posted by Marc Patterson

Following on from its critically acclaimed UK theatrical release in October 2009, the riveting, intelligent and totally unpredictable Pontypool comes to DVD and Blu-ray in January 2010. Oliver Stone’s “Talk Radio” meets John Carpenter’s “The Fog” in Pontypool, a psychological chiller about a mysteriously transmitted virus that threatens the residents of a small Canadian town.

Adapted by author Tony Burgess from his award winning bestseller “Pontypool Changes Everything” and directed by Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo; The Tracey Fragments), Pontypool stars Stephen McHattie (Watchmen), Lisa Houle (Due South; Seinfeld) and Georgina Reilly (Terry Southern’s Plums And Prunes).

It appears to be just another humdrum winter’s day in Pontypool, Ontario as shock-jock Grant Mazzy (McHattie) goes on air to present his morning phone-in radio show from a studio in the basement of the town’s church. But amidst the minor news items regarding school bus cancellations and missing cats being reported by Mazzy’s listening public and his “Eye in the Sky” reporter are a series of bizarre reports of local people developing strange speech patterns and committing acts of horrific violence. With no confirmation of these events on the official news wires, Mazzy, his producer (Houle) and assistant (Reilly) suspect an elaborate hoax is being played. However, it isn’t long before the radio team realise that the reports are real and that something terrible is happening beyond the studio walls. Trapped inside the church as bloody chaos reigns outside, they must decide if they should stay on air in the hopes of being heard and eventually rescued, even though they suspect their broadcasts may be contributing to the madness infecting the residents of Pontypool.

DVD extras will include: Cast and director interviews; Horror Collection – 2 short movies; Behind the Sound – The sound design of Pontypool; stills gallery; theatrical trailer.

The Blu-ray will include all the features from the DVD with an added extra: Pontypool – The Radio Play (30 mins).

Pontypool (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£15.99) and Blu-ray (£19.99) by Kaleidoscope Entertainment on 25th January 2010.

You can read our theatrical review HERE.