Pulse (2001)

When I chose to review Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 2001 film, Pulse, I had no real idea what it was about. The title resonated because I had heard of a 2006 American remake. American remakes of Japanese horror films tend to remove most of the cultural elements that I find fascinating. This reduces them to being little more than generic exercises in mediocrity. And, believe me, the original Japanese version of Pulse cannot be accused of mediocrity.

The film follows two intersecting plot lines. The first concerns Michi Kudo (Kumiko Asō,) a young girl who works in a store that sells plants. Michi becomes concerned when her co-worker, Taguchi (Kenji Mizuhashi,) hasn’t been seen for several days. He’s been working on a project for the store that’s stored on a computer disk. Whatever the disk contains is important and needs to be delivered soon. Michi arrives at Taguchi’s apartment and finds him acting oddly. While she looks for the disk, Taguchi wanders off. Michi finds that he’s hung himself, although by the look of his body, he’d been there for several days. Michi and her coworkers find disturbing imagery on the disk.

The second plot revolves around Ryosuke Kawashima, a college student who has signed up for an internet access provider. When he inserts the company-supplied installation disk into his computer, he’s given access to a website that asks him, “Would you like to meet a ghost?” Afterwards, his computer begins acting strangely and logging on to the site seemingly by itself. Worried by what he sees on the site, he seeks out a computer science student, Harue Karasawa (Koyuki,) to find out more about what’s happening to his computer.

Pulse was made and released in the relatively early days of the Internet. 22 years ago, the technology was a bit different and, for most of us, the ability to communicate easily with people all over the world about virtually anything still held the promise of connection and acceptance no matter what. As we’ve learned since then, the Internet — particularly social media — can be harmful to some people. It can increase feelings of isolation and loneliness. Pulse posits what would happen if the Internet becomes a haven for ghosts looking to make a connection to the real world. They prey on those who feel alone and who seek connection via the computer.

I have to admit that I had to ruminate on the film for several days before writing a review. Pulse is a challenging movie that demands an attention span that, ironically, many people don’t have due to the daily barrage of visual information we receive via the Internet and social media. For those that are patient enough to stick with it, Pulse is an unnervingly creepy experience.

Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa and cinematographer Jun’ichirô Hayashi (Ringu) create a world that sometimes resembles a chalk drawing. Everything is muted and fuzzy looking. There are no bright colors. The visuals project a feeling of dread and isolation. Sometimes, it’s hard-to-follow exactly what’s happening. There’s a dream (or nightmare) quality to the movie that just doesn’t feel like anything else I’ve seen.

It’s not a film that I recommend to casual horror fans looking for cheap jump scares. But if you’re looking for something that definitely operates on a different wavelength, Pulse might just be what you’re craving.