Pulse (2006/I)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Jim Sonzero

Writers (WGA):

Wes Craven (screenplay) and
Ray Wright (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 August 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

You are now infected.

Plot:

When their computer hacker friend accidentally channels a mysterious wireless signal, a group of co-eds rally to stop a terrifying evil from taking over the world.

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Technology | Epidemic | Virus | Psychology

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Kristen Bell	...	Mattie
Ian Somerhalder	...	Dexter
Christina Milian	...	Isabelle Fuentes
Rick Gonzalez	...	Stone
Jonathan Tucker	...	Josh
Samm Levine	...	Tim
Octavia Spencer	...	Landlady (as Octavia L. Spencer)
Ron Rifkin	...	Dr. Waterson
Joseph Gatt	...	Dark Figure
Kel O'Neill	...	Douglas Zieglar
Zach Grenier	...	Professor Cardiff
Riki Lindhome	...	Janelle
John Burke	...	Newscaster
Mike J. Regan	...	Phantom (as Mike Regan)
Steve Tom	...	Male Newscaster #2

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi terror, disturbing images, language, sensuality and thematic material.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG | Indonesia:Dewasa | Taiwan:R-12 | Philippines:R-13 | USA:R (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (Edited for re-rating) | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | Singapore:PG | Malaysia:U (cut) | Argentina:13 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Germany:16 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-15 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | South Africa:16

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Weinstein Company, The

Trivia:

Wes Craven was once set to direct, but bailed out, which led the film to be officially canned at one point

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Help Me messages appear on the screen during the group online chat session the appearance of the text goes from "Help Me" to "HelpMe" between shots.

Quotes:

Isabell Fuentes: They want what they don't have anymore. They want life.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Soundtrack:

Delay the Wait

Wes Craven Does it again. And that's not saying much.

Since "scary" movies have started getting away with accepting a PG-13 rating, most of them have gone to crap. That's not to say that gore is my thing and some PG-13 movies actually succeed at fitting the genre.

I gave this movie a very generous 1 (almost a 1.2) because the ending get's more imaginative, yet still incredibly predictable and the whole cast of characters gullible and oblivious to anything that resembles intelligence.

Somewhere around 1988, Wes Craven lost his originality and became formulaic. The SCREAM series began the bubble gum pop culture horror flicks that just weren't based on much more than some new teen faces who you didn't mind seeing get whacked. This movie just seems to reek of the last creative thing he did do. A Nightmare on Elm St. College Campus vs. High school. The evil you can't see is comin' to getcha. I think Wes' finer current moments will be defined in the slew of remakes other people do of his older works like THE HILLS HAVE EYES. He use to be one of the defining writer/directors in the genre, but took a dump on that in the 90's. Even Sam Raimi knew when to move onto other things.

These remakes of Asian horror flicks never capture me. That may just be a me thing. The enemy is always grey and bends in ways that would make a chiropractor jealous. Just not scary. The sad thing is that this is the redeeming element of this flick.

Bottom line = This is the kind of movie that will only encourage illegal movie downloading and still make you want your money back for the CD you burned it to.