Pulse |  | Director: Jim Sonzero
Actors: Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder, Christina Milian, Rick Gonzalez, Jonathan Tucker
Category: DVD
This item is no longer available
Rating:  101 reviews
Format: NTSC
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
ASIN: B00005JOU0
Theatrical Release Date: August 11, 2006
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Amazon.com
Pulse provides clear evidence that by the summer of 2006, the cycle of American remakes of Japanese horror films had reached its inevitable downturn. After peaking with the Ring and scoring a marginal success with The Grudge, the cycle was almost guaranteed to sink to the low-point of this unnecessary and mostly lackluster remake of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2001 shocker. It benefits from a standard upgrade in CGI effects and doom-laden "bleak-chic" atmosphere, but it's almost completely devoid of suspense as a group of college students led by Mattie (played by Kristin Bell, TV's Veronica Mars) investigate the suicide of Mattie's boyfriend and discover a kind of wi-fi conduit that allows malevolent spirits to be transmitted from their afterlife to our world via the Internet - think of it as kind of a broadband connection from hell, if you will. Pretty soon it's obvious that Pulse is trying (as Kurosawa's original film before it) to serve as cautionary tale about how we've allowed our lives to become numbed and devalued by using technologies (computers, cell-phones, PDAs, etc.) that keep us all connected at the expense of personal intimacy. Many of the creepiest images from the original Pulse are carried over here, and director Jim Sonzero does his best to keep the cautionary themes intact, but at some point (and after a great deal of pre-release tinkering to fit the obligatory PG-13 rating for the lucrative teen market) you have to ask yourself: why bother? --Jeff Shannon
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 101
 Movie sucks but the bass kick's a** March 11, 2010
R. Bowen (TN)
Just like the title says, the movie is not that good but the bass sure is.
 A MISUNDERSTOOD AND UNDERAPPRECIATED FILM 9 OUT OF 10 May 30, 2009
ACEMAN1 (Ripon, California)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was disappointed in the negative reviews of Pulse, I can't deny I loved this film. Sure it's another American remake of an Asian horror film, but that's not necessarily a bad thing when it's done well. People complained this film had a jumbled plot and it was boring, it does have a jumbled plot, but I really got into it from the get-go. Still, I would have to caution anyone who watches it, but if you like horror films that are out of the ordinary, Pulse is a good rent.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Matty and her friends are basically normal college kids. Between studying, there's their active social life through hanging out, texting, and talking to each other in chatrooms online. But Matty notices something strange about her boyfriend Josh; he isn't acting like himself and doesn't return her calls. When she goes over to his apartment to investigate, it's a filthy mess, and then Josh suddenly hangs himself with a phone chord. No one knows exactly why he killed himself, but answers start to pop up when a guy named Dexter buys Josh's old computer from the apartment. He finds a video showing different people killing themselves on a webcam and that Josh kept a video diary. Meanwhile, Matty's life is going straight to hell. People are disappearing and another person commits suicide when she's around. Then her friends start dying around her after being attacked by cyber ghosts that are infecting computers all over the world. Now Matty and Dexter must unravel what's going on, why, and how to stop it.
MUSIC: This music has a nice creepy vibe that fits well with it. Too bad it comes and goes and isn't there all the time.
ACTION: This film actually provides a sense of fear and dread and is executed quite well. I loved the special effects used in this film and really liked how the set pieces for the film were designed along with the ghosts. This is one of the few horror films that actually gave me a true sense of fear and dread.
ACTING: The actors seemed fairly convincing, even the lead actress Kristen Bell was good, something that can be rarely said about women in horror films. She seemed very convincing and played her role quite well. For the most part the actors were good, and any actors that weren't quite on par with the good ones died off quickly. However, there were some moments of bad acting and dialogue, but not from the main characters. Overall, the acting is quite good.
OVERALL: Rental. I loved this film, but people are mixed about it. If you're tired of the usual crappy slasher films, then Pulse may provide a good time.
THE GOOD: The acting, the music, the moments that fill you with despair, the set and monster designs, and the special effects.
THE BAD: The film does get a bit boring and some moments of bad acting and dialogue.
 Do You Want To See A Boring Movie?... April 2, 2009
Bindy Sue Frønkünschtein (under the rubble)
PULSE is about as nerve-jangling as a "very special" episode of GHOST WHISPERER! I tried to like it. I kept waiting for the terror to begin, unable to accept the fact that this movie was just another ill-conceived remake. Apparently, the dead have found a way to get us through our computers and cellphones, coming after our "will to live". Now, this could have been a great story (please, watch the japanese original) if only those responsible had created a sense of creeping dread and interesting characters. Instead, we get a bunch of young college kids with the collective personality of bacteria. As for the ghosts, well, they're semi-creepy, but do so little that it doesn't much matter. There is no suspense, few thrills, and not much in the way of any true horror. Yecch!...
 Better than what people say March 9, 2009
Larry Abney
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
idc for it being a remake. Every movie is its own movie in some sort of way. I liked this movie alot actually, had good monsters and a good story! better than alot of other horror movies out there. Its not like you yourself could make a horror movie any better, so its best to appreciate what you get in these good movies.
the movie was really cool!
Information Technology Age Psycho Thriller March 4, 2009
Michael Kerjman (The Earth)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It is all a horror modern civilization brings about in dwelling through modern TV, radio and computing.
Rather psychotic than entertaining thriller.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 101
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