Transforming into a zombie usually requires a zombie to basically sink it's teeth into you. Thus forth, turning you into a walking, decomposing corpse that has an insatiable appetite for either human flesh, or brains (really depends on what zombie film you are watching). 2008's Pontypool (originally a novel Pontypool Changes Everything from Tony Burgess) completely changes the entire concept.
Pontypool is not necessarily a zombie flick. The film takes place entirely in a radio station in a small town in Ontario. The first half of the movie is basically a psychological guessing game where local morning anchor Grant Mazzy and his producers Sundney Briar and Laural-Ann are getting reports from a field reporter (who is really there fake helicopter/traffic reporter) Rick Roberts, that people are rioting and causing violent outbursts.
Grant is eager to put it on air, but without knowledge of what is really going on, Sidney is reluctant and wants to find out more info. As the film goes on more reports are coming in from both Grant, and outside sources. However, since they can't see anything (as well as us the viewers) we don't know what is really going on. It could all be a hoax for all they know, in fact, it almost feels like a War of the Worlds radio broadcast. But rumors of quarantine, terrorist groups, and Rick Roberts eye-witness account of people starting to eat people, are making the trio in the station more edgy and less prone in believing this is just a gag.
More light shines on what's happening on the outside as a new character Dr. Mendez sneaks into the station and informs them about what he understands. Now, this is where it gets slightly difficult for the viewer. At this point Laural-Ann has seemed to go a little nutty, staring at a wall and babbling to herself. According to the doctor this is how it starts.
We come to find that some sort of airborne virus has been released, and words in the English language (but not French for some reason?) trigger some sort of effect that turn people into blood thirsty maniacs. We see this as Laural-Ann has now decided that she needs lunch. She mindlessly hurls her body against sound proof glass (the new trio are held up in the radio stations broadcast booth), she doesn't talk, she doesn't try to communicate, she just tries to get through the glass.
The part of the movie that is confusing is what words really do trigger this effect? There is a scene in which Sidney starts to contract the virus and Grant says something to snap her out of it. But, it wasn't clear, and the ending is even more unclear as Grant and Sidney attempt to disassociate words from their true meaning "Kill is to Kiss." This seemed to work on Sidney, but we as an audience have no idea if it worked on the infected population, as the government basically drops a bomb on the quarantine area.
The film ends with some crazy end credits that imply that Grant and Sidney survived, but how? Who released the virus? How the fuck do you really cure it, and what sets it off? To many questions in the film that hopefully the novel answers. Or, there is an intended two more films in the series, but who knows if they are sequels or prequels.
One thing I was impressed with, was creating a zombie by a different means. I honestly believe the zombie genre has been played out. You can't do much that is different with the genre. They all start with either being a government weapon that fell into the wrong hands or got leaked somehow. Or, it's Halloween and the dead have decided they are hungry. Than, the whole transfer of becoming a zombie is pretty standard, either by blood transmission or being bitten, (however Night of the Creeps immediately comes to mind in regards to setting itself apart for the zombie transformation).
I liked Pontypool's idea of turning language against us. Everyday we speak, whether it's for our job or socializing, we verbally communicate everyday, it's an essential part of our existence. Not only that, but we require others to verbally communicate with us. Not just in personal interactions, but in entertainment. Sporting events, music, podcasts, if an actual virus existed that could turn language against us, we'd all be pretty screwed. We rely so heavily on verbal communication it would be nearly impossible to just completely cut it off.
Imagine a world where if you spoke, it could have dire consequences. The reliance on email and texting would be at an all-time high, (if you thought cell-phone company's and internet providers screwed you on your monthly bill, imagine if this was a reality).
It would change our whole way of life from working to interacting with family, teaching, and even learning how to read! That would be one of the biggest things effected, if you were not able to speak to teach children how to properly read...the whole language would die. Which therefore means writing would die, and communication would be lost forever.
It's a scary scenario, thankfully, and hopefully unlikely. I have terrible penmanship and for a man with an English Degree, I have awful grammar.
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