Pulse (2006)

Pulse is the American remake of the original J-horror Pulse (Kario) about a group of college kids who have to fight off a deadly supernatural force that uses the internet to infiltrate our realm. Pulse follows The Ring, The Grudge and Dark Water in hopping the pond from Japan to Hollywood. One Missed Call and The Eye hopped over shortly afterward. Every one of these American remakes were PG-13's that relied more on story and special effects than blood, gore or shock. They all also catered to the horror style of their time. So, watching Pulse now might make it come off a bit cheesy and generic, but the style was all the rage back then.

Pulse follows the general story of the original but changes more than a few details in order to fill some of the bigger plot holes and to create a clearer story than the original. I'm a big fan of the original and appreciated the abstract presentation, but its style doesn't make for a very casual viewing experience. The original was deep, depressing and thought-provoking while this remake is more of a casual fun horror flick. Some critics use this as a reason to hate on this Pulse, but I see it as a movie made for its time. Just look at all the other movies that came out during the same year. We got movies like Piranha DD, Final Destination 3, Silent Hill, The Grudge 2 and The Wicker Man. The Ring 2 came out the year prior. Going the deep and depressing route would have gone against what people loved back then. For this reason I think this remake of Pulse hit the right tone.