Pontypool is a Canadian psychological horror/thriller (one of a crop of hopefully groundbreaking horror films from around the world) receiving its UK Premiere at Frightfest 2009.

The plot concerns a deadly virus that infects a small Ontario town, the big difference with Pontypool over other similar films is that all the action takes place off camera. That’s right, you don’t get to see the break down of civilisation, it’s all communicated through interviews and phone calls, sounds boring, but it’s gripping and chilling thanks in part to the excellent script and solid, efficient directing and your own imagination.

During the vaguely disturbing opening monologue there’s a slight sense that Pontypool is going to be something special. However the next twenty minutes are like watching a mundane TV show (Frasier or Midnight Caller), it’s also a little stagey, the whole film being shot entirely on a single set. Initially distracting this serves the purpose (intentionally or otherwise) of creating a claustrophobic and atmospheric set up for the rest of the story.

After the first twenty minutes the story and characters develop and that slight sense of watching something special gives way to a definite impression which in turn leads to complete realisation. It was reminiscent of staying up late in the school holidays and watching films I really shouldn’t have been watching, probably on Moviedrome and presented by Alex Cox. It was like the first time I saw Silent Running or The Wicker Man and more recently Rec although Pontypool is totally different in style and tone it has that same sense of tension and cinematic wonder.

Pontypool has two key strengths that set it apart from most other low budget genre films. Firstly, its story which in classic low budget horror/sci-fi tradition is all about ideas, the central concept of the nature of the virus being strong enough to just about carry the film on its own. Secondly is the acting, notably a towering, faultless performance from veteran character actor Stephen McHattie as washed up big city shock jock Grant Mazzy. Lisa Houle (real life second wife of McHattie) provides the perfect foil as his small town single mom and producer/nemesis. There is also excellent support from Georgina Reilly as the passive but strong willed studio engineer with a mild case of hero worship.

To be fair there are some minor weaknesses and criticisms. The film loses some of its tension in the third act with an explanation that provides far too much information in too short a space of time to be credible and that’s compounded by a weak performance out of step with the rest of the film. I won’t go into detail though as it’s something of a key plot point and the film does manage to recover.

Overall it’s a stunning piece of work, a throwback to films that influenced me during my formative years in the eighties. Often stronger in their conceptualisation than their realisation such films didn’t need billion dollar CGI, they didn’t pander to a corporate demographic because they had the courage of their ideas and trusted the imagination of the viewer. Ultimately, like Pontypool, these were films that had soul.

Awesome 8/10