Film Reviews

Pulse

• Rating:
• Director: Jim Sonzero
• Starring: Ian Somerhalder
• Details: US / 90mins (15A).

"Do you want to meet a ghost?", asks the screen of Mattie's (Bell) computer. Clicking on, as you do, Mattie sees a blurred webcam image of a fellow college student committing suicide. Soon, everyone on campus is topping themselves and Mattie finds that it's not because everyone listens to The Smiths, but a computer virus worming its way into the bodies and souls of her classmates. Can Mattie stop it in time? Contemporary western horror has substituted real suspense for unexpected loud bangs and snappy editing - the cheater's guide to the scary movie. Is it because in today's desensitised world not a lot scares us? So America turns to Japanese horror because they know a thing or two about freaking us out. This time it's 2001's Kairo turn and like all other Japanese remakes, it gets trimmed back, reshuffled, fed trough the Hollywood production system, and falls out the other side a pale imitation that fails in atmosphere, tension and the reason we're watching it in the first place - scares. Director Jim Sonzero does his best to reproduce the mood of the original and his bleached-out colours and overcast skies go someway to achieving that. That's as far as it goes, though, because not once during an hour and a half does Pulse get the pulse racing. The movie gained a PG-13 rating in the States, which really doesn't auger well for the scare factor; and having a pop princess in the cast won't do you any favours, either. They should leave the acting to actors and stop diluting any project they're attached to. What's next? Fran Cosgrove in Fight Club 2?

Review by Gavin Burke