Pontypool | 2008
Pontypool
Pontypool is a 2008 Canadian psychological horror thriller film directed by Bruce McDonald and written by Tony Burgess, based on his 1995 novel "Pontypool Changes Everything." In 2019, a spin-off titled "Dreamland" was released.
The plot begins in the small town of Pontypool, Ontario, where radio announcer Grant Mazzy stops his car in a snowstorm and is startled by a woman who knocks on his window, repeating an unclear word. The woman mimics Mazzy's words before staggering away.
At the radio station, Grant's shock-jock style and on-air persona amuse his technical assistant, Laurel-Ann, but irritate the station manager, Sydney. Helicopter reporter Ken Loney reports a riot at Dr. Jon Mendez's office, with multiple fatalities. When Ken suddenly loses connection, they try to verify his report, but witnesses are cut off before they can connect to the broadcast. The BBC contacts them to report the incident, and Ken calls back, saying he has taken refuge in a grain silo. He describes rioters trying to eat each other or even attacking themselves. When rioters attack the silo, Ken's call is interrupted by an audio transmission in French.
Laurel-Ann translates the transmission, conveying instructions to stay indoors and not to use nicknames, baby talk, or rhetorical discourse, nor to translate the message. Pontypool is placed under quarantine. Confused, Grant tries to leave, but a mob attacks the station, forcing Grant, Sydney, and Laurel-Ann to lock themselves inside. When Laurel-Ann shows signs of instability, Dr. Mendez arrives at the station through a window, and they hide in the soundproof booth. Ken becomes infected during the broadcast. Laurel-Ann bangs her head against the booth window and bites her lower lip. Mendez theorizes that certain words have become infected with a virus in English, explaining that specific words infect certain people, causing them to kill others. Sydney receives a call from her children but hears them becoming infected. Outside the booth, Laurel-Ann vomits blood and dies. Mendez suspects this happened because she couldn't find a victim.
Later, the mob breaks into the radio station and attacks the soundproof booth. Sydney records Grant's voice and plays it over external speakers to lure the mob away. Mendez starts repeating the phrase "breathe," but realizes the virus is limited to English and begins speaking in Armenian. Consequently, Grant and Sydney start conversing in French. When the recording fails, the mob returns, but Mendez lures them away, saving Sydney and Grant. They now lock themselves in the equipment room.
As Grant searches for a way to reverse the symptoms, Sydney obsessively writes on the walls and doors, becoming infected with the word "kill." Grant persuades her that "kill" now means "kiss," alleviating her symptoms. To stop the virus, the two begin broadcasting, pouring out self-contradictory and confusing phrases to help infected listeners, ignoring warnings from authorities to take them off the air. As a countdown begins outside, Sydney enters the booth with Grant and asks him to kiss her. The screen fades to black with an explosion sound.
Over the black screen, news reports about the further spread of the virus continue, suggesting the quarantine has failed, ultimately reaching England, the source of the English language. In a post-credits scene, Sydney and Grant (now known as "Lisa" and "Johnny Deadeyes") are shown surviving the virus while continuing to use English in an improvised role-playing system.
The story in the radio drama version features several changes, with visual elements restructured or completely removed to fit the audio format. In this conclusion, Grant persuades Sydney that "kill" now means "kiss," and she asks him to "kiss" her (in the film version, she says "kill" as they kiss).
Later, while Laurel-Ann and Mendez broadcast their own obituaries (with Grant assuming Mendez will eventually die), he confirms Sydney's death and implies he "kissed" her at her request. Now completely alone, Grant realizes he has been infected through the word "paper," resigning himself to his fate as he repeats the word. Finally, he utters another word, "trap."
"Pontypool" is based on Tony Burgess's novel "Pontypool Changes Everything." Burgess adapted the material for the screen himself. According to McDonald, the writer completed the script in just 48 hours. The infamous radio broadcast "The War of the Worlds" by Orson Welles inspired their chosen approach. The work was produced simultaneously as a film and a radio drama.
Filming took place in Toronto, Ontario, rather than in Pontypool itself.
At the 2008 Rue Morgue Horror Festival, director Bruce McDonald mentioned that the victims of the virus in the film are not zombies but "conversationalists." He described the stages of the disease as follows:
The virus has three stages. The first stage is when people start repeating words. They become infected with certain words, usually terms of endearment. The second stage is when language becomes jumbled, making it impossible to express oneself properly. The third stage is when the infected person feels so tormented by their condition that they must chew through another person's mouth to escape the situation.
According to McDonald, the final scene between Grant and Sydney was originally placed before the credits, but during early screenings, audiences found the original ending too confusing, leading to the scene being moved to after the credits.
Rue Morgue and Chizine Publications held a special screening of "Pontypool" on December 3, 2009, at the Toronto Underground Cinema, followed by a Q&A with Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, and Tony Burgess.
The film was released theatrically in Canada on March 6, 2009, and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 25, 2010.
"Pontypool" received generally positive reviews, currently holding an 84% rating based on 86 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 6.6/10. The consensus states, "Witty and restrained yet still tense and entertaining, this 'Pontypool' is a different kind of low-budget zombie movie." On Metacritic, it has an average score of 54/100, indicating "mixed or average reviews."
In 2018, "Consequence of Sound" ranked "Pontypool" as the 42nd "scariest movie."
