Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Pontypool’

Written by Scott Edwards 

​Seeing is believing in this day and age, that is why we put so much faith in our news stations. Being able to deliver stories along with images of what is happening give us a feeling of trust that what they are reporting is true. When we listen to the radio however, we are a bit more skeptical, even when they might have the up-to-date information before our local television station. Something has to be said about the trust that visual reinforcement can provide us, even if it may be wrong.

It is a cold and snowy morning as Grant Mazzy is driving to his new radio station. Being fired from his last job for having the ‘take no prisoners’ attitude and providing full disclosure to his listeners, he has been able to find a new home in a small town in Ontario. Not being his dream job by a long shot, Grant takes to the airwaves as he has always done in the past and delivers as much information as he can provide to his new listeners. 

Being teamed up with his new producer Sydney Briar and tech support Laurel-Ann Drummond, Grant has been put on the path to succeed in the small town, although Sydney does not approve of his tactics. Wanting her new employee to focus on the schedule laid out in front of him, Sydney is consistently in Grant’s ear telling him what to focus on in his segments or off the cuff rants. Complying with the best of his abilities, Grant keeps on track with what he is being told, but a strange story comes across the news line that will change the town of Pontypool forever. 

A hostage situation is being reported over the wire, but without being able to confirm the account with any local officials or their sources, Grant is told to let the story go. When their traffic reporter calls in with a firsthand account of what is happening and that a large herd of people are starting to attack others without reason, Grant thinks that there is something unusual going on. Thinking that his new employer is playing a trick on him, Grant seeks answers from someone outside of the radio station and has to see this growing threat that is happening.  Although no one can truly confirm what is going own, Grant and his team have to rely on everything that is being delivered to them via the wire reporting system. Needing to know if what they are reporting is really happening, a visitor arrives at the station that can help explain everything that is suddenly going on in the small town.

Without being able to see the threat outside of the radio station, this is one of the more frightening stories I have seen in a long time. Very War of the Worlds-esque, since you have to place your faith in what you are hearing and not being able to see firsthand what's going on keeps you on the edge of your seat. A fantastic story that keeps you questioning if this infection will make its way to the radio station as they are the only ones that have not yet been affected. With a majority of the action off screen you have to put more faith into what you hear, rather than what you see and have to find out for yourself if it is okay to believe in something that you cannot see. Stay Scared.

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