Pulse sucked. I can't say that enough. Maybe if it was the original Japanese version that they put in theaters instead of this boring re-hash then I would've been pleased. But no, this piece of crap masquerading as a promising remake is not worth anyone's time.
God, what did they do to the wonderful creepy nature of the original? OK, let me tell you why I was so disappointed by this flick. In the original version, there is a striking subtlety. Once Pandora's box is open, it slowly starts to take effect and before you know it the planet is beyond saving. It's bleak, it's a nightmare.
In the American version it is completely dumbed down and the filmmakers have done something akin to treating the audience like children as they hold your hand and walk you through exactly what happened. The Japanese version catered to a more mature crowd and did not rely on the typical jump/scare tactic that seems to define horror films these days. Oh, and that cast!
Kristen Bell is a dopey beautiful woman. I don't know if she is dopey in real life but in this film, she was hardcore dopey. Wait, I don't mean dopey, I mean forlorn you could see how I might confuse the two if you watch the film in question. Needless to say, she is just the concerned girlfriend of the first victim of them this is worse than pulling teeth. Them = Ghosts.
See, this guy has been unreachable by phone or e-mail for the last few days and you know what that means in this high tech world. That man is DEAD! So, Bell's character, Mattie Webber, goes to investigate. She finds him alive, relatively speaking. Something's wrong with him, he's not himself. His apartment is a mess and he's got this awful looking sore by his neck. He seems distant, not concerned with anything like it's not worth it. Finally, he leaves the living room where they've been talking and he proceeds to hang himself. Mattie is traumatized from there.
News spreads about the young man's death to all the friends and a few days later when Mattie and her closest friends are on a live chat Josh messages them: "Help me" is all he says.
This is when the film just turns into The Ring and they call it a night. Kids run away from ghosts who walk/glitch towards you and who suck your will to live, rather than your soul (perhaps because the "will to live" is 30% less fattening!). The movie is naturally dark and kind of grimy but the gravity of the ghosts, and how menacing they are, is handled so poorly. These are not scary creatures. They do scary things here and there but on the whole they're just dudes and gals looking like junkies in white make-up and clearly digitally mocked up for added Zao!!
In the original version the ghosts looked like human beings from a distance until you started to notice that they were slightly blurred as they move towards you. The CGI shading in the original was more subtle. Also, they moved in the strangest slow motion. When you saw the otherworldly spirit it was something that literally forced you to rub your eyes because you couldn't believe what was moving towards you. The reactions of the Japanese actors to the ghosts were stellar, genuine and you really felt sorry for each victim. Here, in the American version, you don't give a damn about any of the characters and the ghosts are just so uninspired in terms of appearance and movement.
A few actors that surprised me, not only for taking part in this crap fest but also for being so bad in it, included Ian Somerhalder who was amazing in Rules of Attraction but has since taken up acting lessons from Neo. I swear, he says a few single lines just like the, oh so, esteemed Keanu and it made me laugh each time it happened. Samm Levine, who was a really fantastic cad in Freaks & Geeks is just a shell of his former self (maybe the ghosts got to him when the camera wasn't rolling). Ron Rifkin, who played Sloan on Alias, is Mattie's shrink who just yells at her as treatment. Even Joseph Gatt as Dark Figure could've been a whole lot darker, way to hold back, Gatt! I must admit though, Christina Milian is so utterly sexy even when she gets dirty a little later into the movie. There is a part where she gets some black soot like substance on her or whatever. Anyway, she looks awesome throughout. But she really didn't do a great job as Mattie's friend. The only character that I really felt sorry for was Rick Gonzalez's Stone. Man, it sucks being a minority! I feel your pain, brother! You didn't survive War of the Worlds either. Sucks dude. Anyway, stay away from this movie. Wes Craven start directing again, properly. You produce bad, bad movies, my friend!
God, what did they do to the wonderful creepy nature of the original? OK, let me tell you why I was so disappointed by this flick. In the original version, there is a striking subtlety. Once Pandora's box is open, it slowly starts to take effect and before you know it the planet is beyond saving. It's bleak, it's a nightmare.
In the American version it is completely dumbed down and the filmmakers have done something akin to treating the audience like children as they hold your hand and walk you through exactly what happened. The Japanese version catered to a more mature crowd and did not rely on the typical jump/scare tactic that seems to define horror films these days. Oh, and that cast!
Kristen Bell is a dopey beautiful woman. I don't know if she is dopey in real life but in this film, she was hardcore dopey. Wait, I don't mean dopey, I mean forlorn you could see how I might confuse the two if you watch the film in question. Needless to say, she is just the concerned girlfriend of the first victim of them this is worse than pulling teeth. Them = Ghosts.
See, this guy has been unreachable by phone or e-mail for the last few days and you know what that means in this high tech world. That man is DEAD! So, Bell's character, Mattie Webber, goes to investigate. She finds him alive, relatively speaking. Something's wrong with him, he's not himself. His apartment is a mess and he's got this awful looking sore by his neck. He seems distant, not concerned with anything like it's not worth it. Finally, he leaves the living room where they've been talking and he proceeds to hang himself. Mattie is traumatized from there.
News spreads about the young man's death to all the friends and a few days later when Mattie and her closest friends are on a live chat Josh messages them: "Help me" is all he says.
This is when the film just turns into The Ring and they call it a night. Kids run away from ghosts who walk/glitch towards you and who suck your will to live, rather than your soul (perhaps because the "will to live" is 30% less fattening!). The movie is naturally dark and kind of grimy but the gravity of the ghosts, and how menacing they are, is handled so poorly. These are not scary creatures. They do scary things here and there but on the whole they're just dudes and gals looking like junkies in white make-up and clearly digitally mocked up for added Zao!!
In the original version the ghosts looked like human beings from a distance until you started to notice that they were slightly blurred as they move towards you. The CGI shading in the original was more subtle. Also, they moved in the strangest slow motion. When you saw the otherworldly spirit it was something that literally forced you to rub your eyes because you couldn't believe what was moving towards you. The reactions of the Japanese actors to the ghosts were stellar, genuine and you really felt sorry for each victim. Here, in the American version, you don't give a damn about any of the characters and the ghosts are just so uninspired in terms of appearance and movement.
A few actors that surprised me, not only for taking part in this crap fest but also for being so bad in it, included Ian Somerhalder who was amazing in Rules of Attraction but has since taken up acting lessons from Neo. I swear, he says a few single lines just like the, oh so, esteemed Keanu and it made me laugh each time it happened. Samm Levine, who was a really fantastic cad in Freaks & Geeks is just a shell of his former self (maybe the ghosts got to him when the camera wasn't rolling). Ron Rifkin, who played Sloan on Alias, is Mattie's shrink who just yells at her as treatment. Even Joseph Gatt as Dark Figure could've been a whole lot darker, way to hold back, Gatt! I must admit though, Christina Milian is so utterly sexy even when she gets dirty a little later into the movie. There is a part where she gets some black soot like substance on her or whatever. Anyway, she looks awesome throughout. But she really didn't do a great job as Mattie's friend. The only character that I really felt sorry for was Rick Gonzalez's Stone. Man, it sucks being a minority! I feel your pain, brother! You didn't survive War of the Worlds either. Sucks dude. Anyway, stay away from this movie. Wes Craven start directing again, properly. You produce bad, bad movies, my friend!