Thursday, August 27, 2009

Pontypool: The Movie

Pontypool is loosely based on the novel Pontypool Changes Everything. It seems like the things they have in common are a zombie virus transmitted through speech and the character Grant Mazzy. I haven't actually seen this movie yet because the theatrical release was nowhere near LA and the DVD (that was supposed to come out in July) is nowhere to found as of yet. I'm so interested to find out what direction they decided to go with the film. The novel is so complex and weird that it could never translate into film well as it is.

The author, Tony Burgess, wrote in the afterword of the novel that the film bears little resemblence to the novel. He seems to hold some disdain about his work because he's in a much different place than when he wrote it. I think this is unfortunate because the novel is so different than anything out there. He seemed to be pleased with how the film turned out. He also wrote the screenplay for the film.

Here's the synopsis of the film from imdb.com:
Pontypool was adapted from the novel Pontypool Changes Everything by Tony Burgess, who also wrote the screenplay. The story is about "Shock jock" Grant Mazzy who has, once again, been kicked-off the Big City airwaves and now works at the only job he could get hosting the early morning show at CLSY Radio in Pontypool Ontario, which broadcasts from the basement of the small town's only church. What begins as another boring day of school bus cancellations due to yet another massive snow storm, things quickly turn deadly when reports of people having bizarre seizures, developing strange speech patterns and evoking horrendous acts of violence start piling in. Before long, Grant and the small staff at CLSY find themselves trapped in the radio station as they discover that this insane behaviour taking over the town is actually a deadly virus being spread through the English language itself. Do they stay on the air in the hopes of being rescued or, are they in fact providing the virus with its ultimate leap over the airwaves and into the world?

Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnFfD5F02j8

I hope this film comes out somewhere, whether it's another theatrical release or a DVD release, so more people can see it. It's very frustrating that indie horror films are pretty much ignored and overlooked for large, unoriginal franchises, like Saw or Final Destination or the countless unnecessary remakes that are so popular these days.

1 comment:

vvb32 reads said...

ooo, i'm interested in the movie version too. but first i want to read it.