Pulse (www.the-usher.com)

"Help Me"

After making a shocking discovery, Josh (Tucker) tries to stop the thing he has released but when his girlfriend Mattie (Bell) goes looking for him, she finds that Josh has committed suicide. As Mattie and the rest of Josh's friends try and cope with the loss of their friend, they start receiving e-mails and instant messages from Josh that just says 'Help Me!' Mattie decides to investigate but as she and Dexter (Somerhalder) start to get closer to the truth, they realise they are been followed.

Communication between living and the dead has fascinated mankind throughout history but could modern technology finally give those dearly departed the chance to talk?

'Pulse' uses EVP, Electronic Voice Phenomena and pushes it to new heights. As technology becomes an integral part of everyday living, electrical signals from television, radio, mobile phones and the Internet travel through the air twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days of the year but instead of using this to communicate with the living, the dead see this as a way to gain new life. This invasion plot line is extremely creative and an intriguing premise for a horror film but it is just a shame that it is executed so poorly.

Kristen Bell and Ian Somerhalder are best known for their TV roles in 'Veronica Mars' and 'Lost' but their transition to the big screen is not an easy one. Kirsten's Mattie is a young woman gripped by grief after losing her boyfriend but when he contacts her from beyond the grave for help, she starts to investigate. While she tries her best with a very one-dimensional character, she isn't actually the new horror scream cream. After leaving 'Lost' during its first season, Ian Somerhalder first foray into movies after that proves one thing… that the hit TV show was right to get rid of him. Playing only on his film star looks, it is Somerhalder's acting ability or lack of that is most evident in this movie. Most of the time he looks like he is actually reading his lines from cue cards just off camera. The rest of the cast are not much better, with singer Christina Milian struggling and only Ron Rifkin from TV's 'Alias' making any real impact, this is a premise that is serious let down by its acting.

Visually in the movie are fine however. It is dark and brooding, especially as the dead's grip on our world becomes stronger, making the pallet of the film becomes filled with greys and blacks which fills you with the dread this soon becomes all consuming. The look of the dead maybe slightly familiar but they look like they would if they had just been buried, not decayed or zombie-like and appear almost ethereal. The dream sequences are also very good as Mattie see visions of what is to come.

'Pulse' has a premise that has great horror promise but is executed so poorly. With no real standout killing sequences and acting that is so poor you can see better in amateur dramatics, this is a missed opportunity for Hollywood to actually produce a good horror movie for a change.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented well.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary by director Jim Sonzero and special makeup effects designer Gary Tunnicliffe
The feature debut making director and his makeup artist provide a fun and informative commentary track about the remake of the Japanese horror movie. The pair talks about the meaning and philosophy behind the movie and that technology creates isolation. They also talk about filming in Romania and creating the phantoms.

Commentary by producers Mike Leahy and Joel Soisson, actor Sam Levine, visual effects supervisor Kevin O'Neill, editor Kirk Morri and line producer Ron Vecchiarelli
A more technical commentary, the group come together to talk about how the look and feel of the film was created. They reveal horror legend Wes Craven's involvement and the theme of the movie that was created. The phantoms and how practical and digital effects combined to create them are also discussed.

Deleted/Alternative Scenes (12.19 mins)
Entitled 'Dexter's intro', 'Dexter buys a computer', 'Dexter and Mattie visit Ziegler's friend', 'Mattie's pitch black hallway scare', 'Alternative director's cut - Dexter and Mattie enter lab', 'Alternative Other World -After Mattie soul is sucked' and 'Alternative ending - Dexter dies', these deleted or alternative scenes suffer from the lack of a commentary track or introduction to explain why they were removed.

Creating the Fear: Making Pulse (7.02 mins)
Director Jim Sonzero, producers Joel Soisson and Mike Leahy and stars Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder, Christina Milian and Sam Levine talk about bringing the Japanese horror movie to a Western audience. The featurette looks at key scenes including the launderette scare, the Other World and creating the phantoms, as well as looking at Kristen and Ian's performances and the director.

Visual effects of Pulse (5.56 mins)
Director Jim Sonzero, producers Joel Soisson and Mike Leahy, visual effects supervisor Kevin O'Neil, digital effects artist Christina Beckert and CG artists Marc Leidy and Thomas Dickens talk about creating the effects for the phantoms and creating the Other World.

Pulse and the Paranormal (4.23 mins)
Paranormal experts talk about cases of ITC, Instrumental Trans Communication and how the dead can use technology to appear and talk to the living. Including images and sound recorded during ITC sessions, the featurette tries to inform you about this fascinating phenomenon.

Theatrical Trailer (2.24 mins)
View the trailer that previewed the film in cinemas

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'Pulse' is very good. With two commentary tracks and a collection of short featurettes that covers most facets of the film's production, fans should be very pleased with this DVD.

DVD

White Noise

The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

2006