Pontypool (2008)

A radio host interprets the possible outbreak of a deadly virus which infects the small Ontario town he is stationed in.

Director:

Bruce McDonald

Writers:

Tony Burgess, Tony Burgess (novel)

Stars:

Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, Georgina Reilly

1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephen McHattie	...	Grant Mazzy
Lisa Houle	...	Sydney Briar
Georgina Reilly	...	Laurel-Ann Drummond
Hrant Alianak	...	Dr. Mendez
Rick Roberts	...	Ken Loney (voice)
Daniel Fathers	...	Nigel Healing
Beatriz Yuste	...	Nancy Freethy
Tony Burgess	...	Tony (Lawrence)
Boyd Banks	...	Jay (Osama)
Hannah Fleming	...	Maureen (Farraj)
Rachel Burns	...	Colleen (Daud)
Laura Nordin	...	Spooky Woman
Louis Negin	...	Conversationalist
Diane Gordon	...	Conversationalist
Daniel Park	...	Conversationalist

Storyline

A radio host interprets the possible outbreak of a deadly virus which infects the small Ontario town he is stationed in.

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Plot Keywords:

talk radio | virus | epidemic | vomiting blood | blood splatter | 

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Taglines:

Shut Up Or Die

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English French Armenian

Release Date:

18 September 2009 (Turkey)

Also Known As:

Fear of the Living Dead - Radio Zombie

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,541, 29 May 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,478, 7 June 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ponty Up Pictures,Shadow Shows

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 95 min

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer Tony Burgess and director Bruce McDonald are intending to include more exposition for two planned sequels.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Grant Mazzy: Mrs. French's cat is missing. The signs are posted all over town. "Have you seen Honey?" We've all seen the posters, but nobody has seen Honey the cat. Nobody. Until last Thursday morning, when Miss Colette Piscine swerved her car to miss Honey the cat as she drove across a bridge. Well this bridge, now slightly damaged, is a bit of a local treasure and even has its own fancy name; Pont de Flaque. Now Collette, that sounds like Culotte. That's Panty in French. And Piscine means ...

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Crazy Credits

There's a scene after the end credits.

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Connections

Referenced in FutuReale: Pontypool (2008)

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Soundtracks

O Canada
(uncredited)
Music by Calixa Lavallée
French lyrics by Adolphe-Basile Routhier
English lyrics by Robert Stanley Weir

User Reviews

Not bad.

Pontypool is one of the few horror movie that used a little creativity and proves you don't need a high budget to a make horror film. The story circles around a local radio station and its crew of three people. As the day moves on they slowly start to here reports of violence happening all over the region. This includes riots, people killing each other and intervention from the Canadian Government. Soon they find themselves hiding in the station from the horror out side they are reporting. If that was not bad enough, they can't figure what's going on. Pontypool takes a very different and more effective way at trying to scare its audience. Most western horror these days seem to mainly focus on jump scares or brutal kill scenes alone. Pontypool on the other hand gives a few vague descriptions on what's actually going on out there. For most of the movie you really are just listening to a broadcast and testimonies of eye witness. This leaves the viewer having his own imagination working against him for a big chunk of the film. For me this was the most strongest for the first half of the film when we don't know what's causing the hysteria. I actually only have one real complaint which I felt the ending could have been better. I didn't hate the ending it just feels kind of weak compared to what we see earlier. I would go into more detail but that would results in some spoilers.

Overall it's a fun creepy horror movie that could be enjoyable for Halloween. I give it a few extra points for what they were able to pull off on a low budget and for an interesting experiment in horror.

Thats why I give this radio broadcast from hell an 8 out of 10.