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Pontypool
User Score
7.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 25
  3. Negative: 3 out of 25

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  1. JayH
    Oct 8, 2009
    6
    I was impressed with the films original approach. It unfortunately goes a little off the deep end however, which was disappointing after such a promising first half. Good performances, great atmosphere.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. DaveM
    Oct 13, 2009
    8
    this was smart, original, captivating and scary. It's disheartening to think that much of the mainstream media don't agree. I loved this movie, and its events and characters have stayed with me for quite some time.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. dragonpenchant
    May 29, 2009
    9
    This movie is a diamond in the rough. smart and funny and equal doses, all the while keeping you glued to the edge of your seat.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. MartinS.
    Sep 12, 2009
    10
    was hooked on this from start to finish, nothing to what I expected and Stephen McHattie is superb in it also.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. djalex
    Aug 13, 2010
    8
    I am a horror, zombie and sci-fi fan and this satisfies all of the above with originality and great tension. The acting and directing are very good in this movie. The concept is really clever as well. There is one moment near the end that makes this movie an 8 and not a 10. MAYBE CONSIDERED A SPOILER: The DJ finally figures out what to do and right in the middle of building this moment up to a crescendo the writer/ director has him go into a preachy diatribe about war. It completely ruins the turning point of the story. It has nothing to do with what the characters are going through and is clearly the preachy voice of the filmmaker intruding in on the story and tension. Otherwise the movie hooked me and kept me guessing with great tension. I really hated that they ruined that with dialogue about men wanting war. In the very very end we are left to an ambiguous fonal moment that we think we know the answer to. I think we have had enough endings in films like that for a while I would have liked to see a clever execution of the very end they hinted at. of course filming this last moment would have probably cost as much as the whole movie so i can understand them leaving it to the imagination.… Expand
  6. ERG1008
    Nov 22, 2010
    7
    Man goes to work at radio station, strange events happening at Doctor's surgery in town whilst on air, trapped in radio building with producer & engineer, Doctor shows up, gets stranger. A brilliant idea & a good take on the zombie genre but let down by its execution & stupidity in parts. The film is mainly shot in one set, which is the radio station, with a few scenes of outside & it really does give a claustrophobic feel as it goes along. The cast play it out pretty well but I really wanted Sydney dead about half way through due to her stupidity & plain annoyingness.… Expand
  7. klogd
    Feb 15, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First 60 minutes are great, good acting and it sets a great eerie zombie mood. But then the story just got so dumb it actually made me facepalm.. Spoiler: You can get infected (become a "zombie") by words in the English language... Yes that's right, and you can get cured by pretending the word means something else for 15 seconds, and then you're free to use the word again apparently.. Sorry, but that's just so stupid it doesn't even belong in fiction. Maybe Dr Who or the Twilight zone could pull it off, but this movie does not… Expand
  8. TomGlos
    May 8, 2012
    10
    Excellent movie, interesting premise. Thinking that maybe those marking it down don't really get it.  Don't expect an action flick, heck it's not really even a zombie flick.  If you like intelligent, well written and well acted understated performances and quirky sic-fi then this is a movie for you.
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
54 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    50
    Pontypool doesn't jell--its pretensions way exceed its reach--yet it's madly suggestive, and it rekindled my affection for the genre.
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  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Rob Nelson
    40
    A zombie flick sans bite.
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  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Melissa Anderson
    40
    For a film about the perils of too much talk, there's quite a lot of babbling presented as profundity. The political statements in Pontypool, much like those in another recent Canadian offering, Atom Egoyan's trite terrorism hand-wringer "Adoration," seem all the less provocative for appearing several years too late--McDonald's film might have had more punch if it were released when Bluetooth first rolled out.
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