Pontypool
A smart ass talk radio DJ and his producers are trapped inside their station while a virus of unknown origin is spreading outside.
Ignore the blurb on the DVD that calls this “The best zombie movie of the year.” This is not a zombie movie. Yes, there is a virus, but the way it spreads and what it does to people is very unique.
The movie is based off the novel “Pontypool Changes Everything” but takes a drastic departure from it. I haven’t read it, but from what I gather, this is one of those extremely rare instances where the movie is very different from the book but is still good.
The film mostly takes place inside the radio station and may have become dull if not for the incredibly charismatic Stephan McHattie. He has a perfect voice for radio and sounded like someone who has been doing this for years.
The story is told through the people calling into the station. The movie had a very modest budget, so in a clever way to paint the picture while still staying in budget, they relied heavily on audio. The whole thing works so well. It made the film feel larger, even though we only experience the global spread of the virus while locked inside of a room.
If you are looking for a smart horror film that relies heavily on its characters and how they interact, you will enjoy this.
I missed that copy of Snow Crash, seen in your second screenshot, how appropriate! Cecil did you see “Dead Air”? Its kind of like this, but much more conventional.
Great book to sneak in. I remember picking it up on a whim in the 90s. I was big (and still am) into William Gibson and this fit in nicely.
Haven’t seen Dead Air, I’ll give it a look.
This was good. The end credits scene made no sense unless I missed something. Also, netflix needs to describe movies better if not for this rec I would have passed
Yeah the Netflix description makes it sound like a comedy almost