The indie horror film “Pontypool” doesn’t need special effects or buckets of blood to leave a mark.
The movie, part of the IFC on Demand service, requires nothing more than a radio station set and a star with the kind of gravelly voice which is the stuff of nightmares long before the zombies strike.
Stephen McHattie stars as Grant Mazzy, a grizzled DJ working for a small Ontario radio station. Think Don Imus, but with far better vocal chops.
He’s trying to antagonize listeners one chilly morning, all in the name of ratings, when some bizarre press reports start rolling into the studio. A local doctor’s office has been ransacked, and the station’s traffic reporter – who watches the cars roll by not from the air but from his Dodge perched atop a hill – can see the mob which did it. And they’re still hungry … for more than just a little rioting.
But what’s driving ordinary people to start feasting on one another, and could it possible have something to do with the station itself?
“Pontypool” takes its time before the horror elements kick in. No matter, since we could watch McHattie behind the mike all day. He’s an old timer with an edge, a man who still savors hard news even if he’s been reading school closings for decades. Grant is politically incorrect and proud of it, and his eyes glow when he gets to use his program to do some really important work on his small town’s behalf.
His tangles with his producer (Lisa Houle) lend his show a whiff of danger, a factor the film exploits when the nearby riots creep closer to their station.
The reason for the riots is something horror fans will never see coming.
The film manages to find a new spin on the very tired zombie genre, but it nearly collapses when a key character is introduced mid-film, a man who seems to know what’s going on in their humble community.
“Pontypool” deflates the more we know about the threat facing Grant and his shoestring crew, but it’s still smarter than the average genre flick. The film’s socio-political themes tease out in intriguing fashion, though American audiences won’t appreciate the big twist here nearly as much as their northern cousins.
(Photo: Stephen McHattie plays a radio show host whose program gets the scoop of a lifetime in “Pontypool.”)
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great idea. Love the thought of a radio personality broadcasting while all hell breaks loose. What happens in your mind is far worse than what they can put on the screen. And, its great way to keep down the budget too.
I’ll be looking for this movie – if I can ever get my On-Demand to work on my DirecTV!
Yeah, I’m a DirecTVer, too … and am frustrated IFC doesn’t work with the system. Maybe that will change …