Funny zombie splatter movie.
Dead snow or as the original title D�¸d Sn�¸.
Edit: The one page i skipped had dead snow in it. Someone delete this for me please.
Severance. This movie really should have sucked, but fucking blew my mind. Worth seeing, and it really really looked like it would suck dick.
[quote]roybot wrote:
Pontypool - gorehounds be warned, this is a zombie flick with no visible biting or brain-snacking: the action takes place in a small-town radio station where the staff attempt to defend themselves against a zombie virus with a very novel way of spreading itself (it transmits itself through language, so you’ll either love it or you’ll hate it), while reporting on the infected.
Most of the carnage takes place off-screen, and comes in the form of eyewitness reports phoned into the station from the radio weatherman who was trapped outside when the plague hit.
His description of the zombies’ attacks, his attempts to survive and his encounter with a zombified boy are some of the creepiest stuff I’ve seen in a horror…
I just saw this… I don’t know if I’m dense but I really didn’t get the ending.
The Devils Chair
Directed by Adam Mason
This movie creeps me out
[quote]chimera182 wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
Pontypool - gorehounds be warned, this is a zombie flick with no visible biting or brain-snacking: the action takes place in a small-town radio station where the staff attempt to defend themselves against a zombie virus with a very novel way of spreading itself (it transmits itself through language, so you’ll either love it or you’ll hate it), while reporting on the infected.
Most of the carnage takes place off-screen, and comes in the form of eyewitness reports phoned into the station from the radio weatherman who was trapped outside when the plague hit.
His description of the zombies’ attacks, his attempts to survive and his encounter with a zombified boy are some of the creepiest stuff I’ve seen in a horror…
I just saw this… I don’t know if I’m dense but I really didn’t get the ending.
[/quote]
I dont know if its cause im a wuss or what, but I had to turn this movie off… I think I just need to watch it during the day…
BAM!
For all of you who are fans of horror and ass-to-mouth who have, until now, been unable to find a suitable way to combine the two.
While the actual concept makes very little sense when examined with even a first-graders understanding of A&P, it is still messed up enough to keep you watching to see how it all ends.
Pontypool looks pretty awesome…
[quote]chimera182 wrote:
I just saw this… I don’t know if I’m dense but I really didn’t get the ending.
[/quote]
Do you mean the part where they inexplicably appear in the nightclub after you-know-what happens? That sort of lost me as well at first…bear in mind though, that the movie is set during Valentine’s Day - this is significant because the infection intially spreads through displays of affection, which is why listeners are warned not to use baby talk or terms of endearment because the ‘virus’ has reversed the meaning: to love is to murder…
The director, Bruce Macdonald outlines how the virus develops over three stages:
Later in the movie, the main characters are able to counteract the effect of the virus by reversing the meaning of words linked with violence (“to kill is to kiss”…). The post-credits coda is an extension of that…
It was garbage but it scared the shit out of me…Exorcist 3: The Beginning.
All that relgious mythology and conspiracy stuff really gets to me. Stellan Skarsgaard was pretty good in it too.
Worthy of mention: Event Horizon, Cube, Drag Me To Hell.
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]chimera182 wrote:
I just saw this… I don’t know if I’m dense but I really didn’t get the ending.
[/quote]
Do you mean the part where they inexplicably appear in the nightclub after you-know-what happens? That sort of lost me as well at first…bear in mind though, that the movie is set during Valentine’s Day - this is significant because the infection intially spreads through displays of affection, which is why listeners are warned not to use baby talk or terms of endearment because the ‘virus’ has reversed the meaning: to love is to murder…
The director, Bruce Macdonald outlines how the virus develops over three stages:
…[/quote]
I guess it was the you know what that confused me. Granted I watched it on megavideo and it seemed to run out just before the movie actually ended.
Link to the Pontypool radio play, presented as a genuine radio show (inspired by Orson Welles’ reading of War of the Worlds):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/2009/06/090617_pontypool_audio.shtml
Ignore the stuffy preamble: it starts around 01.36 in. Listen to this and watch the movie to get the most out of both.
[quote]chimera182 wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
Pontypool - gorehounds be warned, this is a zombie flick with no visible biting or brain-snacking: the action takes place in a small-town radio station where the staff attempt to defend themselves against a zombie virus with a very novel way of spreading itself (it transmits itself through language, so you’ll either love it or you’ll hate it), while reporting on the infected.
Most of the carnage takes place off-screen, and comes in the form of eyewitness reports phoned into the station from the radio weatherman who was trapped outside when the plague hit.
His description of the zombies’ attacks, his attempts to survive and his encounter with a zombified boy are some of the creepiest stuff I’ve seen in a horror…
[/quote]
I just saw this… I don’t know if I’m dense but I really didn’t get the ending.
[/quote]
That’s because they went left with the whole plot at that point. This had some interest through most of it because you were expecting more to happen. The idea of a “language virus” that somehow only affects one language just didn’t set with me.
This movie made about as much sense as The Happening.
It holds your attention though at least 3/4 of the way through.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
The idea of a “language virus” that somehow only affects one language just didn’t set with me.
This movie made about as much sense as The Happening.[/quote]
The thing is, the whole idea of infection through language is an abstract concept, so people expecting a rational explanation of the outbreak are going to walk away feeling cheated (as I said earlier, you’ll either love it or you’ll hate it).
There is sense to the movie, but you’ve just got to dig deeper than normal to find it (which is why I like it).
The movie doesn’t explain how the virus is created (we can only speculate, although I’m gonna read the book and check interviews to see if there is an explanation), but it does explain how it spreads so quickly: Valentine’s Day, the transmission of the virus via terms of endearment, the lost cat’s name (‘Honey’) all link in to each other and reflect how the virus inverts meaning: the day of love and happiness becomes a day of death and violence.
It is possible that the virus could infect other languages: the normal service of the radio show is interrupted by a military broadcast, warning of the outbreak. The broadcast is in French, and the last line of the message warns “not to translate this message”…but they could’ve said that at the start, really -lol.
I agree that the ending could’ve been stronger, though I suspect they were working with a relatively small budget here.
First of all, fuck you guys. RedBelt is great.
I have nothing else to add.
[quote]chimera182 wrote:
I guess it was the you know what that confused me. Granted I watched it on megavideo and it seemed to run out just before the movie actually ended.
[/quote]
You’ve got to look at the movie as a whole: the virus takes Valentine’s Day - when people are traditionally all loved up, even if they hate each other for the rest of the year - and makes them kill each other (there’s a lot of humor in Pontypool: the obituary section had me rolling)…
It also forced the two leads to fall in love in order to survive, even though they were at each other’s throats when they first met (they survived, IMO, because they disliked each other when the virus took hold). They end up not caring about the ‘you know what’ because they end up caring only about each other.
I really, really hesitate to say that because it makes the movie seem far more smooshy than it is .
The ‘you know what’ is inevitable because the military have been keeping tabs on the whole affair from the start (they hijack the radio frequency to broadcast a warning in French, so they seem to have some prior knowledge of the nature of the virus).
[quote]roybot wrote:
The thing is, the whole idea of infection through language is an abstract concept [/quote]
I hereby retract that last statement. Textspeak and internet shorthand are pretty frakking contagious, and quite real.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]chimera182 wrote:
[quote]roybot wrote:
Pontypool - gorehounds be warned, this is a zombie flick with no visible biting or brain-snacking: the action takes place in a small-town radio station where the staff attempt to defend themselves against a zombie virus with a very novel way of spreading itself (it transmits itself through language, so you’ll either love it or you’ll hate it), while reporting on the infected.
Most of the carnage takes place off-screen, and comes in the form of eyewitness reports phoned into the station from the radio weatherman who was trapped outside when the plague hit.
His description of the zombies’ attacks, his attempts to survive and his encounter with a zombified boy are some of the creepiest stuff I’ve seen in a horror…
[/quote]
I just saw this… I don’t know if I’m dense but I really didn’t get the ending.
[/quote]
That’s because they went left with the whole plot at that point. This had some interest through most of it because you were expecting more to happen. The idea of a “language virus” that somehow only affects one language just didn’t set with me.
This movie made about as much sense as The Happening.
It holds your attention though at least 3/4 of the way through.[/quote]
I wouldn’t compare it to the happening, no one is this movie was trying to outrun the wind, or talk to plants.
[quote]roybot wrote:
[quote]chimera182 wrote:
I guess it was the you know what that confused me. Granted I watched it on megavideo and it seemed to run out just before the movie actually ended.
[/quote]
You’ve got to look at the movie as a whole: the virus takes Valentine’s Day - when people are traditionally all loved up, even if they hate each other for the rest of the year - and makes them kill each other (there’s a lot of humor in Pontypool: the obituary section had me rolling)…
It also forced the two leads to fall in love in order to survive, even though they were at each other’s throats when they first met (they survived, IMO, because they disliked each other when the virus took hold). They end up not caring about the ‘you know what’ because they end up caring only about each other.
I really, really hesitate to say that because it makes the movie seem far more smooshy than it is .
The ‘you know what’ is inevitable because the military have been keeping tabs on the whole affair from the start (they hijack the radio frequency to broadcast a warning in French, so they seem to have some prior knowledge of the nature of the virus).
[/quote]
Interesting, the movie definitely takes some thinking. That or they’re just making it up as they go along, but I liked it so I’m going with the former.
[quote]chimera182 wrote:
Interesting, the movie definitely takes some thinking. That or they’re just making it up as they go along, but I liked it so I’m going with the former.
[/quote]
It certainly does take some thinking…I’ve gotten more out of it just by discussing it with you and Professor X. They aren’t making it up as they go along, though: there are books, a radio play (see above for link) and a planned sequel, all of which will hopefully expand on what we’ve seen.
It’s a mark of a good movie when you’re doing something mundane, only to suddenly flash back and say “damn, I missed that the first time” . That’s how I regard Pontypool, anyway.
I dunno if it’s a classic, but it is definitely unique, so it’s worth a second look, at least.
[quote]roybot wrote:
It also forced the two leads to fall in love in order to survive, even though they were at each other’s throats when they first met (they survived, IMO, because they disliked each other when the virus took hold). They end up not caring about the ‘you know what’ because they end up caring only about each other.
[/quote]
- Spoiler -
My theory is that the leads are still infected at the end, not cured: by reversing the meaning of language, they reverse the effects of the virus but become infatuated with each other instead of wanting to kill each other (hence the excessively romantic nightclub ending).
Infatuation becomes a symptom of the disease…