PULSE by jaiskizzy

Way back in dial-up internet days of japan, there was this obscure horror film entitled pulse. good thing I found a copy. The last few horror films I saw didn’t frighten me at all and Ive really missed that feeling for so long, so thanks to pulse for brining back the fear in me. The self-dialing internet, the weird internet feed, the slow moving shadow thingy, the red taped doors, the wallprints, golly good stuff. But the one thing that was burned into my brain that I’ll never forget the awe I had upon seeing it was the no-cut scene where a woman jumps off a very high industrial building and lands smack on the ground below. Coolness.

The story is complex, and told in an even complexer way, which is great considering most Japanese movies are presented in the same approach, with scenes that seem kinda detached from the flow of the story. Ive gotten used to it so much that I expect it beforehand. An example would be the scene where the computer lab chick and the loser dude go into a train station, ride the empty train, and then go back to where they’ve been. The suicide is also an example of the “detached” scene. No Hollywood or pinoy film has employed this style and made it work. One more thing that separates this movie from the mainstream ones: the lack of screaming. I know, a good scare needs a good scream, but not always, and besides, the blaring blonde bimbo can get annoying sometimes. This movies does away with that cliché and does no harm to the fright factor

Pulse is just one more evidence of the uniqueness of Japanese films. Remakes have been made but they could never really capture the odd visuals and unorthodox storytelling. In a way I think that all Japanese filmmakers had some sort of agreement that all their movies would be done in this manner, no matter how different their movies are, there’ll be this very noticeable “essence” only Japanese films would exude. Good job, guys!

The good: the scared feeling it gave me and the red tape idea.
The bad: no sudden frights, but it’s ok, I guess.
The ugly: the black ghost dude talking about death near the end of the film.
The verdict: 8 white dots.

the skiz.