Pulse

R

Released Feb 10, 2001

1 hr. 59 min.

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

List

76%

55 Reviews

Tomatometer

60%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After college student Taguchi (Kenji Mizuhashi) commits suicide, a number of young adults living in Tokyo witness terrifying visions transferred across the Internet. As more people disappear throughout the city, the Internet becomes a breeding ground for malevolent spirits. Three seemingly disconnected stories follow Michi (Kumiko Asô), Ryosuke (Haruhiko Katô) and Harue (Koyuki) as they attempt to solve the mystery behind the ghostly visions that are seeping beyond their computer monitors.

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Critics Consensus

A sinister spine-tingling techno-thriller whose artistry lies in the power of suggestion rather than a barrage of blood and guts or horror shop special effects.

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xenounde0

My most favorite movie of all time. Better with every watch. Not the utterly scarring horror movie a lot of people make it out to be, but it's beautifully crafted.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/24

Full Review

Zion J

I really couldn't understand why it was so long, Well. This is nothing new to me sense I have watched movies that are longer then this. Sure it's Boring, But they set perfect examples into Pulse on what a real horror movie should be like. 8/10

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/16/24

Full Review

Alec B

Probably a little too long but it deserves a lot of credit for being one of the few movies from the early 00s that saw the internet as an apocalyptic force that would isolate rather than unite and infect rather than educate.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/10/24

Full Review

Logan D

During the nascent years of the internet, visions are broadcast on the internet and people begin to commit suicide. Pensive. Melancholic. Reflective. There are plenty of superlatively eerie scenes in this film but it may be slow for some viewers. I loved it. This film seeps into your skin and leaves a feeling of persistant dread.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/04/23

Full Review

S. C

Mysterious, uncanny and filled with tension led by likeable characters. Horror without any jumpscares or gore. The score is successfully melancholic and eerie. The cinematography is absolutely outstanding and clever, with long lasting shots mostly taken from effective angles that keep you at the edge of your seat. What I also find so great is that we aren't being faced with a mythical ghost tale but rather with our own reality turned into a metaphor. A concept that was way far ahead of its time! The movie really gives off the sense of hopelessness and depression, which I have never witnessed before at this scale due to a movie. Towards the finish it's hard for the movie to sustain its scariness, however the drama holds it up well. The CGI is so bad that it's laughable, luckily it was only needed a couple times.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/08/23

Full Review

Christopher S

Terrible! Boring as hell.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/09/23

Full Review

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Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Director

Haruhiko Katô

Ryosuke Kawashima

Kumiko Asô

Michi Kudo

Koyuki

Harue Karasawa

Kurume Arisaka

Junko Sasano

Masatoshi Matsuo

Toshio Yabe

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Wesley Morris

Boston Globe

Where the average Japanese horror flick is petulant and nasty, Pulse is dolorous, shivery, and surreal.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 24, 2006

Full Review

Walter V. Addiego

San Francisco Chronicle

It's an apocalyptic ghost story with some eerie images and a surprising turn toward the end, but it bogs down considerably between the good scenes.

Rated: 2/4

Dec 16, 2005

Full Review

Bob Longino

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It's not about blood, gore and oozing innards but unsettling creepiness that gets under a moviegoer's skin and makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.

Rated: B-

Dec 15, 2005

Full Review

Pieter-Jan Van Haecke

Psychocinematography

Pulse is an extra-ordinary apocalyptic horror narrative that explores, in a refined way, the destructive impact of consumption...

Oct 26, 2022

Full Review

Stephanie Archer

Film Inquiry

It is deeply enlightening, haunting, and unbelievably relevant 20 years later. If you are looking for an old classic or a new horror love, make Kairo a must-see.

May 1, 2021

Full Review

Austin Trunick

Under the Radar

Kurosawa doesn't rely on gore or violence to make his specters haunting, but on their inhumanness and otherworldliness.

Oct 18, 2017

Full Review

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Synopsis

After college student Taguchi (Kenji Mizuhashi) commits suicide, a number of young adults living in Tokyo witness terrifying visions transferred across the Internet. As more people disappear throughout the city, the Internet becomes a breeding ground for malevolent spirits. Three seemingly disconnected stories follow Michi (Kumiko Asô), Ryosuke (Haruhiko Katô) and Harue (Koyuki) as they attempt to solve the mystery behind the ghostly visions that are seeping beyond their computer monitors.

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Screenwriter: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia
Rating: R (Some Violent Images)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 10, 2001, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 1, 2009
Sound Mix: Surround

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