Pulse the Movie [2006]

Kairo is a Japanese horror film that is based on the novel of the same name by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who also directed the film. The film was released in 2001 and since has collected a cult following. Pulse is the American re-make of this film, and although there are some minor changes in the plot, the idea for both films is essentially the same.

Kairo seems to have a few more details than Pulse as to what the ghosts are, spirits somehow spilling out of the afterlife because it is full, and using the internet to do so, but overall it is similarly vague as to how, and why they then kill the living.

The movie is based in Tokyo, which slowly begins emptying of inhabitants who disappear, leaving black stains, just like in Pulse. The Japanese storyline follows two characters who meet up later in the film. Kudo Michi (played by Kumiko Aso) is a woman working at a plant sales company, who is the equivalent of Kristen Bell’s character, Mattie in Pulse, and Kawashima Ryosuke (played by Haruhiko Katô) who is the equivalent of Ian Somerhalder’s character. Ryosuke seems to play more of a major role in Kairo than Dexter in Pulse, but dies in the end, where as Dexter survives.

The theme of loneliness and alienation is more prominent in the Japanese version of this movie, blaming technology and the internet as a force driving people apart, where as in Pulse, it is only slightly mentioned by Mattie’s therapist regarding the suicide of her boyfriend. Perhaps the slight modernization of Kairo in Pulse took away from the original story, or perhaps the public is too internet savvy these days to experience same kind of fear as its original audience, but either way this original technological horror flick, is worth watching.

The horror movie Pulse was released in theaters August of 2006 and the reviews since then have been quite divided. Some people genuinely enjoyed this technological terror, while others found it lacking to the point of utter disappointment. Perhaps it takes a certain mind set to find this horror flick frightening, or perhaps some people are just easier to scare, but either way, it is a unique kind of apocalypse flick that is at least worth checking out.

The film stars Kristen Bell as a college student named Mattie, whose boyfriend Josh suddenly commits suicide seemingly without cause. She begins to see things that make her wonder if perhaps there was more wrong with Josh than depression, and with the help of Dexter, played by Ian Somerhadler (Damon from Vampire Diaries), they attempt to investigate. The movie is a bit lacking in details, as to what these flickery pale tech ghosts are, where they come from, what they want, etcetera, but whether this is because the makers of the film didn’t want to put forth the effort to explain this unique phenomenon, or because they believed that viewers imaginations would supply a much scarier conclusion, is a mystery.

The movie was seriously lacking any kind of horror flick comedic relief, which one might have thought would be supplied by Samm Levine from Freaks and Geeks, but all the supporting actors seemed to play rather inapt characters. You don’t feel sad or anything when Mattie’s friends (played by Christina Milian, Rick Gonzalez and Samm Levine) start dropping off like flies, because you can’t be attached to a character you don’t really know. Even Mattie herself seems to take the loss of her friends all in stride and barely takes note as the world crumbles around her. Perhaps this is a statement about everyone’s self involvement, and indeed some people may be so caught up in their own personal quest that they would be oblivious to the apocalypse until nearly crushed by a plummeting flaming jet, or perhaps it is just poor writing.

Another disappointing aspect was that you expected a romance to flower between Mattie and Dexter, being two of the last humans left alive in the city, thrown together in fear and loss, but all you really get is some hand holding. Sure, they are busy busting through other people’s taped up doors and getting into car accidents with black stains, but it felt like there should have been more between them, especially by the end. Again, perhaps it was being left up to the viewer’s imagination, but too much of that makes the movie seem rather deficient, not abstruse, if that’s what they were going for.

Overall, this movie is surface scary, there are a few good “BOOS” and some creepy looking ghosts, so it’s great if you’re not looking to get your mind blown and are happy with cheap scares. The story has no depth however, and neither do the characters, which is unfortunate considering that many of the actors have seen some success portraying well written characters elsewhere. It is disappointing that such an interesting idea for a movie was not produced well, but if you have a good imagination, and don’t mind making up the details for yourself, you may enjoy it.