that's happening here. Ironically, these are the better scenes of the film, and it all starts falling apart towards the end when some action actually does occur. But the biggest turn off for the film is knowing the reasoning behind these 'zombies'. I won't ruin it for you, since this film is worth watching, and this just may make you reconsider viewing it, but the infection has nothing to do with your blood or the rendering of flesh to transfer into another victim. Looking past this, the set up of the beginning of the film is great and following such credible characters through it is entertaining enough, making this a half-decent film to watch if your a zombie fan looking for something a bit different out of your walking corpses. Well, if you want to go as far as dubbing these zombies.

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  • lovecyn4ever
    October 19, 2009
    lovecyn4ever
    The entire film takes place in one location,which is a radio station.It started being interesting,but too much talking & no action.I really don't see why so many people like this film.Not scary,funny or too suspenseful,it gets too boring.Pontypool wasn't my typical zombie film,fe...( read more)w zombies shows up at the end of the film...boring!

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  • carolinasun
    October 14, 2009
    carolinasun
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Critic Reviews

October 16, 2009
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

Bruce McDonald directs a tiptop cast. Tony Burgess, scripting from his own novel, clearly saw the grand guignol potential in the computer virus, in the way great plagues can be planted in tiny units o... full review

May 26, 2009
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

Pontypool is, in all senses, brain food -- and juicy. full review

May 25, 2009
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Pontypool at least manages to amuse (a spur-of-the-moment on-air obituary is priceless) as well as consistently intrigue, right up to a bizarro post-credits epilogue that seems beamed in from Sin City. full review

View more Pontypool reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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