Review of Pontypool (2009) by Julian T — 31 Dec 2011

This is a really neat and suprisingly frightening horror flick. Quite Hitchcockian in its delivery, as the majority of the movie shows nothing. A great example of a small budget overcome by creative thinking.

All the actors are solid. I've always liked McHattie, and he's quite good here playing a very different character for him. The rest of the cast is good also and really sell their parts. The script is good and features some slick back and forth dialouge that really makes the characters pop off the screen.

The story is intriquing. Its a new twist on the zombie appocolypse genre that sort of harkins to the Stephen King's novel 'Cell' and unfolds in a slow and buliding manor. There is very little actual action in the film prior to a frenzied climax. The scares are almost soley psychological. It relies on second hand or radio transmitted accounts of what is happening outside in a horrific disaster. Some of these accounts are harrowing and actually quite disturbing. The way they are presented it makes your skin crawl far more than if these events were actually shown on screen.

This would probably rate as a 4.5 star movie for me if it weren't for the last 15 or so minutes of the film. This last portion spirals quite out of control and totally loses the ominous doom-building tension of the previous 80 minutes. This really betrays the otherwise excellently constructed movie and leaves a strange taste in your mouth.

Other than this though, this is a one of a kind and very entertaining horror film. Out of the ordinary and offers some seriously chilling moments as well as a very intimate view of a huge event.