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Pontypool [DVD] [2008]
 
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Pontypool [DVD] [2008]

DVD ~ Stephen McHattie
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
RRP: £15.99
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Product details

  • Actors: Stephen McHattie, Hrant Alianak, Lisa Houle
  • Directors: Bruce McDonald
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Spirit Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 25 Jan 2010
  • Run Time: 96 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B002QH4R4U
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,532 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in this category:

    #43 in  DVD > Horror

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Reviews

Product Description

Shock jock Grant Mazzy has, once again, been kicked-off the Big City airwaves and now the only job he can get is the early morning show at CLSY Radio in Pontypool Ontario, which broadcasts from the basement of the small town s only church. What begins as another boring day of school bus cancellations, due to yet another massive snow storm, quickly turns deadly when reports start piling in of people developing strange speech patterns and committing horrendous acts. But there s nothing coming in on the news wires. Is this really happening? Before long, Grant and the small staff at CLSY find themselves trapped in the radio station as they discover that this insane behaviour taking over the town is actually a deadly virus being spread through the English language itself. Do they stay on the air in the hopes of being rescued or, are they in fact providing the virus with its ultimate leap over the airwaves and into the world?

Synopsis

It's not just the snow storm that's chilling in this Canadian zombie movie from director Bruce McDonald (THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS). Stephen McHattie (WATCHMEN) stars as controversy-courting radio DJ Grant Mazzy, who can only find work in Pontypool, Ontario, where he broadcasts his show from the church basement. The monotony of relaying the small-town news of a blizzard is broken when Grant begins to report strange stories of violence to his listeners. It is soon revealed that there's a virus infecting the whole town, and Grant and his coworkers barricade themselves in the office. But the virus doesn't use the standard methods of blood or air for its transmission; instead, language is responsible for the disease, which leaves Grant wondering whether it is better to spread the news or keep quiet.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Tell the world that this is a great movie, 20 Nov 2009
By Blackhorse47 "I.J. Parnham" (Moray, Scotland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
If you like horror that is low on budget but high on ideas, good storytelling and tension, this sleeper movie is worth watching. The story is the familiar one of the isolated group finding themselves as seemingly the last best hope for Mankind's survival when crazed zombies attack.

This time the setting is a local Canadian radio station. A former shock jock, now slumming it, is the hero. Grant is a great character being eager to return to the big time, while still having a nice sardonic world-weary attitude. The day starts as any another with the usual nonsense that fills up local radio, but then reports start coming in that mysterious things are happening... Most of the film takes place in the one small set of the radio station and the story could quite readily work as a radio play, being entirely based on hearing reports coming in. They are often disjointed and so they leave the viewer in the dark as much as the radio presenter, but gradually they build to create a terrifying vision of escalating madness.

It was said that the inspiration was Orson Welles' 1930s War of the Worlds production and as such this is a great homage. The tension constantly mounts and any initial thoughts that listening to horrible things happen is not what horror films should be about and that it'll rapidly become tedious are dispelled. Gruesome special effects gore has its place in horror, but so does pure psychological terror as well as letting the viewer imagine what's happening.

Eventually the film does open up as the full nature of the zombie attack becomes known and herein lies the film's one problem. Although the reason for the attack is an original and clever one, some might find it hard to swallow. I won't say what it is (although the makers don't appear to be hiding it so it might not qualify as a twist as such), but I liked it because it ties in perfectly with the first half of the film and means this story had to be set in a radio station. The story wouldn't have worked otherwise and as such it represents clever scripting and foreshadowing.

Having provided the revelation the film then runs with the idea. Sadly this means that in the last act the film becomes more traditional with its horror while also perhaps going too far with its message, which hovers between being profound and being confusing. This move away from nail-biting claustrophobic tension towards a less controlled and slightly garbled madness stops this from being one of the greatest zombie flicks ever made, but for the first two acts alone this film deserves to be seen by horror fans.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Underrated but fantastic, 21 Dec 2009
By Ms. N. L. Wood "jaffa_cakes_208" (Kent, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Had never heard of this film but decided to rent it and give it a go...I was not disappointed. The format and style of the film was completely different from anything I've seen in a long time, and I found it really played on the imagination and made me visualize what was happening in the outside world. The storyline was original and interesting, and chilling in places.

For some reason, watching the film also reminded me of reading a Stephen King novel, so if you like him, you might find you like this film.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Good for a while...., 30 Jan 2010
By R. Jones "rebeld0g" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Set in a local Canadian radio station (for almost the entire movie), Ponypool tells the gripping story of a bizarre zombie-like outbreak which brings the town to its knees. Grant Mazzy (played brilliantly by Stephen McHattie) is a jaded old radio DJ who starts his day like any other but ends up reporting on a series of terrifying events. Through the use of long descriptive dialogue from remote reporters and phone-ins, the movie quickly loads itself with non-visual "implied horror" and the tension this creates is astounding. In theory, you could pretty much listen to this without a picture, like a radio play, and get the same effect. It's basically a filmed radio play, but a very good one. At least, for a while.

The first half of the movie was spellbinding, toe-curling and completely brilliant. We're left wondering what the hell is going on, just like the characters in the radio station, and a creeping fear lingers in the atmosphere. But then, roughly half way through, a Dr Mendez turns up and the movie takes a wrong turn and crashes into a brick wall. In Dr Mendez we get a ludicrous and highly illogical reason for the madness, and no matter how wildly I allow my imagination to stretch, I just cannot buy into the theory - or the so-called "cure" that comes later. It is tragic beyond words that a movie which was playing so perfectly, orchestrating such a gorgeous and thrilling tension, simply lost it all in one lousy narrative moment, and it never recovers from there.

All over the web fans and critics alike are praising this movie for its smart originality and boldness, so maybe I just didn't get it (but nor did the people I was watching it with). Yes - it is certainly original. But at what cost? Is originality always worth it? In this case, I'd argue. I would still recommend it purely on the strength of the first half of the movie, which really is an astonishing piece of filmmaking, but be prepared for a plot twist so strange and "out there" that it may leave you as bewildered as I currently am. One thing I can say though, Pontypool will have me thinking about it for a long while!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant film with just as solid acting
After watching this film, me and my girlfriend had two different oppinions mine largely based around the word "wow" and hers revolving the word "what? Read more
Published 2 days ago by S. Skelton

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Original Horror
With Hollywood remaking every horror film it can find whilst drawing the last possible dollar from existing franchises, it is a true pleasure to come across this low budget gem... Read more
Published 11 days ago by J. C

5.0 out of 5 stars A great movie!
I wasn't really expecting much of this film, but both my husband and I were blown away by it.
Its only has a few people in it but they were excellent. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Mr. P. Blunt

3.0 out of 5 stars POOR ACCENTS
The welsh accents in this film are terrible !!
They should have got some locals in to help.

Otherwise not too bad if a bit predictable.
Published 1 month ago by "X"

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