Hallowatch 2026 No. 18: Pontypool (2008)

Wikipedia; discussion of spoilers/plot follows

This movie could've been a stage play. Hell, this movie could've been a podcast. I loved it.

Pontypool was an exercise in restraint that I think does more to reinvent the zombie genre than Train to Busan did. A breezy 96 minutes, it's about a memetic-phonetic virus that outbreaks, causing people to vocal stim until they snap. That means everyone has to watch what they say, avoid "improper" English, it's such a weird version of a story I've watched a ton.

I think McHattie and real-life-spouse Lisa Houle do such a bang-up job in the role of the two leads who have a contentious workplace relationship. If there are criticisms to be made, I think the crowd scenes could've used some work; the opening encounter being a little clearer would've been good too; and Hrant Alianak's Dr Jon Mendez speaking english with a "mad scientist german" accent but then speaking armenian was a weird choice, like maybe they could've cut down the tour of europe to one place there.

Strong recommend on this one. I'll definitely be rewatching it; I don't think it needs a sequel, but if Tony Burgess or Bruce McDonald was to come up with a quality sequel hook, I'd definitely check that out. I think rather than a remake, doing touring productions as a stage play would be really damn cool. ■

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