Dimension film’s long delayed remake of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 2001 film Kairo arrives in UK cinemas amongst little to no marketing, which is unfair, as despite being butchered during the editing process I thought it was better than the original.
Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder, Christina Milian and many other familiar ‘teen friendly’ faces star in this tale of college students who stumble across a computer virus that lets the dead into our world in search of ‘what they don’t have’ which to me and you is life.
It’s hard to judge the film which was nothing special plot-wise, (yet interesting and wonderful on a technical and artistic level), as it was so horribly butchered in order to gain the required PG-13 rating in America (when will the Weinstein’s learn?) and of course the execs are too lazy to rework the existing footage back in for more intelligent viewers in other countries.
What I will say is that Pulse has a great cast who give good performances, it looks wonderful and it ultimately delivers all of the jumps, scares and unsettling moments showcased in trailers and hoped for in the original film Kairo. It also very surprisingly portrays American students in a light not often seen in American teen films. Gone are the sorority sisters and frat boys, the sweater sets and letterman jackets in favour of a realistic lifestyle akin to that of a student back here in ‘Blighty’.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Pulse is not the most exciting movie I’ve seen this year but it’s certainly a cut above the recent Omen and Wicker Man remakes.
