Pontypool (2008)
A morning radio shock-jocker heads to his grinding job in the small titled town of Ontario, only to later become the only voice capable of broadcasting and investigating the mysterious viral outbreak that has suddenly infected the area. It's best to enter this feature without reading or surveying anything else; let's just say that the sickness is zombie-like but is transmitted through a more peculiar manner. Clearly taking inspiration from Orson Welles' infamous radio show of The War of the Worlds, along with a side dish of THE CRAZIES, PONTYPOOL is a mesmerizing orchestra of sandwiched sounds, as panicky cries and showbiz barbs overlap each other when the dread of the unknown is not creating dead air. This is one of the few films where the audio is more enriching than the visual department. That's not me taking at shot at Bruce McDonald's direction, which is fairly striking at times but is evidently trying to retain a calm, nervous movement. The acting is very strong, led supremely by character actor Stephen McHattie as our cynical hero Grant Mazzy. Lisa Houle and Georgina Reilly back him up nicely as his producer and assistant respectively. The twists may be overambitious and hard to shallow for some but at least it's an alternative zombie flick that goes beyond the gore. Also, the stinger is true WTF material.
FINAL REVIEW: 4 / 5
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