I don't think that I do enough as a Canadian to comment on Canadian cinema. I feel bad about this, because I really am a proud Canadian guy, and while a lot of the stuff that's made here is intolerable to me, there are a few directors who consistently do great work. Guy Maddin (who is my favourite), David Cronenberg, and the director of the new horror flick Pontypool (as well as the beloved Roadkill and Hard Core Logo) Bruce McDonald are a few of these directors. Carl Bessai opened last year's (2007) EIFF with his surprisingly good Normal and I didn't write about it. I regret that and shan't let it be the case for McDonald's new film, which opened the festival this year.

As with Eric Bogosian in Oliver Stone's Talk Radio, Pontypool is mounted firmly on one man's voice to shepherd you through. This time around it is the eccentric-looking Stephen McHattie, and his performance is excellent. Not only is he interesting to look at, but his booming, self-confident voice serves as a great overtone to the picture. When someone as self-assured as his character gets nervous and confused, it only adds weight to how threatening the situation is.

McHattie is not the only thing to like about Pontypool however, even though it may be the most common sentiment. I like how almost all of the events unfold outside of what we see, and are only described in intermittently vague snippets from phone-calls from the outside world. One feels claustrophobic in the small radio house setting not only because we never really get to see outside of it, but because when we do it's a blizzard; cold and unwelcoming. I also appreciate that there is a point when the plot seems straight-forward and familiar, but then things happen that we cannot rationalize, even in a cinematic sense. (You'll know what I mean when you see it). Pontypool dares to not explain itself beyond what its characters can ascertain, and even when they think they have things figured out, it's a nonsensical kind of logic, and one never really knows for sure if they get it quite right. I'm not sure their conclusions make sense to even themselves, but it's all they have and they go with it.

There are problems with the film. There are points, which are a big pet peeve to me, when the characters seem to react emotionless and still to what should cause alarm. When the threat gets close, they are casual, which is not only in betrayal to how the fictional personas have been built, but also to basic human behaviour. It's uncomfortable to watch as they nonchalantly converse, while witnessing the frightening violence previously only described to them, now first-hand. Not only uncomfortable, but distancing. McDonald uses his skill as a director to pull us into his tight environment and with a couple of ill-conceived scenes, crowbars us back out. There's also the theme of nonsense that would be acceptable if only it wasn't so self-aware, but as with most of what is described in this article, you won't really know what I mean until you watch the movie. Perhaps there's a clear message here that I merely failed to grasp.

When all is said and done, this is a neat little picture. It's not one of McDonald's best, but it is definitely better than most of the schlock that so generously litters the genre. Give it a look. You shouldn't be disappointed.