Filmaker, Bruce McDonald, Speaks About Pontypool

Here we are, the first post of March. To be honest, I didn't think I would be able to keep this blog running on zombie news and there ended up being more than one post every-other day in February! I hope to post some pics and reviews of some actual zombie toys this month. And while we're talking hopes... with any luck I'll be able to update and polish the Zombies and Toys website this month. Speaking of Zombies and Toys, I am expecting two different styles of pins to arrive this week. For those who read the blog they are free. Just email me your name and address and I'll have a pair in the mail. They will sell on the site for $.99 each. I also have a few keychains left (again, free for blog readers) and I am officially out of stickers.

So, Bruce McDonald and Pontypool. For those with a worse memory than mine, please scroll down a little bit. Now I've never claimed to be the source of all of the information I post and I try to give credit or link to the original source. I consider it doing your zombie homework for you. So the following are excerpts from an article posted in The VARSITY.ca.

"The plot: Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie), a folksy morning radio host in a small Ontario town, learns of a riot taking place down the street during airtime. The riot expands over the course of the morning, growing violent, and it’s soon reported that the rioters are chanting bizarre mantras and exhibiting zombie-like behaviour.

Meeting McDonald for an interview, I ask if “zombie movie” is even an accurate description of the film, considering the unusual source of the plague. “It’s one of those tags that just sort of sticks to it,” says McDonald. “Because, technically, they’re not really zombies—because zombies are the undead. And in a way, it’s more like a sci-fi movie or…a dark romance, or something. Know what I mean?”

Sort of. McDonald’s fragmented explanation hints at how the film flaunts genre conventions. “Somehow in the press,” he continues, “[zombie] is a word that kinda keeps floating around, and we’re like, ‘Well… I guess.’ It’s not a Western or a space movie or a superhero movie.”"