Pulse (2001)
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
[Rated R] 1hr 59min
Horror, Mystery
★★★★½
“Death was… eternal loneliness.”
When a college student doesn’t show up for work after a week, one of his colleagues goes looking for him and encounters some very strange events that seem to stem from a computer disk he was working on. At the same time, another student tries installing a new internet provider on his computer, but a disturbing website keeps appearing on his monitor every so often, so he attempts to find out what’s going on by enlisting the help from grad students. As these individuals continue to investigate the mysterious events happening around them, they only put themselves in greater danger by getting closer to the truth.
This is one of the eeriest and most unsettling movies I’ve ever seen. It brilliantly creates an ominous, haunting atmosphere from the very beginning, and it persists throughout the film even as more information is revealed. This is effectively achieved through a combination of the excellent cinematography, editing, and score that all work together to elicit this strong feeling of dread, which is further enhanced by the methodical pacing of the narrative. It also has some incredibly terrifying scenes and imagery that still lurks in the back of my mind long after the movie had ended. In addition, the overall concept of the story is truly frightening as it explores certain ideas about the human experience that can never be fully explained, so the film’s mysteries can reflect various aspects of reality as well.
I highly recommend Pulse to anyone looking for a genuinely creepy movie to watch this time of year that also contains timeless, poignant themes. As the story takes place in the early years of the internet, it examines the potential effects it can have on society, and these concerns have proven to be valid since our lives in the internet age have now become drastically altered in some of the exact ways that are discussed in this film.
Pulse is currently available to stream on Pluto TV and Philo for free and on The Criterion Channel. Click here to watch the original trailer.
– Review by Will Hopper