Pulse (2006)

The movie has similarities in many things with "One Missed Call" & "Fear dot com". But I need to give it to the movie that when you watch it, you definitely get hooked though you know what the ending will be and you can predict how the whole thing would go. There is no smart plot, the idea has been consumed already and the horror scenes are not scary at all! There are stupid scenes as well like when they try to reach the server at the end to stop the virus, they manage to walk through thousands of ghosts and nothing happens to them! Then she proceeds alone as Dexter fails to follow her and you logically suppose afterwards that he won't make it but miraculously he does! This is just stupid!

The spirits of the dead discover a way to contact the living and enter into their world through electronic devices. Moreover, these decidedly nasty and dangerous spirits suck the lifeforce from the living. A select group of folks find out what's going on, but can they figure out a way to stop the angry and lethal spirits before it's too late? Director Jim Sonzero, working from an inspired and intriguing script by Wes Craven and Ray Wright, relates the absorbing premise at a steady pace, stages the shock set pieces with considerable flair and skill (a sequence in an underground apartment laundry room is especially harrowing), and does an expert job of creating and maintaining a potently spooky, paranoid and sinister atmosphere which becomes more increasingly eerie and unsettling as the plot unfolds towards a startlingly downbeat surprise apocalyptic conclusion. This film further benefits from solid acting by the sturdy cast: Kristen Bell is appealing as the perky and worried Mattie, Ian Somerhalder is likewise fine as shrewd computer boffin Dexter, Brad Dourif has a neat cameo as a raving doomsayer in a café, plus there are sound contributions from Christina Milian as the sassy Isabelle Fuentes, Rick Gonzalez as slick internet hustler Stone, Samm Levine as the easygoing Tim, and Kel O'Neil as the unhinged Douglas Ziegler. The ghosts are genuinely freaky and scary. The special effects are excellently done and quite convincing. Best of all, there's no obtrusive silly humor to detract from the grim severity of the bleak premise. The filmmakers warrant extra points for staying true to said bleak premise to the literal bitter end. Why, we even get a valid and provocative central point on how our over-reliance on technology could possibly reap the seeds of our eminent destruction. Mark Plummer's gloomy cinematography gives the picture an appropriately dreary look. Elia Cmiral's shivery and ominous score hits the shuddery spot. An unjustly maligned and underrated fright feature.

I find the critic's loathing of Pulse to be a bit of an overstatement. Okay so the film is not very suspenseful, the acting is weak and the ending is silly. Aside from that, I found Pulse fairly intriguing. I can't say I've seen a plot similar to this, but maybe I haven't seen enough ghost stories. It is weird, twisted and kind of freaky. The last act of the film is especially bleak and spooky, with a strange little cameo from Brad Dourif, who some might recognize from Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers, and TV goers will know him as the doctor from Deadwood. I mentioned that the film seems creative and unique, but if I thought about it for a while, I'm sure I'd be able to come up with a number of films which this either borrows from or directly resembles. Although labeled as a bad movie, Pulse can still be enjoyed by horror fans. Just do not expect to be scared out of your pants. If you approach the film that way, than yes, you may be disappointed. I didn't know what to expect when I approached Pulse, but what I saw didn't disappoint me.

Oops I clicked on the link. I was never a fan of the original Japanese film, and this updated American take on the story isn't any better or make me feel any different about it. It's forgettable (like how the victims fade away to ashes) when it comes to shove, but for the moment it agreeably past the time with little worries. Again its plain dreary with a terrifically patient concept (about technology development and obsession being society's eventful downfall when a virus is let loose) that's a little more to it than your normal ghost seeking revenge yarn. Ray Wright and Wes Craven offer up a reliable screenplay. I hand it to the remake that it does feel far less drawn out (brisk pacing) and more complete, but this does lessen the hopelessly apocalyptic downbeat sense that breaks out and goes on to smother the air. Although the ending here is ultimately non-effective. The thing I couldn't figure out though, doesn't anyone know how to turn lights on. Oh there are so many passages… where obviously a light-switch was about. Was it to create atmosphere or to simply save energy? Director Jim Sonzero ably paints some stylish and shady cuts, but the scares are predictable (the usual jump tactics) and suspense minimal. Playing tricks with shadows and sounds feature largely. Elia Cmiral's suffocating score chimes in some eerie numbers. The performances are all solid and very well projected with Kristen Bell and Ian Sommerhalder leading the way. Look out for a short cameo role from an amusingly raving Bard Dourif.