Kiyoshi Kurosawa's horror films are known for the uneasy atmosphere that surrounds them, and for the tension that is present in each scene. The director does not aim to merely scare the audience, relying on easy techniques such as the use of jump scares. Instead, he combines soundtrack, cinematography and misè-en-scene elements in a way that makes us feel like something will appear to scare us at any moment, and this expectation is never fulfilled. It feels like there is something observing us hidden in any shadow that appears on the screen. All of this makes watching a horror movie made by Kurosawa a nerve wracking experience. Kairo portrays characters trying to survive in a world that has been invaded by ghosts that travel through internet. Every time someone goes to the "forbidden room", a place sealed by red tape and inhabited by a ghost, this person goes crazy and commits suicide. However, we soon learn that the ghosts are not the horrifying part, but the message they carry. Ghosts are invading the real world neither because they aim to haunt nor to kill: they just do not have anywhere else to go. And when they meet a living person, what drives this person crazy is the message from afterlife that the ghost tells them: that after you die, nothing will change; you will stay the same as you were when alive. In other words, you will be alone for the eternity. Through the film we watch those people who have met the ghosts become lifeless and disappear into shadows while they ask for help. Some of them do not even actively commit suicide - they just slowly disappear, as if they were ghosts. Random computer screens show people who are alive but behave as ghosts. The main theme of this film is solitude, and one of the main characters states at some point that "in fact, ghosts and people are the same".

Michi Kudo finds his friend committing suicide. The group is haunted by spirits in the computer. Ryosuke Kawashima signs up to an ISP and becomes haunted by the ghostly internet.This Japanese ghost story follows a long tradition from the far east. I was expecting more. It's a slow grind even if it has some good atmosphere. There is one and a half great horror scene but it is not enough for me. It's hard to care about the characters. An internet ghost world could be something amazing but the visual horror is limited. Other than a couple of cool visuals, I can leave most of this film. It's also two hours long and some of it drags too much for my liking.

PULSEI love Japanese horror movies. I believe that the Japanese are the best at making horror. The atmosphere that these guys give the movies is what is the scary part.This movie is about a web site that apparently allows you to communicate with the dead. It all is not as it seems. People start killing themselves and it is down to 2 people to find out why their friends are dying.The film is very confusing. I watched this with a friend of mine and we both were wondering what was happening through the film. It is a shame because I was enjoying it, but even when the movie finished I was still not sure what the hell was going on with it. I had to Google the film to read the synopsis to confirm what it was about. The atmosphere was there which was good. There were times when it was a bit spooky and you wondered what was going to happen.The acting was good, but then I don't know any Japanese film where the acting is bad. I suppose it does make it better for them that I don't understand much Japanese. I did learn quite a bit a few years ago, but not enough to understand a film. If I could speak Japanese I wonder if I would still think they can all act very well. The movie stars Haruhiko Kato, Kumiko Aso and Koyuki.This film is good and I will watch it again to try and understand it a little more, but overall I was disappointed in it a little bit. I much preferred Ring, Battle Royale, Audition and Versus… these are my favourite Japanese films that I will watch soon hopefully and review for you.I will give this film 5 out of 10. Maybe I will give it more after the second watch… time will tell."Death was... eternal loneliness"For more reviews, please like my Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ordinary-Person-Movie- Reviews/456572047728204?ref=hl

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.