Review of Pulse (2002) by Patrick E — 13 Jun 2010

Pulse is another film part of the long list of Hollywood remakes of Asian horror films that is inferior to the original, but Pulse does have some merits, and it is an entertaining if somewhat non-scary horror film.

The premise is an interesting one, an outbreak of suicides occurs on a college campus which seems to be related to a certain website that entices you to enter it by asking if you would like to see a ghost. We discover that an experimental Wi-Fi project has stumbled across a hidden frequency that unleashes nefarious spirits into our world who need to suck the life out of humans to survive. It is certainly an original concept (well the Asian version was) and had the potential to throw up some great scares but mostly this wasn't the case. Enhanced volume and jump scenes are relied on to frighten but most are way too predictable and miss the mark. Most of the films entertainment value comes from the original story and a very courageously bleak ending and it is a much better film than perhaps it should have been.

The acting is decent enough, better than can usually be expected in these types of film. The effects are very good and the soundtrack and lighting create a creepy atmosphere throughout.

Better than expected Asian remake but yet again it simplifies the original story way too much for an American audience and misses the point of what made the original such a good film. Still it is worth a watch and provides a decent level of entertainment.

6/10.