Pontypool

Once in awhile, you keep running across a movie that you keep meaning to watch.  I mean you really, really do, but for some reason there's always something else just a little more enticing, a little more interesting.  So you put off renting/buying/watching that one film.  "It's okay, I'll get around to it." 

            If all goes well, you end up enjoying the movie when you finally do get around to watching it.  "Hrmm, that wasn't a bad little film.  I rather enjoyed it." 

            Really, all you hope for is to not end up hating it or regretting ever letting it be on your radar.

            But once in a long while, you end up wishing you had seen the movie sooner.  You want to tell everyone you know about it.  You want to text your friends and have them over for movie night so you can show them this glorious, overlooked gem.

            That's what happened to me yesterday.

            On to the review!

            I should have known it was something special the first time I saw it sitting there in the Netflix Horror section.  It had a rating of 4.5 stars! 

            Though, in my defense, a horror movie with 4.5 stars is like a rabbit that can do algebra.  You don't expect to ever see it, and if you do you're incredulous.

            Perhaps that's why I waited months before taking a chance on Pontypool.  I wish I hadn't, because by the time the movie was over, I knew I had to spread the word.  Word.  Word word.  Woooord...word word word.  Oh, sorry.  Got a little excited for a moment there.

            Anyways, Pontypool offers such a refreshing, interesting take on the 'zombie' craze that any self-serving fan of the subgenre, or just fans of suspense in general, should take heed.  Yes, it was released in 2008 at the height of the zombie craze, but the fact that it's actually good is going to give it a much longer shelf life, much like Sean of the Dead's different take in the genre has made it a cult classic.

            So what sets Pontypool apart?  Why, it's claustrophobic atmosphere, of course!  Much like Quarantine, most of the film takes place in a static location.  Specifically, the basement broadcast booth of a small-town radio show in Ontario, Canada.  Most of the movie follows three people: morning DJ Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie), his producer Syndey Briar (Lisa Houle) and intern Laurel-Ann Drummond (Georgina Reilly) as they react to what's going on outside.

            Today is Mazzy's first day on the job after having been fired from his previous big-city shock-jock job, and he's not exactly fitting in.  He's a rabble-rouser, and now they expect him to do sports, news and weather.  It's frustrating, I tell you.

            After a few hiccups at the beginning of the show, strange things start to happen.  Reports filter in of ever-growing groups of people taking to the streets, killing and rampaging.  For the first half of the film, the only suggestions that anything is wrong are from the show's callers.  Their 'eye-in-the-sky' reporter Ken (Rick Roberts) especially delivers tight, frightening on-the-scene reports that are absolutely riveting.

            What makes all this so much more exciting than I could possibly convey is the perfect pacing.  We learn things as they do, and the plot unfolds so that both the audience and the characters come to the same conclusions at the same time.

            I can't say too much more about it without spoiling the unfolding plot.  Just let me say that you will either be greatly impressed with the direction the film takes, or you'll think it's the dumbest thing ever.  Even though I loved it, I will still acknowledge the potential for goofiness.  Personally, I think the film handles itself very well, and the actors are phenomenal.

            My only problem is how Netflix classified Pontypool.  It's suspenseful, and yes, there are zombie-like elements, but it's not really a horror movie.  It's a shame that we have such broad, useless classifications some times, because I believe that movies like this and Fido could easily find fans outside their genre.

            So go do yourselves a favor.  Sometime this week, check out that movie you've been meaning to get to.  Who knows, it may end up being the best movie you've seen in quite some time.

           

            Coming this weekend:  I'll be in Arkansas partying it up with good friends.  Fortunately for everyone, the great and mighty Juese Cutler of X-Strike Studios has graciously stepped forward and offered to fill in for me.  Stop by Sunday afternoon to find out what he thinks about a growing sub-genre of Japanese cinema.