In the early 2000s a string of horror films were made in Japan that has been referred to as "J-horror". These films were huge hits there and made their way to the US where fans were fascinated with them. So much so that Hollywood took notice and began remaking them left and right. Probably most famous of these are THE RING and THE GRUDGE. Another early entry was PULSE starring Kristen Bell but it wasn't as well received. Now Arrow Video has released a great version of the original film on blu-ray for fans to enjoy.The story involves two separate groups of friends experiencing paranormal encounters that are leaving a mark on them, some literally. The first group works together in a business that supplies plants to buyers. When their tech guy fails to show for work or answer his phone, they check up on him. While there, he walks into another room and hangs himself. Gruesome enough but then they begin to look at a disc he left behind which shows ghostly images from his apartment. A return visit has them exposed to his ghost as well.The second story involves a college student who finds something odd going on as well. When he asks a professor to help, they too discover ghostly images online. These images have an effect on some that view them and they begin to disappear. As someone hypothesizes what happens to souls when they leave here? Do they go to another dimension? And then the question is raised what happens when, after the millions that have died over time, that dimension begins to fill up? Do they try and make their way back? Eventually the two stories intersect with the leads of both uniting to try and discover the answer to these questions. It is their journey and what they discover that makes the film more chilling than you would expect.Some will be turned off to the way this story unfolds. The back and forth between tales, the dismal look of the entire landscape and the somber tone that it emits start to finish. This is not an in your face or jump start scare style film. It is one that creeps into you, crawls under your skin and makes you look over your shoulder even though you know nothing is there. It takes the ghost story we've become acquainted with and melds it with the world of computers, even if these computers look cumbersome since the movie was made in 2001. The pace is slow as the horror unfolds before your eyes. This makes for a movie that deserves attention.Arrow Video, as always, presents this in the best form possible with a hi def 1080p transfer. The extras include a new interview with writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, a new interview with cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi, THE HORROR OF ISOLATION a new video appreciation featuring Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, an archive making of documentary, premiere footage from the Cannes Film Festival, cast and crew introductions from the opening day screenings in Tokyo, trailers and TV spots and a reversible sleeve with newly commissioned artwork.

Watching Pulse now for the first time was as hard as starting from the beginning of The Big Bang Theory in modern times.On that side tangent, I did recently start from episode one of The Big Bang Theory having never seen an episode and hearing everyone rave about it. The way they went on and on about the technology for when that show began was difficult – knowing what I know now.And in this 2001 Japanese ghost story, it was equally uncomfortable hearing that dial-up tone over and over again. I don't ever wanna go back to those days!Eh, I digress. The movie was alright. Had some good ideas and a last act ten times better than the movie as a whole. But, I found it increasingly difficult to keep up with who was who and their relationships with each other. NO, that's not a racist statement of "oh, all Asians lookalike." In fact, they all had very unique styles and appearances. It was just a bunch of random people with different backgrounds and employments/schooling that I had troubles with.Also, ghost stories aren't my forté. And honestly, when I started this movie on Amazon streaming, I thought I was watching another movie about lightning strikes or a Mother Nature Attacks movie. But, when it's established it's a ghost story, I try to give it the benefit of the doubt, even though they never scare me.Pulse is about the "internet" and how it's a portal. Apparently, back in 2001, one couldn't Google what this "internet" was, so one character, laughably, has to pull out a very large manual to learn how to connect to such a modern thing. Stop. I started using the "internet" in 1992 in college. Back then, for me and my friends, it was an Electronic Forum (or EF) used between students and teachers at school and even, gasp, off-campus! Obviously, we were in the stone-ages in 1992, but we definitely knew what the "internet" was in the very early 1990s and not long after, AOL became the Wal-Mart of the online world.So, I do NOT give this movie a pass that someone, specifically a young male adult in technology-centered Japan, wouldn't know what the "internet" was or even bookmarks, the "screen-print" key, etc. in 2001. Hogwash. Regardless, the movie is the ghost story to the line "When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth." So, ghosts figured out a way to transport via dial-up (haha, sounds silly and yeah, it was,) and make people commit suicide, I guess by scaring them to death and loneliness. It's up to our random young adults, including the ignorant- internet-idiot to try and figure out the motives and keep their (seconds-earlier-strangers) best friends alive. Oddly, since this was my first (and frankly, only) time seeing this, it seemed awfully familiar and felt like this movie had already been remade. Alas, it had in America half a decade later – nope, not interested in that and it looks awful, anyways. But, it also felt like the other Japanese film, Ringu and its American remakes as well. I guess this ghost portal thing was hot back then.I suppose if you're scared of ghosts and still don't know what the "internet" is, you might find enjoyment here. It has some good scenes and use of silence after a tense score placement, but overall, it's too long of a movie to get to the goods.***Final thoughts: I am not opposed to reading subtitles (always better than dubbing!) but damnit, stop putting all white subtitles on top of pitch-white scenes! At times, words were literally fleshed out from the screen thanks to the white-on-white subtitles.

It has an excellent and creepy ghost story. A lot of people said it was terrible, slow and boring, but I found it a great film. Yes, it's a slow movie, but I think it is very touching movie and it has really pleasant atmosphere. The ghost scenes are scary as HELL! Great Japanese horror flick! If you like Sinister (2012) and slow horror movies without any blood and gore, this movie is for you.8.5/10.

My wife and I watch horror movies, with a preference for spooky supernatural horror.This movie was unlike anything else we'd seen, and we talked about it on and off for days afterward. It probably helps if you've seen a LOT of unusual/indie movies -- end-of-the-world stuff like Carriers, The Crazies, Pontypool, or out-there twist supernatural movies like Heartless or Triangle, or zany "horror" movies like Fido, A Barking Dog Never Bites, and Delicatessen. Also mind-bending movies like Primer or just plain nonsensical but modestly disturbing movies like Mulholland Drive.If you enjoy those kinds of movies, and you don't mind not having everything explained or necessarily even "rational", then I think you'll find Pulse to be an _exceptionally_ good ghost story that sticks with you for a long time.Often when I'm sleepy and it's late, I find my thoughts wandering back to the characters, the imagery and the overall premise. It fills me with a strange sense of dread, almost an ache. It's been over a year since I saw the film, and it still haunts me occasionally. I think that's a sign of a pretty good movie.I just wish the film had been less blurry. I watched it on Netflix over a questionable connection, and we don't know to this day whether the film quality was just grainy (maybe on purpose), or if it was due to lossy compression.People have said (rightly) that this is a movie about loneliness. But make no mistake -- it's also a movie about the end of the world, so don't expect it to be a pick-me-up or happy ending.