So creepy that it will make you hyperventilate to make sure you're alive, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's PULSE has the potential to damage your nervous system.
First unleashed upon Japanese audiences nearly five years ago, PULSE made its belated US theatrical bow in New York a couple of weeks ago (frightening otherwise hard-bitten critics), expanded to Los Angeles this past Friday, November 18, and will spread outward throughout the States in limited engagements for the next few weeks (playdates here) in advance of its release on R1 DVD, not to mention an American theatrical remake next spring. Even for those who've already seen the film on R2 or R3 DVD, this is definitely one to catch on the big screen.
Co-workers Michi (Kumiko Aso), Junko (Kurume Arisaka) and Yabe (Masatoshi Matsuo) worry about their friend Taguchi, who hasn't been seen in a week. Michi visits him at his apartment, where he unexpectedly commits suicide. Reviewing a disk Taguchi was compiling for a work project, Yabe discovers odd, disturbing photos of Taguchi, which baffle the friends.
University student Ryosuke (Haruhiko Kato) decides to join the Internet age, but when he signs on for the first time he's directed to a web site with odd, disturbing photos. When the site asks, "Would you like to meet a ghost?" Ryosuke is freaked out. It doesn't help when the computer powers up by itself during the night and returns to the apparently deranged site. Ryosuke receives help from Harue (Koyuki), a tutor in his school's computer lab, but even she cannot explain what happens next in his apartment.
From there things take a steady downward slide into horror. This is not a horror movie that goes "boo!" -- though there were a few moments that made me jump. Rather, Kurosawa creates an atmosphere of dread by tapping into the bone-aching despair borne from extreme alienation, isolation, and loneliness, emotions that can lead to suicide.
He achieves the effect by his use of barren city locations devoid of people (notice even the trips on public transportation); somber photography courtesy of Tsutomo Takano; and a piercing sound design. The latter element is a finely-tuned combination of Makio Ika's musical score, reminiscent at times of Bernard Hermann's attacking strings for Hitchcock, wailing female voices, and otherworldly sounds that scratch and irritate like nails on a blackboard.
PULSE strikes a distressingly familiar chord for anyone who's dealt with the loss of a friend or family member. And for anyone who's ever felt "hollow inside," as Pete Shelley once sang for the Buzzcocks, PULSE strikes disturbingly close to home. PULSE is not a feel good movie, but you will feel better once it's over because, after all, it's only a movie.
Trailer (choose high or low resolution streaming Flash or QuickTime).
Ooof. This movie played at a 24hr horror filmfest in Chicago in mid-October... and... I'd personally say this review is being pretty kind. Pulse to me felt more like a decent concept marred by inexplicable character decisions and glaring plotholes. I constantly found myself asking "How'd he know to go there/to do that?" By the end, any sort of horror thrill was gone and I was just waiting for the next goofy weird thing to happen... or.. better yet.. the end to come. A friend of mine thought the non-sensical nature of the film fit well with the theme. I thought he was just trying to read into a pretty mediocre movie.
Color me pretty disappointed. (and it wasn't because I was way groggy from watching 20 hours of horror movies... this was the second movie they showed... Scanners at 2 in the morning was a real treat though). Yea... sorry to be the whiney movie asshole. Just thought I'd share my experience. I watch alot of japanese movies.. and was pretty put out by this one.
If you don't like this movie, you don't have a soul.
this movie is hard to judge in my opinion.
i went in expecting a really scary movie. expecting that, i wasn't scared at all. i also didn't quite "get" a lot of the movie (ie the trashbag on the face? why?) when i finished the movie i thought "do i like this movie? i can't tell! but i THINK i liked it!" but the more i thought about it, the more i liked it.
it's not so much a horror movie where the ghosts are scary but more a horror movie where the idea of such abject loneliness is scary. that's one think i like about the two kurosawa films i've seen (cure and this one)... basically there seems to be more to the film than just cheap scares.
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