Pontypool (film)
Encyclopedia
Pontypool is a 2009
Canadian
horror film
directed by Bruce McDonald and adapted by Tony Burgess
from Burgess' novel
Pontypool Changes Everything.
, former shock jock
turned radio announcer Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie
) encounters a woman lightly clothed on a heavy snow-filled morning, who startles him when he makes a stop in his car. When he calls out to her, she disappears into the darkness, repeating his words ominously and visibly disturbing him. When he arrives for his shift at the radio station he is accompanied by technical assistant Laurel-Ann Drummond (Georgina Reilly) and station manager Sydney Briar (Lisa Houle).
As the morning proceeds, Grant's tactics for his radio announcements garner ire from Sydney as Laurel-Ann tries to settle their differences. They get a report from their weather and traffic helicopter reporter Ken Loney (actually a man on a hill with sound effects like a helicopter) about a possible riot
at the office of Doctor Mendez in Pontypool. What he describes is a scene of chaos and carnage, immediately grabbing Grant's attention and puzzling the women as their live wire has not gotten any word of this. After he is unexpectedly cut off, the group tries to confirm the report, but they are not able to find much as their witnesses are disconnected before they even make it to the airwaves. Ken calls back amid the chaos and manages to get one of the "infected" survivors to speak into the phone. The sound is completely inhuman, and the call is again cut off, this time by a startling transmission of garbled French that Laurel-Ann is able to translate. The transmission is an instruction not to use terms of affection, phrases that conflict, or the English language. Pontypool is declared to be under quarantine
and citizens are instructed to stay indoors. In confusion and disbelief, Grant tries to leave the station, but a horde of people attack, and Grant, Sydney, and Laurel-Ann lock themselves in. Meanwhile, Laurel-Ann begins demonstrating erratic behavior. She fixates on the word "miss," repeating it over and over, then imitates the sound of a boiling kettle, ceaselessly singing its tune. Dr. Mendez (Hrant Alianak
) enters the studio and Grant, Sydney, and Mendez lock themselves in a soundproof booth where Laurel-Ann cannot hear them.
Mendez explains his theory that somehow a virus has found its way into human language, infecting certain words. As he explains this, Laurel-Ann begins a series of increasingly violent slams against the sound booth's window, chewing off her own lip and splattering blood with each attack. Ken calls in again and, while on the air, he also succumbs to this strange attack on the language, repeating the word "simple." Soon Dr. Mendez begins to repeat the word "breathe" and the horde breaks into the radio station, attacking the sound booth. Sydney records a loop of Grant saying "Sydney Briar is alive" and plays it over the station's outdoor loudspeaker as a diversion to lead the mob away. Mendez surmises that it is only the English language that was affected by the virus. Grant and Sydney, speaking in French, leave him alone in the booth. They are nearly killed when the recording fails and the mob returns, but Mendez successfully lures them away from the studio. In guilt over killing a young girl who had been infected, Sydney begins to succumb to the word "kill," but thinking back to the warnings they had received, Grant successfully "disinfects" the word by repeating "Kill is kiss" over and over again until Sydney's signs of illness wear off. Armed with knowledge on how to stop the virus, the pair go on the air, spouting a series of non-contradicting and confusing phrases to help their infected listeners, ignoring warnings from the authorities who are trying to get them off the air. As an amplified voice from outside counts down from ten, Sydney joins Grant in the booth and they kiss. As the countdown finishes, the screen goes dark, implying the station has been destroyed.
The scenes that follow indicate that the infection quarantine failed as reports of people afflicted by the language virus start to rise, including the announcer of a news station whose words are heard over the credits. When that ends, the scene shifts to a radically different view: a stylized black-and-white version of Grant and Sydney in what looks like a far-eastern atmosphere, hinting to the audience they did survive their ordeal, if perhaps only in spirit.
' infamous radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds
inspired the approach that they decided to take. It was simultaneously produced as a motion picture and a radio play.
Filming took place in Toronto
, Ontario
and on location in Pontypool
itself.
At Rue Morgue's 2008 Festival of Fear expo, director Bruce McDonald stressed the victims of the virus detailed in the film were not zombie
s and called them "conversationalists". He described the stages of the disease:
and Blu-ray on 25 January 2010.
2010 Genie Nominee - Best Actor, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay
2009 in film
The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
Canadian
Canadian cinema
Canadian cinema refers to the filmmaking industry in Canada. Canada is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities: Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Industries and communities tend to be regional and niche in nature...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Bruce McDonald and adapted by Tony Burgess
Tony Burgess
Tony Burgess is the author of several books including the novel Pontypool Changes Everything. Other works include People Live Still in Cashtown Corners, Ravenna Gets, The Hellmouths of Bewdley, and Caesarea...
from Burgess' novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Pontypool Changes Everything.
Plot
In the small town of Pontypool, OntarioPontypool, Ontario
Pontypool is an unincorporated village within the southernmost part of the amalgamated city of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario.Prior to amalgamation, Pontypool was an unincorporated village within the township of Manvers, in the county of Victoria....
, former shock jock
Shock jock
Shock jock is a slang term used to describe a type of any radio broadcaster who attracts attention using humor that a significant portion of the listening audience may find offensive. The term is usually used pejoratively to describe provocative or irreverent broadcasters whose mannerisms,...
turned radio announcer Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie
Stephen McHattie
Stephen McHattie is a Canadian actor.-Life and career:McHattie was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia....
) encounters a woman lightly clothed on a heavy snow-filled morning, who startles him when he makes a stop in his car. When he calls out to her, she disappears into the darkness, repeating his words ominously and visibly disturbing him. When he arrives for his shift at the radio station he is accompanied by technical assistant Laurel-Ann Drummond (Georgina Reilly) and station manager Sydney Briar (Lisa Houle).
As the morning proceeds, Grant's tactics for his radio announcements garner ire from Sydney as Laurel-Ann tries to settle their differences. They get a report from their weather and traffic helicopter reporter Ken Loney (actually a man on a hill with sound effects like a helicopter) about a possible riot
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
at the office of Doctor Mendez in Pontypool. What he describes is a scene of chaos and carnage, immediately grabbing Grant's attention and puzzling the women as their live wire has not gotten any word of this. After he is unexpectedly cut off, the group tries to confirm the report, but they are not able to find much as their witnesses are disconnected before they even make it to the airwaves. Ken calls back amid the chaos and manages to get one of the "infected" survivors to speak into the phone. The sound is completely inhuman, and the call is again cut off, this time by a startling transmission of garbled French that Laurel-Ann is able to translate. The transmission is an instruction not to use terms of affection, phrases that conflict, or the English language. Pontypool is declared to be under quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
and citizens are instructed to stay indoors. In confusion and disbelief, Grant tries to leave the station, but a horde of people attack, and Grant, Sydney, and Laurel-Ann lock themselves in. Meanwhile, Laurel-Ann begins demonstrating erratic behavior. She fixates on the word "miss," repeating it over and over, then imitates the sound of a boiling kettle, ceaselessly singing its tune. Dr. Mendez (Hrant Alianak
Hrant Alianak
Hrant Alianak , also billed as Harant Alianak or Grant Aljanak, is an Armenian-Canadian actor and playwright. In 1988 he was nominated for the Genie Award "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role" for his role in the 1987 film Family Viewing. He played Pete in the 1995 movie with Adam...
) enters the studio and Grant, Sydney, and Mendez lock themselves in a soundproof booth where Laurel-Ann cannot hear them.
Mendez explains his theory that somehow a virus has found its way into human language, infecting certain words. As he explains this, Laurel-Ann begins a series of increasingly violent slams against the sound booth's window, chewing off her own lip and splattering blood with each attack. Ken calls in again and, while on the air, he also succumbs to this strange attack on the language, repeating the word "simple." Soon Dr. Mendez begins to repeat the word "breathe" and the horde breaks into the radio station, attacking the sound booth. Sydney records a loop of Grant saying "Sydney Briar is alive" and plays it over the station's outdoor loudspeaker as a diversion to lead the mob away. Mendez surmises that it is only the English language that was affected by the virus. Grant and Sydney, speaking in French, leave him alone in the booth. They are nearly killed when the recording fails and the mob returns, but Mendez successfully lures them away from the studio. In guilt over killing a young girl who had been infected, Sydney begins to succumb to the word "kill," but thinking back to the warnings they had received, Grant successfully "disinfects" the word by repeating "Kill is kiss" over and over again until Sydney's signs of illness wear off. Armed with knowledge on how to stop the virus, the pair go on the air, spouting a series of non-contradicting and confusing phrases to help their infected listeners, ignoring warnings from the authorities who are trying to get them off the air. As an amplified voice from outside counts down from ten, Sydney joins Grant in the booth and they kiss. As the countdown finishes, the screen goes dark, implying the station has been destroyed.
The scenes that follow indicate that the infection quarantine failed as reports of people afflicted by the language virus start to rise, including the announcer of a news station whose words are heard over the credits. When that ends, the scene shifts to a radically different view: a stylized black-and-white version of Grant and Sydney in what looks like a far-eastern atmosphere, hinting to the audience they did survive their ordeal, if perhaps only in spirit.
Cast
- Stephen McHattieStephen McHattieStephen McHattie is a Canadian actor.-Life and career:McHattie was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia....
– Grant Mazzy - Lisa Houle – Sydney Briar
- Georgina Reilly – Laurel-Ann Drummond
- Hrant AlianakHrant AlianakHrant Alianak , also billed as Harant Alianak or Grant Aljanak, is an Armenian-Canadian actor and playwright. In 1988 he was nominated for the Genie Award "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role" for his role in the 1987 film Family Viewing. He played Pete in the 1995 movie with Adam...
– Dr. Mendez - Rick RobertsRick Roberts (actor)Rick Roberts is a Canadian actor. His most substantial role to date is as Donald D'Arby in the series Traders, for which he was nominated for a Gemini Award. He played Elizabeth Berkley's husband in the Lifetime made-for-television movie Student Seduction. Roberts has also appeared in L.A...
– Ken Loney - Boyd BanksBoyd BanksBoyd Banks is a Canadian stand-up comedian known for doing edgy material, and actor.-Biography:Banks has appeared in such films as Bruiser , Wild Iris , Dawn of the Dead , Phil the Alien , Land of the Dead , Cinderella Man , Diary of The Dead and Pontypool...
– Jay (Osama) - Tony BurgessTony BurgessTony Burgess is the author of several books including the novel Pontypool Changes Everything. Other works include People Live Still in Cashtown Corners, Ravenna Gets, The Hellmouths of Bewdley, and Caesarea...
– Tony (Lawrence) - Rachel Burns – Colin (Daud)
Production
Pontypool is based on Tony Burgess' novel Pontypool Changes Everything. Burgess adapted the material for the screen himself. According to McDonald, the writer hashed out a script in 48 hours. Orson WellesOrson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' infamous radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds (radio)
The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker...
inspired the approach that they decided to take. It was simultaneously produced as a motion picture and a radio play.
Filming took place in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and on location in Pontypool
Pontypool, Ontario
Pontypool is an unincorporated village within the southernmost part of the amalgamated city of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario.Prior to amalgamation, Pontypool was an unincorporated village within the township of Manvers, in the county of Victoria....
itself.
At Rue Morgue's 2008 Festival of Fear expo, director Bruce McDonald stressed the victims of the virus detailed in the film were not zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s and called them "conversationalists". He described the stages of the disease:
There are three stages to this virus. The first stage is you might begin to repeat a word. Something gets stuck. And usually it's words that are terms of endearment like sweetheart or honey. The second stage is your language becomes scrambled and you can't express yourself properly. The third stage you become so distraught at your condition that the only way out of the situation you feel, as an infected person, is to try and chew your way through the mouth of another person.
Release
The cinema release was on March 6, 2009. The film was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray on 25 January 2010.
Reception
Pontypool received generally positive reviews from critics. It currently holds a 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.Awards and Nominations
- Chlotrudis Awards - Best Adapted Screenplay
2010 Genie Nominee - Best Actor, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay
Special Screening
Rue Morgue and ChiZine Publications held a special screening of Pontypool on 3 December 2009 at the Toronto Underground Cinema. After the screening, it featured a Q&A with Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle and Tony Burgess.External links
- Pontypool at Bloody Disgusting Horror
- Interview with Bruce McDonald about Pontypool at ion magazine
- Interview with Bruce McDonald and Actors at FEARnet
- Summary at Shocktilyoudrop.com
- Pontypool at Movies You May Have Missed (with response from Tony Burgess)