The concept is okay, it doesn't really make sense that the virus is triggered by 'certain words' I like that the film is set in one room and you follow what's going on on the outside the same time as the characters do, so you're just as confused as them. The acting is mediocre at best and the solution or 'cure' just isn't likely. At 22 years of age, I know what the word 'kill' means and have done for 20+ years. Someone telling me that it means 'kiss' 15 times in 30 seconds won't change that - that's not the way the brain works. The ending leaves a lot of questions unanswered, why and where did the virus originate from, how far did it spread, what's the damage done, how many people were affected, is anyone immune, did the 'cure' the doctor or Mr Mazzy find actually work, why is it only certain words and which words? It would have made more sense if the virus was spread just by 'talking' and the world had to stay silent for example. I don't know, it seems someone had an idea and nobody really asked any questions, it was just made into a film.

"Pontypool" is a tough one for me. This is yet another zombie movie...of sorts. I don't want to reveal why the zombie apocalypse occurs and I don't really think I bought into it entirely. I won't give it away but it was kind of interesting.

For a zombie movie though, "Pontypool" has practically zero gore. Normally I'm okay with that but this movie does such a great job of verbally painting the initial zombie attacks, I was disappointed that we didn't get a single peek at what was happening. The dialogue between the "on the street" reporter and radio shock-jock Grant Mazzy is near perfect and Mazzy's voice (compliments of Stephen McHattie) is so amazing that it made me long for just a look at what was going on in the little town of Pontypool. It reminded me of how much I would have liked to get a glimpse of the monsters that entered the Earth through a portal accidentally opened up by the military in the Darabont/King stunner "The Mist". But alas, we get no such scene and for some reason the "less is more" approach stops working for "Pontypool". Now, I liked this movie but even the attacking zombies are barely shown. It reeks of low budget film-making.

I don't fully understand the cause of the zombie infection. It's different than other movies but ultimately unclear and that's what doesn't work for me. Is this a clever shot at the talk radio industry? Is it a horror movie? Is it a tongue-in-cheek slap at zombie horror movies? I don't know.

Upon watching this film for a second time I realized just how much it reminded me of the famous "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast Orson Welles aired in 1939. With just the medium of radio he successfully created an atmosphere of panic so real people listening (who had not caught the beginning where it stated that the following was a radio drama) fled their homes thinking aliens from Mars had invaded Grovers Mill, New Jersey!

"Pontypool" takes place almost exclusively inside a small radio station in the town of Pontypool, Ontario Canada. What starts out as an ordinary day slowly morphs into an extraordinary situation told almost entirely through eye witness call ins, a weather reporters sky view, and eventually the towns doctor who has a preposterous yet undeniably believable theory as to what is going on.

Director Bruce McDonald and writer Tony Burgess expertly create an atmosphere of frustration, disbelief, and panic all within the confines of a single set. Never once did I feel limited by not seeing what was going on outside. Like the aforementioned "War of the Worlds" radio drama, the situation unfolds by audio reports coupled with the unexpected entrance of the doctor.

For blood and gore fans there is a scene that is both shocking and heartbreaking. But this film is generally not for that audience... unless they have good imaginations and can be taken in by "eyewitness" accounts of brutality.

The other part of the tale that is refreshing is that the antagonism that is affecting the outside world is not a virus nor is it the dead come back to life. No... it is something... as the doctor explains... preposterous yet undeniably believable.

The casting of Stephen McHattie as the past his prime but not ready to go quietly DJ was a masterstroke. He brings to life Grant Mazzy in a way I cannot imagine another doing as perfectly. He mixes a jaded world view with pathos, anger, humor, and a just the right touch of madness as all around him slides into madness.

It is to be noted that in the IMDB trivia section, the writer admits to being heavily influenced by Orson Welles legendary radio drama when conceiving first the book, then radio broadcast, and finally film. It shows, as stated, and it shows gloriously.