PulseReviewed by: Maggie Hays Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience:
Adults
Genre:
Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Remake of Japanese film
Length:
_____
Year of Release:
2006
USA Release:
August 11, 2006 (wide)
“You are now infected.” “Pulse” begins quickly with a heavy dose of creepiness. As a result of a hacker’s fast-spreading computer virus that finds frequencies no one knew possible, a doorway to another world is opened. There is an invasion of ghost-like beings who need computers, cell phones, and PDA’s to break through and attack people and steal their will to live. This results in an epidemic of suicides. The story centers on four college friends who really care about each other, and who are—one by one—victimized by this invasion. Mattie, the pretty co-ed meets Dexter, and they struggle to battle the invasion and stop the virus. Their courage is admirable. Most people wouldn’t want to walk into some of the situations they confront—typical long, dark hallways, frightening surroundings, and threatening situations that come rapidly in waves. There is a scene of a young unmarried couple waking up together in bed. Word’s like “horny,” “bondage,” “a**” and “s***” are used. Several scenes show alcohol consumption. A young man hangs himself. A handful of quick flashbacks show Mattie and her boyfriend making love. For the most part, however (considering this is a movie mainly about college kids), the language is mild. There is no nudity. What is most notable about this movie are many intense scenes designed to make you jump, and I heard a girl near me scream a few times. I found myself saying under my breath a few times “don’t open that door…”. In this movie, people are in serious trouble, and no one turns to the Lord for help, which is the first thing I would have done. When Mattie begins seeing things after her boyfriend’s suicide, she turns to a counselor for help, who tells her she is seeing things that aren’t really there. This is definitely not a movie for children or young teens, or anyone prone to nightmares. It is very intense and can be compared to “The Ring.” It is, indeed, a “Horror” movie. Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Minor Comments from young people
Positive—I was very surprised at the cleanliness of this movie. Hollywood had a LOT of opportunities to put crud in it, but they kept it unusually clean. The only things I found objectionable were the moderate language and the implied sex. (By that I mean it’s obvious they slept together, but you don’t see anything terrible.) And also a girl wakes up next to a man. That aside, it was great movie! Whoever said this movie was not scary, has nerves of steel, cause let me tell you, …it is! It makes you jump (and made me scream) and gets you thinking. My one warning is this, DO NOT go to this movie alone, trust me on this, you’ll need someone to cling to during the tense parts.
Better than Average / 4 —Anna, age 15 Neutral—Too many horror movies these days rely on gore, however, there is none in this movie. What it is is creepy, there was screaming from all points of the theatre during the film. Biblically, the moral values suffer a bit, but it’s not a celebration of sin. The movie (in my opinion) has a social statement to make, which I will not ruin for you. All in all, it was a decent movie, creepy, but not too memorable.
Average / 3 —Eugene, age 16 |
My Ratings: Better than Average / 2
—Tash and Bill Williams, age 15 and 58