[REVIEW] Pulse (2006) revisiting AGAIN!

Updated August 6th, 2024;

It has been 17 years since “Pulse” was created and brought to Hollywood by Wes Craven, and holy crap, does this movie deserve another look. ( Yep, I reviewed Pulse (2006) in 2021, but its time to make the penultimate review that the movie deserves. )

It’s based on the Japanese horror film “Kairo,” so it’s not exactly original, but given its poor reception and those two cash-grab sequels, I think it’s high time we gave “Pulse” a second *cough* third chance.

The movie takes off like a bat out of hell, wasting no time in introducing us to this freaky digital virus. Born from a woman’s suicide, this nasty piece of work uses electromagnetic fields to chase people down and literally suck the happiness right out of them. It drives folks to the point of offing themselves – scary stuff to think about, right?

Now, let’s talk about our unlucky group of college students caught in this mess. We’ve got Mattie, played by Kristen Bell in her prime (and that’s always a bonus), who’s trying to figure out why her boyfriend Josh has gone MIA. Then there’s Dexter (Ian Somerhalder, before he was a vampire heartthrob) who’s the tech whiz of the group. Don’t forget Isabella (Christina Milian), the sassy friend who gets caught up in this digital nightmare. These kids are in for one hell of a ride as they try to unravel what’s happening and stay alive.

The way the virus spreads is creepy as hell. It starts with weird computer glitches and ghostly images popping up on screens. Then boom! People start disappearing, leaving nothing but piles of ash behind. It’s like watching the Rapture, but way more terrifying because it’s technology doing the snatching.

One of the creepiest scenes has to be when Mattie visits Josh’s apartment. The way the camera pans around the empty room, building tension, until we see that horrifying red tape outline where Josh should be – it’s enough to make your skin crawl.

The visual effects in this movie are actually pretty damn impressive for 2006. Those ghosts aren’t just your run-of-the-mill spectres. They’re these glitchy, distorted things that look like they’ve been corrupted by a computer virus. It’s a perfect blend of traditional ghost story and modern tech horror.

Now, here’s where things get really interesting. When this movie first dropped, we were all running around with basic 2G phones and flip phones. Texting was still a pain in the ass, and smartphones weren’t even a thing. No wonder so many people didn’t get the concept back then. But now? We’re living in a world where radio waves are friggin’ everywhere!

We’ve got home Wi-Fi routers blasting 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz signals, 3G, 4G, and that controversial 5G everyone’s talking about. Hell, 6G is probably just around the corner. We’re more tangled up with tech than ever before. Starlink satellites are zooming overhead, we’ve got smartwatches on our wrists, phones in our pockets, and Elon Musk is talking about brain implants. It’s like we’re living in the sequel to “Pulse,” and that makes the movie even scarier.

The film does a great job of building this sense of isolation and dread. As more people disappear, the world starts to feel empty and abandoned. There’s this shot of Mattie walking down a deserted street that just nails that “last person on Earth” vibe. It’s like social distancing taken to the extreme, and man, does it hit different after 2020.

One thing that really stands out on a rewatch is how the movie plays with the idea of technology connecting and isolating us at the same time. There’s this line where one of the characters says, “Do you ever feel like the world is just you and your computer?” Talk about hitting the nail on the head for today’s world, right?

The climax of the movie is a real nail-biter. Our survivors are trying to escape the city as everything goes to hell around them. The way the streets are filled with ash and abandoned cars – it’s like watching the apocalypse unfold in real-time. And that twist ending? I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say it leaves you with a real sense of unease about our dependence on technology.

I give the movie a solid and improved rating of 7 out of 10. It’s not perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot better than people gave it credit for back in the day. If you saw it in 2006, do yourself a favor and give it a rewatch. And if you’ve never seen “Pulse,” you’re in for a treat. It’s a movie that actually gets scarier the more our world becomes like the one it depicts.

So grab some popcorn, turn off your phone (if you dare), and dive into this techno-horror that feels way too close to home. Just don’t blame me if you end up eyeing your Wi-Fi router suspiciously for the next week. Sometimes, staying connected isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.