Pulse (2006)
Starring Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder, Christina Milian
Directed by Jim Sonzero
Pulse?
You'll wish this film had one. Instead you'll find it dead on arrival.
Hollywood needs to quit it with the Japanese horror remakes. The Ring and The Grudge I can accept but this piece of crap is just lazy and dull. The original Pulse (or Kairo) had themes related to society, suicide and the end of the world but the new version (co-written by Wes Craven) serves only to provide superficial entertainment. Superficial? Oh God yes. Entertainment? Oh God no.
Shot in a blue hue that makes it look like a music video (Yes, the director is a veteran in that field), Pulse lacks colour in every department. It's The Ring for the Wi-Fi generation. (Doesn't even look good on paper, does it?)
The story is ambigious in the worst way. Something about ghostly spirits spreading throughout the world using phones and the internet. They suck the lifeforce from those of us who depend on such technology. Ok so there you have a Matrix-like metaphor but any further attempt to explore similar themes is eschewed for dumbed down action and scares. Except Pulse commits the worse crime a horror movie can commit. It's not scary. Visually, we get the same old evil spirits we've seen before in this sort of stuff. It's a hollow and completely forgettable experience laced with crummy dialogue, fuzzy exposition, mediocre acting and two-dimensional characters.
Avoid.
Verdict
The victims in this crappy horror movie lose their souls and their will to live. And after 80 minutes of this drivel you'll know how they feel.
Rating
**
Pulse at the IMDB
Buy Pulse at Amazon
