Fido - Zombie is Man's Best Friend

Click here to jump to a SPOILER FREE REVIEW

Plot
The film takes place in a 1950s-esque, alternate universe where radiation from space has turned the dead into zombies. This resulted in the "Zombie Wars", where humanity battled zombies but ended with humanity's victory. In true Romero fashion the radiation still leads to zombification regardless of death. In order to continue living normal lives, communities are fenced with the help of a governing corporation named Zomcon. Zomcon provides collars with accompanying remote controls to control the zombies' hunger for flesh. Zombies are domesticated as slaves/servants. 

In the town of Willard, housewife Helen Robinson (Carrie-Anne Moss) buys a zombie in spite of her husband Bill's (Dylan Baker) zombie phobia. Bill has had bad experiences with zombies in the Zombie Wars. Their son, Timmy (K'Sun Ray), befriends the zombie as a loyal pet, naming him "Fido". One day, Fido's collar malfunctions and he kills their next door neighbor, who in turn becomes a zombie. Timmy "kills" the zombified neighbor later, but not before she kills and infects another person, causing a small outbreak. Zomcom security forces quell the situation and then investigate what caused the outbreak.

When a pair of local bullies are blamed for the missing neighbor, they capture Fido and Timmy. Fido escapes and runs to find Helen, who comes and rescues Timmy from the now zombie bullies. During all the excitement Fido acted without his collar on, overcoming his hunger for human flesh.

Several days later, the neighbor's body is found and the murder is traced back to Fido, who is taken away to Zomcon for destruction. But Timmy learns that Fido is simply working in a factory at Zomcon. Timmy sets out to rescue him with the help of Mr. Theopolis (Tim Blake Nelson). After causing a small zombie outbreak at the factory, Timmy locates Fido, but is captured by Mr. Bottoms. Mean Mr. Bottoms attempts to throw Timmy into the zombie-infested "wild zone", but Papa Bill comes to the rescue. Bill is killed by Mr. Bottoms and Mr. Bottoms get's killed by Fido. The film ends with Fido as a surrogate father and husband to, Timmy and Hellen. They, along with a few neighbors happily enjoy their new domestic lives together, including the zombified Jonathan Bottoms who is now more attentive to his daughter.

The Good, the Bad, and the Gory

The Good
Satire
I bet a few people out there would call this movie a comedy, but a movie with zombies is automatically classified as Horror, which I'm fine with. I love zombies and wouldn't want to push them any farther away from my Horror-filled heart. While low on the horror side, Fido is rich in comedy.

The film's setting is great. I grew up watching TV Land reruns of Leave it to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show, and I Dream of Jeannie. I understood the concept of the idealistic, innocent portrayal of the 1950's. It was the image of a wholesome time, when life was simple, without scandal or tragedy  Back when men were men, and women were content. This false-reality America is a great place for writers and directors to contrast the harsh reality of life, as seen in movies like Pleasantville and The Stepford Wives. So why not throw in zombies?

This whole movie is hilarious.  Kid's practicing shooting at school, zombies doing yard work, paying extra for a 'head coffins'  at your funeral. It's great to see the morbid, cruel realities of a zombie apocalypse so dismissed as trivial in cheery neighbourhood.  Kids sneaking into the zombie-shoot simply get a stern talkings-to when they shoot a cop. I think it's all so funny because we tend to accuse the past of trivializing the ugly truth to meet their simplistic vision of life. And I don't care who you are, it is always funny to see people living up to their own stereotype.

And, on simpler note, I love that they treat the zombies like dogs. Putting them on leashes, tying them up at night, only able to respond with grunts (zombie bark). The obvious analogy of Timmy and Fido to Lassie is funny enough. I'm sure you could pick out any number of Lassie episodes in the movie. I just love watching Fido put on his big puppy dog eyes when he's sad.

The Setting
I found that throughout this whole movie my eyes didn't stop darting around the screen, trying to take in every little bit of detail. Everything looked so authentic and life like. Now that might be due to the fact that all the other 50's-set shows I've seen were sitcoms made in the 70's, and I was now just now seeing a 50's portrayal filmed in HD. But whatever, it looked cool to me. I think the dynamic use of color was also used to accent the falsehood and superficiality of the period.

The Casting/Acting
This movie had a dynamite cast (note their movies). All of them were experienced and all of them understood acting in a satire. Henry Czerny (Mission Impossible, Clear and Present Danger) pulls off the stern, militaristic, misogynist excellently. Tim Blake Nelson (Lincoln, O'Brother Where Art Thou) steps in as the creepy neighbor,  Mr. Theopolis, but manages to bring humor and even sympathy into his bizarre role. Dylan Barker (Spider man 2 & 3, The Cell) has had an amazing career as a supporting actor, and shows off his acting chops in Fido. He plays the dumb and distant father. The Father to son talks are so awkward, and Barker manages to look physically uncomfortable throughout the whole move. It's perfect. 

Kesun Loder hasn't done much since his break out roll as Timmy, but he was perfect for the part. He was a small, skinny, smart looking boy. He was able to pull of victimization in a sympathetic way. But the star of the show has to be Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix, Chocolate, Disturbia). She plays the mother. And I'll just say this with no same, even as she has gotten older, she has entered a whole new stage of sunning beauty. She's hot enough to make corpses turn heads, and literally does in the movie. Moss plays a dynamic character going from a shallow, plastic, always-smile mom to an understanding, independent, fight-for-what's-right mom. A fantastic performance. And of course Billy Connolly (Boondocks Saints, The Last Samurai) does a wonderful, albeit quiet, job as Fido. Go listen to him off set, he's got a huge Scottish accent.

The Bad
Ok, honestly, I couldn't think of many bad elements in this movie. Now that doesn't mean this is a perfect movie. Just because it doesn't have as many bad's stacked against it, doesn't mean it outshines other movies with some bads.

Plot
Some people will take issue with the plot of this movie. The plot starts out strong and has a good direction, but kinda fizzle out towards the end. It doesn't have the solid A->B->C plot line formula that lots of people expect. But that being said, I've seen a lot of movies with much better plot lines that were much worse than Fido.

The Gory
If you were hoping this movie would bring all the brain splattering, skull cracking, gore of Shaun of the Dead, then you will be disappointed. In fact this is probably the least graphic zombie movie you could find from the last 30 years. With no nudity, no drugs, and only minimal blood and a couple rubber severed limbs, I'm kinda hard pressed to find any reason for the R rating. This could easily be PG-13.

Canadian Director Andrew Currie

My Take on it All
I am a lover of all things zombie. Hand's down, my favorite Horror Subgenre. I grew up watching all the zombie apocalypse movies, and loved them, but then as an adult, my tastes changed. While I still enjoyed the classic 'zombie outbreak' movies, I really enjoyed the 'after the apocalypse' concepts like Zombieland, I am Legend, The Walking Dead, and of course the soon to be movie WWZ. I don't just want to see how people survive zombies, but how they live in a world of zombies. Probably because I'd always wonder what the horror hero's did after the credits rolled.

I explained all that simply to say I loved Fido because it showed a post zombie-apocalypse world that returns to innocents and good cheer.  Most films show a hardened, rugged group of survivors and this film shows a fatter, happier group of survivors. I love the contrast.

I love the era too. Even if you took the zombies out of this movie it would still be a funny, sarcastic look at the 50's. Timmy tells his mother about bullies pointing a gun at him, but she is quick to point out the more pressing issue of his dirty shirt. Father Bill has to ask for 'propriety' after receiving his wife's kiss in front of their son. Bill gives his son some sagely advice, "to get over that", 'that' meaning his feelings. Fido gives you what's great about the 50's while making fun of what we hated.

And if you really don't like the 50's, then there is a little string of social defiance just for you. The character of Helen shows a growth of persona in coming to understand her son, their zombie, dancing to the radio, ordering men around, and other such improper things. She is clearly set up as an independent, firm-minded, defiant women.

But the thing that makes this movie is the casualness of it all. I love to imagine a world where the zombie-apocalypse is no big deal. Zomcom officers watch a murderous zombie attack from the comfort of their cop car. While Helen says this isn't normal, she calmly burns the bodies of Timmy's class mates. Little girl Cindy actually prefers her dad as a zombie on a leash. The contrast is funny, and bizarre, and awesome.

The flick is lacking in the scare and gore department, but hey, your nerves could use a rest every now and then.


SPOILER FREE REVIEW
Fido is a comedy/horror about a 1950's world after a zombie-apocalypse where mankind won, and zombies became pets. This film is a satire of the classic, 50's Leave it to Beaver/Lassie story-type. It pokes fun of the era while poking fun of zombies. The humor is dry, and ironic, so slapstick fan's beware. While there are zombie attacks, the gore is low, and I'd be hard pressed to even call it bloody. The movie could really pass for a PG-13. If you have a friend who is terrified of horror movies, this might be a good one to ween them in on. A must see for all zombie and humor fans alike.

Final Grade: A-

Trailer

Leave your thoughts bellow!

Slither - An "A" Quality B-Film

What do Avery Jessup, Mal Reynolds and Pam Beesly have in common?

Click here to jump to the SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

Plot

The film opens with a meteor/capsule containing an alien parasite crashing to earth. Then we are given a brief introduction to small town life in of Wheelsy, South Carolina as well as an introduction to Grant and Starla. While Starla  strives the whole movie to be a good wife, Grant is less than chivalrous from the get go. While frolicking with another women he stumbles upon the meteorite and is violently infected by it. It takes control of Grant but he continues act as Grant while it buys meat, kills dogs, and mutates.

Sensing her distance from her husband, Starla contacts town sheriff Bill Pardy (her childhood crush) who attempts to reassure and comfort her while not acting on his feelings.

Grant infects a women with hundreds of his offspring. He hides her in an isolated barn where she becomes massively obese as baby alien slugs grow inside her. Pardy leads a small group of officers on a hunt for Grant, only to be lured into a trap where a massive, swollen blob of a women explodes releasing hundreds of the alien slugs. Most of Pardy's group become infected, zombie-like creatures. The infected begin to want Starla and talk to her as if they are Grant.

Before long, the rest of the town becomes infected by the parasites and are all controlled via a hive mind connection with Grant. During a failed bonding attempt with the girl name Kylie, we learn about the parasite's history and plans to infect the rest of the world. Pardy, Starla, Kylie, and Mayor MacReady make it back to town and decide to kill Grant. Unlucky for them. the townspeople attack their vehicle and capture Starla.

The survivors, Pardy and Kylie, follow Starla only to discover the infected are melding into one giant creature. Starla charms the monster by calling him "Grant" and telling him they can be together, but as they get close to each other, she stabs him in the chest. While trying to infect Pardy with his tentacles  Pardy attaches one to a small propane tank, filling Grant with gas. Starla shoots the monster, causing it to explode. Huzzah!

The Good the Bad and the Gorey
The Good
The Humor
This is a funny movie. I feel like characters react in the same way I would react in that situation, namely, "Holy Crap! What is going on?!" There aren't gallant heroes or conniving scientists, just a bunch of really freaked out people. It's funny to take a step back from the horror movie and remember how ridiculous it all is. I feel like Nathan Fillon's character, Pardy, embodies this ideas the best. He seems genuinely shocked and confused by the bizarre events. You could say he is playing the same role as Mal from Firefly, without so much sass. There are some great one-liners, the Mayor (Gregg Henry) being particularly hilarious. Even Elizabeth Banks is funny as her zombie killing ferocity replaces her southern daintiness. 

The Scares
Don't let the humor fool you, this movie is plenty scary. While most of them are the tried and true scare tactics of classic horror, that doesn't make them bad. The jump-out-at-ya and the ominous-villain-starring-through-the-window are classics because they are good. The heroes are constantly getting cornered by zombies or slugs, cause plenty of tense moments. You'll spend plenty of time saying, "Holy Crap! Get out of there!"

The Gorey
This is a must see for all fan of Splatter Films. I love the gore/special effects of this movie because of the balance between CGI and make up/models. CGI makes gore unrealistic. It's easy to spot and easy to disconnect from. However for fast moving shots like swinging tentacles or slugs pouring out of a giant women, CGI works well. It's hard to call the gore realistic since it's a story about aliens and slugs. Some if has an almost cartoonist style, such as the blob women and the mutations of Grant. But when the gore was meant to be realistic, as in stabbing zombies or eviscerating hunters, it does look real.

Recognition should be given to the make up/model guys of this film for taking on some huge design projects and pulling them off swimmingly.

A behind the scenes look at the Special Effects of Slither. 

My Thoughts on it All
Slither's director James Gunn, is best know for writing the screen play of the Dawn of the Dead remake. It was a bold move to remake a beloved classic, but he pulled it off by understanding the genre. Gunn was able to take the basic ingredients of a zombie movie, add in a dash of personal creativity, and create a new pillar of the zombie sub-genre.

Part of me feels that is what he did with this movie. Gunn said he was inspired by the Splatter Films of the 80's (Evil Dead II, Return of the Living Dead, etc) and wanted to bring back some guts and gore to the horror genre. Now this definitely is a Splatter Film, I also see this as a creature movie.

James Gunn's Own words

http://www.filmthreat.com/interviews/1070/

I love creature movies. As a kid, whenever I went to the video store, they were the fist ones to catch my eye. Since then I've watched a lot of creature movies, some of them good, a lot of them bad. Most creature movies end up as a "b reel" film because of low budget, poor writing or both. But all them have the certain elements of: the creature secretly operating the around humans, the gradual discovery of the creature, the creature's grand revel  and the teamwork that kills the creature. It's a tried and true formula that works.

Slither is meant to be a culmination of b-reel creature films. It follows the same formula but adds in good acting, good dialogue and great special effects. So some people would say that Slither is uncreative or unimaginative and they do have a point. But really, isn't it just refreshing to watch a b-reel movie that is actually good? I see this movie as vindication for the formula that gave me my favorite movies like Tremors, Jeepers Creepers, and Eight Legged Freaks. And making the movie hilarious and fun to watch at the same time just makes it all that much sweeter.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW
Slither  is a Splatter Film that scratches your itch for gore and monsters. The film follows a man infected by an alien parasite and his need to infest others. While the movie does follow a clique horror movie formula  it brings some great humor to the mix. Don't think that just because it has laughs that it isn't scary  With some good jump-at-ya scares and some gory deaths, this movie is plenty capable of creeping you out. With some good acting and some excellent specie effects this movie is a special honor to b-reel horror movies every where. 

Final Grade: B+

TRAILER

Let me hear your thoughts in the comments bellow!

The Return of the Living Dead - Do you want to party?

I love me some zombie movies. I feel drawn to them, like zombie is drawn to brains. But to understand something you have to understand its roots. And after three or four George Romero movies, you will end up here on your zombie journey   So hold on to your brains for The Return of the Living Dead.

Click here to skip to the end for a SPOILER FREE REVIEW.

Plot
This show opens with Freddie getting his orientation for his new job at "Laid Back Medical Supplies". Freddie is wearing a sleeve-less t-shirt and suspenders, just to make sure we know we've arrived in the 80's. Trying to impress the new kid, the idiot Frank accidentally busts open a government barrel holding a zombie and a crap-load of orange zombie gas. When the two regain consciousnesses they discover the the cadavers, both dog and human, are alive again. They decide to call the boss.

During all this we meet Freddie's gang. With the exception of Freddie's girlfriend, they look like they were donated to the film by the Punk High-Schooler Emporium. Looking "to party", they go to wait for Freddie in the cemetery next door. There they listen to music, act tough, and get naked.

When boss-man Burt comes to the warehouse and determines they've got to kill the zombie cadaver. Follow the logic of the movies, they try to destroy the brain only to discover they can't be killed. Each separated body part is still out for murder. 

Burt determines the only way to get rid of the zombie is to cremate it at the mortuary inside the cemetery. After hauling in bags full of dismembered-zombie to the mortuary, they convince the mortician to cremate the body parts. As the ash-filled smoke rises from the crematorium  it's washed down by the ran onto the cemetery.At the same time Freddie and Frank are getting real sick. The original exposure to the zombie-gas is poisoning them. They call an ambulance to come get them at the mortuary. 

As the cemetery and the kids are getting washed down, Tina goes looking for her boyfriend at the warehouse. Instead she finds the zombie from the government canister. She ends up trapped, but not to fear, because the 80's Rock Band comes to save her. Mr. Tough Guy get's his brains eaten out, but the rest manage to trap Tar Man in the basement.

Then the action really picks up. All the zombies in the cemetery rise up, eat Ms. Naked Girl, eat the ambulance paramedics, and chase most of the kids to the mortuary. Everyone barricades the mortuary and in the process capture a zombie. The zombie (which is both conscience and talkative) explains that eating brains placates the constant pain of death.

It becomes apparent that Frank and Freddie are turning into zombies and they get locked away. Burt and Mr. Token-Black-Kid jump in a car and head over to the warehouse, leaving Tina and the Mortician to hide from the Zombie Freddie.

All the while cops keep showing up and getting eaten. The situation is really getting out of hand, so Burt calls the number on the military canister  This activates a military protocol in the form of a nuclear strike on the town.

The Good, the Bad, and the Gorey.
The Good
I love the period that this movie represents in the Horror Genre. Return of the Living Dead came out in the mid 80's. This is my favorite period of monster movies because it was all about the spectacle.  It was a time that horror movies were established enough to start looking back at themselves. The genre started with the classic movie monsters like Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstine, but as time went on, those monsters were revamped anew. The Howling and The Lost Boys were horror films that didn't establish the monster's background, assuming the audience already understood. 

Return of the Living Dead does the very same. It even mentions George Romero's zombie movies by name. We don't have to have the annoying, "What is that? I think its a zombie. No it's just a crazy person. No wait, you were right, it's a zombie." Instead we just have complete focus on dealing with the zombies.

Now, I love George Romero. He will forever be the Godfather of all things Zombie. But Return of the Living Dead was pivotal to the creation of the zombie as we know it today. In this movie, writer and director Dan O'Bannon gave use the first fast/running zombies, the first speaking/logical zombies, and the call of zombies everywhere, "Braaains!" Granted it took a silly, humors movie to establish these elements, but movies like 28 Days Later and the Crazies all developed the concepts further.

As I've said before, I'm no lover of CGI gore, and this flick gave me models and makeup too my heart's content. The over-the-top theme of this movie is seen in the ridiculous gore. While not up to any Evil Dead levels, brains and blood fly freely on screen. I loved the zombie dubbed "Tar Man". He looks like a monkey covered in tar, but there is something about they way he moves his long, slender arms and legs that creeped me out good. And the amputee zombie made me jump for sure. Sometimes the models could come off as cartoon-ish, but in a funny, ridiculousness movie, I'm willing to forgive.

Once the movie takes off, the action is top notch. Zombies breaking down windows, tricking cops, charging checkpoints, biting open heads like nutcrackers. The accelerator jams down for the whole second half.

The acting in this movie isn't great, but it isn't suppose to be. All the characters are suppose to be one dimensional, clearly seen by the stereotypical personalities of "the Gang". The movie isn't about the characters, but about the events themselves, evidenced by the fact that everyone got nuked. 

All that being said though, I do love watching James Karen loose his sh*t over the course of the film.

The Bad
My biggest concern with this film is the pacing. The zombie hoards don't start amassing until 50 min in. Maybe I'm being picky but I think that is a lot of time to get going. Especially for a farce with no need for monster-background or character development.

I could pick at the cataclysmic  everyone dies ending, but if you are watching horror movies for the neat, tidy endings, then you need to pick a different genre.



Why I Liked It   
Humor
You might recognize Dan O'Bannon from his co-writer title on Alien. That's right Alien. One of my all time scariest movie. So it's clear that O'Bannon knows horror. Which was lucky for all of us because in order to do a farce of anything, you first have to understand it. Return of the Living Dead is funny. It pokes at the horror genre in general. You have blatant unnecessary nudity, the bumbling idiots of Frank and Freddie, the innocent damsel in distress, the unscrupulous business men in Burt. Plus the zombies themselves were funny. They talk and trick policemen into becoming their snacks.

It's fun
I like this movie simply because it's fun. I love horror movies for all their classic dark terror, but it can be refreshing to see a movie break the norm every once and a while. This movie has scares and gross zombies in it, but it doesn't have the dark melodrama of most horror movies. There aren't any grave moral decisions to be made, no mirror of man's inhumanity, no condemnation of the hubris of scientists. Nope. It's just a zombie movie. Pure and simple.

I mean the zombies come out of the ground essentially singing.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW
The Return of the Living Dead is a must see. The film throws teenagers, medical supply employees, a graveyard into a bag, shakes it up, and spits out a classic zombie movie. With classic 80's gore and a couple of jump-at-ya scares it well fits the label of horror. However, set more as a farce of traditional, Romero-ian zombie flicks, this movie is funny. Enjoy the cliques and the stereotypes. It isn't horrifying or nail-biting, it's just fun.

A classic, humorous, fun. Let's not try and over think it. 

Final Grade: A-

   Trailer!

Pontypool - Radio Play Terror

I didn't stand a chance with this movie. Seeing as I share the rather unique first name of the main character, this movie got a lot more real for me, really fast. But I tried to smooth out my shattered nerves and review the psychological horror, Pontypool.

Click here to jump to the end for a SPOILER FREE REVIEW.

Plot
The saga opens with Stephen McHattie’s character, Grant, driving to work through the morning snow and cold. On the way he has the unsettling experience of a women pounding on his car window, speaking a few confusing words, and then simply walking off into the dark Canadian morning. Grant Mazzy is the new radio host of the small Canadian town of Pontypool. Grant doesn't have the greatest opinion of his more amateur gig in isolated Pontypool after his the more exciting shock-jock position he held previously. Nonetheless, Grant begins his morning show with the help of the very lovely Laurel-Ann (Georgina Reilly) and the stern traditionalist producer Sidney(Lisa Houle). After some character-establishing back and forth between the three, strange reports start coming in. Through some dramatic call-ins, police reports, and official alerts, we learn that a murderous riot in spreading in Pontypool, of which individuals are acting and speaking bizarrely. Confused and suspicious of the incoming reports, Grant wants to take a walk, maybe see some of the crisis with his own eyes. They soon discover a growing mob around their building, chanting the words of the radio piped out over loudspeakers. The three lock themselves inside, and go back to the microphone. Sadly, the unrealistically attractive Laurel-Ann starts babbling, and speaking in a trance. At the same time, a plot device is literally dropped into the story, when Dr. Mendez crawls through a window and shuts himself, Grant and Sidney up in the radio booth. Dr. Mendez is connected to the outbreak of a virus in Pontypool. He explains over the radio, that the virus is carried by words in the English language. Infected words infect people and make them drawn to the speech of others. They are so drawn to others, that they try and eat their way into an other's mouth. This zombie-insanity is clearly seen as the infected Laurel-Ann bites at and charges the booth, and then dies. *Tear. After some cerebral back and forth, they decide that a word must be “understood” to infect. The massing horde breaks into the station and surrounds the booth looking for some tasty words. They use the loudspeakers to draw the horde out, but it looks like Dr. Mendez is losing it. But really the doctor is discovering that other languages are virus immune. After killing a zombie, Grant and Sidney hide while the doctor selflessly leads the zombies away. After a good build of dramatic tension, a climax is reached when the two discover a cure is created when an infected word loses its mental understanding. The culmination is a dramatic radio broadcast of the discovery as the military prepares to bomb the station. Grant and Sidney smooch in a rather Thelma and Louise type fashion.

The Good and the Bad
Acting
I am extremely impressed with the overall acting in this movie. Stephen McHattie was perfect for the lead role. With an acting record as long as his, you can’t expect anything other than a phenomenal performance. And Pontypool demanded good acting. The movie is shot in one location, without much movement, focusing on dialogue. McHattie’s leathery, hardened face is transfixing with his sly smiles, genuine confusion, and consuming terror. Strangely, it’s not boring watching a guy simply talk into a microphone for ¾ of the whole movie.
Lisa Houle does a great job as well. She easily brings across her early role, the simplistic and conservative station manager, but really shows off her chops as the crisis grows. Her fear seems real and her despair is consuming.
I don’t know whether the character of Laurel-Ann is simply one dimensional or if Georgina Reily is simply a young actor in this movie, but either way her performance was pretty forgettable. But I’ll forgive her, because she is so pretty and because she made a good zombie.

Cinematography
Again, I’m amazed at what the director is able to pull off with this story. It is very much a bottled-in plot. You could easily turn this movie into a stage performance with a single set. Even with that limitation though, the director hardly uses the same camera shot twice. The framing is dynamic and conveys the confusing and changing developments of the movie. The close-up is used liberally as the tension builds.

Style
The director, Tony Burgess, was clearly influenced by famous Orwellian radio plays like The War of the Worlds. It is a type of drama/horror that is hard to expresses in film, but this movie pulls it off. Simply hearing dialogue and newscasts is more scary than you’d think. The most terrifying moments are when a reporter calls in and describes the insane mob pulling people from a car and ripping them to pieces. Hearing the football player screaming, literally, like a baby gave me shivers. Not being able to see the ensuing chaos adds a new level of terror and fear. I’m a firm believer that horror is more what you don’t see, than what you do see. The things we imagine are much scarier because it adds us into the creative process. In essence, we end up making the monsters ourselves. The radio is a perfect medium for this brand of terror.    

Plot Progression
The style of Pontypool is great for a director because it allowed him to completely control the plot progression. All the information comes from call-ins and broadcasts, so the director has complete control of timing. The timing and pacing of the movie is great. The crisis grows from confusing, disconnected reports. I was so confused when the French alert warned that affectionate words and baby talk were related to the glowing plague.
Our understanding of the plague finally becomes clear at about 1:10 mins. And then there is a bit of a zombie-holdout scenario, a quick cure discovery, and then the movie is over. I thought this was the biggest problem with Pontypool. All build up, with very little bang. I spent an hour plus piecing together this catastrophe, investing emotionally into the characters, and then the movie just ends? Where is the dramatic fighting for our lives moment? Where was the, “let’s use our new found knowledge of the zombies to defeat them”? I wanted more of the classic zombie survival scenario. And it’s probably just because I do love zombie movies so much, but I was left wanting more. This movie gets you all hot and bothered with horror anxiety and then turns out to be a zombie-action tease.

But don't take my word for it. Listen the the director Tony Burgess discussing Pontypool.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW
Pontypool is a George Orwell radio horror for today. If you are a big fan of fast action and bloody monsters, this isn't the one for you. Grant, the shock-jock at a radio station in small-town Pontypool, listens to and broadcasts strange reports of lunacy spreading throughout the community. This movie brings terror through your ears and into your imagination. What you don't see, can scare you. The steady build of anxiety will leave you on pins and needles long after the credits roll. The premise of the movie is entirely unique and will keep you thinking and wondering. Without a lot of violence or gore, this movie could have easily been bumped down to PG-13 if they had knocked off a couple of f-words. But don’t let a low gore movie turn you off. The terror Pontypool creates in your mind is real enough. With quality acting and quality cinematography, this movie delivers the language of fear. 

Final Grade: B

Trailer

______________________________________________________                                                       

REC - Found Footage Zombies

Simply put, Blair Witch Project + Dawn of the Dead = [REC] . But don’t let that simplistic definition turn you off, because I guarantee this movie isn't what you think it is. In a world full of the most awful made-for-Netfilx Zombie movies, this is a much needed breath of fresh air. This movie will definitely get you airborne out of your seat and leave you peeking around corners in your own house. So get ready for a Spanish lesson in this soon-to-be-canonized zombie flick [REC].

Jump to the end for a SPOILER FREE REVIEW.

The Plot

This found footage news story follows the young, up-and-coming journalist Angela and her cameraman Pablo. They are spending a night with the local city fire department, hoping to show the firemens’ selfless service to the city. And lucky (unlucky) for them a call comes and firefighters with reporters in tow, rush off to a small apartment building. Meeting the police and the distraught tenets of the apartment, they soon discover a little old lady, bloodied and hungry for cop neck. Rushing downstairs with the wounded officer the group finds they have been placed under military quarantine.Everyone is rather upset and pretty curious about this disease, especially after having to gun down the little-old lady. It’s announced that a health inspector is coming in to test everyone. And wearing his full hazmat suit. the inspector comes on in. While tending to the wounded, some handcuffs aren't put on quite right and some more of the tenets get bit. The inspector fesses up that a deadly virus, spread by saliva, was traced to their building, hence the quarantine. The virus has deferring effect times based on different blood types. The tenets, cops, and firefighters are quickly whittled off, leaving Angela and Pablo in the penthouse trapped by a dozen zombies. They discover the eerie writings and recordings of a catholic priest who was investigating a possible disease causing the possession of a local teenage girl. The priest ended his investigation by locking the possessed/zombified girl in the apartment. Angela and Pablo get the unfortunate joy of meeting said girl and getting hammered to death by her.

Here’s what was Good About It
Found Footage Fear

I've never even seen Blair Witch Project (I know, it’s on the list) but I can tell you that I share with the rest of the world an aversion to the found footage style. Shaky cameras, fast moving/blur, and strange angels can at best leave the viewer uncomfortable or frustrated, at worst they can make you physically sick. And the found footage style just completely controls the direction and tone of the movie. Even single shot you make has to be justified as reasonable or natural to the characters. And it was a novelty that had pretty well worn off by the mid-2000’s.

But all that being said, it was the greatest choice the directors could have made for [REC]. This movie wouldn't work with any other style. The plot and characters weren’t big enough for a traditional set shot movie. The found footage made it so personal and real that the viewer can’t help but feel drawn in. So often a zombie movie is showing the apocalypse and worldwide destruction. I mean do we have to be fighting for humanity's survival every time? It was refreshing to see zombies on a small scale, where the stakes were very personal.

I was amazed at how steady and blur-free they were able to keep the shots in [REC], even in a multi-floored environment. Found footage is great for cutting out unnecessary dialogue and low energy scenes. And while I’m not sure how I feel about night vision in movies in general, it was great in this movie. It was very Silence of the Lambs, except the protagonist/villain view was reversed, and the villain was a teenaged zombie, not a sadistic serial killer. Ok, they were nothing alike, but it was still great camera work.

Glorious Gore
The effects in [REC] were very well done. If you were looking for splatter fest, this isn’t the one you are looking for, go watch Planet Terror. This is a movie of realistic gore. Most of it wasn’t even CGI, just good old fashioned makeup and corn syrup. The first zombie bite was disturbingly realistic. Seeing someone’s neck stretch before it snaps makes my stomach do back flips. The CGI of the teen girl zombie at the end is decent. It is put in night vision mode, which easily covers up any quality issues.  
An anecdotal note. The scene where the fireman falls from the ceiling and splatters with blood? The body  was dropped without the actors prior knowledge. Their reactions were as real as mine when that fireman splatted and I launched out of my seat.

Why I liked this movie
Originality
No, [REC] is not the first found footage movie, not even the first zombie found footage movie (Diary of the Dead), but it a found footage movie that makes sense. The first act and setup are a little slow, but they are believable. The scenario itself is believable and logical. The viewer isn't forced to make huge assumptions about the plot and can simply follow the logical response to the events. I could complain about the one dimensional characters or shallow acting, but I think it actually helps the plot. You don’t look for characters when you’re watching the news. And essentially this movie is just news. It’s a documentation of events as they happen. It doesn't need to show the why, just the what.
[REC] is able to quickly ramp up the terror in a hurry. From essentially the second zombie bite, things start spinning out of control. That fear, of things going from bad to worse, is great at causing terror. It builds quickly and becomes enveloping. Plus throw in a few scary cheap shots and by the end of of the movie you are completely sucked in. The camera might as well be your own eyes peeking around corners.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

[REC] is a found footage zombie flick that delivers the fear. You get to follow a news crew as they investigate a call for help and end up trapped in a building full of hungry tenets. It’s a movie that jumps up to scare you without losing the realism and simplicity that is lost in so many horror movies. While the effects aren’t anything special, I think terror is most often what you don’t see, as opposed to what you do see. A must for any lover of zombie flicks and guaranteed good time.

Trailer!

Final Grade: A
____________________________________________________________________________________________