One of the problems that cinema of the 1990s and 1980s is that filmmakers and audiences never really knew what they had on their hands. The Exorcist III by William Peter Blatty, for instance, was probably one of the greatest thrillers ever made and yet audiences and Hollywood executives at the time just didn't know what they had. Pulse is another example of a film that came just too early to be appreciated. It's a solid concept and a solid thriller that probably would be a bigger hit today than in the 1980s when there were no cell phones or computer controlled cars because the idea is so much scarier and more real these days. So on the one hand, Pulse suffers from being too early. But on the other hand, it's also not exactly good. When you talk about all the underrated horror gems of the 80s and 90s (Exorcist III, Pumpkinhead, In the Mouth of Madness, The Resurrected, Prince of Darkness, or Event Horizon) Pulse will never make that list because it's just too flawed. Pulse suffers from "Writer/Director disease", where there isn't enough eyes on a single scene or concept to really understand how it works. The idea of making the main character a little kid instead of the step mom (who steals the show) seems like something someone else should've mentioned during pre-production. Certain scenes feel out of place in the film and you can tell that a large part of the movie was left on the cutting room floor. I'm not saying the movie would do better with a longer running time, because in this case the film is tight enough to hang together, but a lot of ideas are picked up and dropped (voices in the wires, a tv set that seems to talk to you, other houses in the neighborhood being infected). All in all, Pulse suffers from being too early and not well defined enough from the rest of the 80s horror pack. It tries very hard to be Poltergeist but the flaws in the script and the direction just can't pull it off.

Electricity is one of the elements that we rely even depend upon in our daily lives because most of what we use is electrical from watching TV, working on the computer, using the coffee maker, talking on a cell phone, you name it. But we also know it's not the most stable element as things have gone wrong or there have been fatal accidents. This causes us to live with the subconscious dread that the very things we rely upon can turn against us on a dime.This film is an under the radar gem, it's also kinda another one of my childhood gems if you can believe it since this is one of the first horror films I've ever seen.I really love the premise which I'll admit is a bit absurd, but I personally think it's a colorful and kinda cool premise, it's basically taking the old Haunted House motif but instead of ghosts it's electricity.I even like that there is mystery to this strange phenomena, we never really know why the hell this is happening, is it some forgotten experiment by the government or is there some cyberterriorst faction that has invented a sophisticated techno virus to attack our technology and infiltrate residences; I'm not sure you guess is as good as mine. But to me I feel that just adds to the scares it really gets to that subconscious fear that what we can't control or even understand can kill us.The pacing is solid it a steady build up but it does pay off in full. I really like the suspense where is a sort of paranoia were you are constantly afraid that the next appliance the character operate or get near will go haywire and hurt may'be kill them.The music is very good I really like the end theme song which I thought sounded cool and is one of my favorite end themes, it just has this exciting techno feel to it which fits the film.And the effects are great as their all practical, from how the electricity is animated and moves making it seem like some entity that's alive. We even see some nifty shots of circuit boards being burned, mercury melting and spreading, just all kinds of things fraking up. Though my favorite effect was with the TV where it was producing this moving lazer beam that just kept building up faster and faster.However what makes this film work the most is in the protagonist whom are likable characters you actually care about. I really liked the son played by Joey Lawerence. Yeah I use to watch the show "Blossom" but this film was before his fame on the show, all I can say is good start. I really thought he was sympathetic as he's a kid still adjusting to his father's recent divorce and his new life in it.Even like the father played by Cliff De Young and the foster mom by Roxane Hart both of them are some stereotypical disbelieving parents, I really love how this film breaks that tired cliché and actually has them on the kid's side. Both are rational people but their actually open minded because despite some disbelief even they both notice something not kosher with their appliances which defies logic. I'd personally behave the same way as both of them, with some of the stories we hear about what happened in the last two houses and witnessing how one appliance suddenly turns on without even pressing the on switch you have to wonder.Even like the little drama as we see both the father and son are trying to have a working relationship and even love the final conflict at the end when both are helping each other from the bad situation. Which I found touching because their doing what any good father and son would do, that's something I don't see often in the horror genre.Overall like any new electrical appliance this film is worth a spin, Pulse has a pulse.Rating: 3 stars

The opinions on "Pulse" appear to be very diverged around here. Approximately half of the reviewers claim it's a very original and genuinely suspenseful thriller, whereas the other half thinks it's a ludicrous and far-fetched piece of rubbish. Even the rating is exactly 5.0 out of 10 at this particular moment, so I guess it's safe to say this is a film you either love or hate. I must admit I belong in the first camp. The basic idea of electrical impulses suddenly developing homicidal tendencies may indeed sound a bit grotesque and implausible, and the complete lack of valid explanation is most unfortunate, but generally speaking "Pulse" contains more positive aspects than negative ones. For starters, the continuously high level of suspense. This might very well be the horror film with the absolute lowest death toll of the entire 80's decade, and yet it didn't bother me for a single second because the tension was constantly there and often even nearly unbearable. There's only one fatality, at the very beginning of the movie and even appearing off-screen, still you'll be sitting on the edge of your seat more than once. This is also one of the rare 80's genre films where you honestly care for the lead characters and actually don't want for them to die! The leads are a three-headed suburban family, existing of the father, son and stepmother. The son joins his father and his sympathetic new wife during school holiday, but quickly notices something isn't kosher in the neighborhood. And David is right, as a seemingly intelligent electrical pulse is gradually taking over all the circuits and transforming electronic devices into murderous machines. The same thing overcame their neighbor, but everybody just thought he was crazy. Writer/director Paul Golding definitely had some bright ideas when making this film, and it's admirable that he was resistant to turning this into a bloody carnage flick. Oddly enough, the sight of melting circuits and vibrating wires is a lot scarier than I thought. "Pulse" features some extremely powerful sequences, like Roxanne Hart in the shower and Cliff De Young narrowly escaping death by electrocution in the flooded kitchen. Roxanne Hart depicts the most lovable female horror character I've seen in years! She's the most atypical stepmother imaginable: gorgeous, friendly, helpful and intelligent. She almost immediately believes the drivel about electric terror, and that's not common in horror films. "Pulse" is definitely an underrated 80's horror/thriller gem.

This film had great potential but ended up being a mediocre 'X Files episode'. There were interesting ideas about the sentience of machines and technology running amok but these were never fully explored. the acting was slightly above average for a dtv and the director did a good job of injecting an element of mysterious tension to the proceedings. Some elements however, were wasted completely, such as the shots of circuitry melting in to one another in the TV, making connections and forming an intelligence. The idea that appliances we use daily are increasingly getting sophisticated and most of use have little idea how they work and what they could be capable of becoming was mentioned briefly by the TV repair man but frustratingly never matured in to anything. However the decision to make the 'pulse' homicidal for no reason made little sense. Wouldn't somebody in government have noticed this by now ( or were we supposed to believe the patrolling police were 'in on it') and investigated the street?. A better idea would have been a govt 'A.I' got loose and in to the Grid and started growing and learning and developing in to something ...just an idea but they could have done much better with this plot imo.