We Control the Horizontal, We Control the Vertical

When PONTYPOOL begins, you might think it's a noir-style thriller or mystery. It hooks you in much the same way as one of those. Once it takes a sharp turn in the horror direction, you're in for the ride and waiting to see what will happen next. That it manages to go off into an unexpected direction from there is a real treat.

It succeeds as a science fiction movie with some odd twists and turns. But the best thing about it is the radio studio in which most of it is set. They could have performed the story as a stage play (and maybe that's what is was, originally), or even as a radio broadcast. But what I liked most was the studio itself. Something about that place made me think of NASA control rooms. It seemed a place from which the world could be saved. This is probably due to the era in which I was raised -- technology was dials and gauges, pipes and switches. How I would love to work in a place like that. I loved being in that control room with the characters, and damned if they didn't figure out -- well, you'd better watch and see for yourself. It's worth the ride.