Search - Pulse 2: Afterlife on DVD

2 ½- Stars: They REALLY Misunderstood Kiyoshi Kurosawa's ICO

Woopak | Where Dark Asian Knights Dwell | 10/02/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I hate remakes, KAIRO (Pulse) was a Japanese horror film that is quite iconic despite its slow-moving screenplay but it managed to generate a calculated, darkly sinister meditation on life and death with a disturbing denunciation with technology as a destroyer of living humanity. Kiyoshi Kurosawa's defining horror epic revolves around the approach to mortality as seemingly random build ups of related and unrelated events; brought about by a website that brings contact to the supernatural world. 2006's U.S. remake "Pulse" misunderstood Kurosawa's main premise and thereby resulted in a film full of creative misunderstanding. In Kairo the science was only secondary, it was more about mortality. "Pulse" shouldn't have been an unlimited "night and weekend" visual feast of cell phones and computers. This happens a lot of times when American filmmakers attempt to remake an Asian horror film.

Sure, PULSE 2: Afterlife isn't a remake of an Asian horror feature. It only expands on the idea of the U.S. remake of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's KAIRO. Directed and written by Joel Soisson (Mimic 2), the sequel isn't really a major visual spookfest, it does attempt to pull something perceivably new out of the bag; the problem is, it suffers from plot inconsistencies and horror movie clichés.

The world had been reshaped due to the emergence of ghost via the internet. Cities have been deserted, and the few survivors have relocated in small camps, in areas believed to be `dead zones'. Survivors leave behind electrical devices in their relocated areas. Ghosts now wander the Earth in the form of electrical impulses; they continue to haunt their homes and some are unaware that they are dead. Stephen (Jamie Bamber) must now find a way to save his daughter Jusitne from her dead mother Michelle.

All right, at first I thought I was about to watch a George Romero feature with ghosts in place rather than zombies. Truth be told, such a film would have been more interesting. I'm not really sure why they felt that a sequel would be necessary (then again, I don't know why they keep on remaking Asian Horror films). The film picks up from the supposed remnants of the first movie. People do know that something had gone terribly wrong and they try to survive.

Director Joel Soisson does try to make some sense on the myth that is "Kairo". I have to credit the man for trying to explore the myths of the spirit world. This time, he focuses on a father and child being haunted by a dead mother. The film does somewhat feel like a "custody battle" being fought between the material and the spirit world. While he tries, he falls to the same clichés in horror films, I can't really blame him, he had so little to work with and as I've said, even the first film greatly misunderstood Kurosawa's iconic horror film.

The film is actually a chase film of a sort. Stephen isn't really the perfect dad, he had an affair that somewhat justifies his ex-wife's anger. Michelle the dead mother is a little underdeveloped and I found it quite difficult to connect with her. Also, the timetable lacks credibility, or at least not really fully explored. The film does try to throw some ideas in an attempt to add some depth to its simple plot. A guy going around looking like a "Red Riding Hood" reject is presented but that subplot goes nowhere. (Maybe there's a Pulse 3?) The small town where Stephen and his daughter fled from is also severely underdeveloped. What happened after they left? Enter the nudity.

To its credit, the film does have a few spooky images. The idea of the dead not knowing they're dead is an idea with potential. While its visuals aren't really original and looks like a rip-offs from "The Ring" or from a Pang Bros. horror film, the film does manage to generate some scares, however cheap they may be. The scenes of suicide presented potential, but then again, that idea can only go so far. The problem with Pulse 2 is that it suffered from inconsistencies in plot. I thought ghosts can only find you when you have a cell phone or a computer, as reinforced by its first half then we Michelle able to follow Justine (Karla Scott Collins). By the brain's electrical activity perhaps? Maybe, but this possibility has no credible explanation. The film just goes into one dead end after another. The film's climax doesn't offer much either, except for the horror that is a possibility for "Pulse 3".

PULSE 2: AFTERLIFE isn't the worst horror film you'll find out there but you can definitely find something better quite easily. The issues with the film is that it tried too hard to capitalize on the first film's backdrop that it felt a little rushed and perfunctory. The script felt as if it had been rewritten numerous times. It failed to present a single memorable scene and the film just feels forgettable. It felt too textbook for my tastes and followed the same old flaws in a sequel. American filmmakers missed the point of Kurosawa's KAIRO, thinking that it was just another J-horror flick about a journey into the spirit world. I am not arrogant to say that all of them missed the idea but they definitely messed up its reinterpretation. This sequel just further reinforces that viewpoint.

RENTAL [2 ½- Stars]

"

Tolerable - Thats all that can really be said

Brian Long | Ogden, UT USA | 10/06/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Pulse 2 picks up where the original movie left off. IF you know where that is, you're doing better than most. Stephen, a man on the run from his ghost of an ex-wife, is searching for his daughter Justine, along with his wife. Theres also a sequel plug involving the only intelligent cast member, who learned the fine art of paper mache and dyeing to be able to walk outside without getting soul yanked. The subplot starts and ends like a phantasm, almost flitting over the surface, cameoed from a as unreleased chapter.

The movie orinigally follows Michelle, Stephens dead ex-wife. If you can't pick up on the fact that shes dead 4 minutes into the movie, the rest of it will be a rollercoaster thrill ride.

The filomography is very, very strange. I almost hazard to guess the did 5/6ths of it with CGI, painting in backgronuds for sets that they should've easily been able to get or build. Either that, or they have some new funky camera setup I've not encountered before.

The acting is the only thing that brought this up to two stars. Stephen and Michelle had decent players that could carry an otherwise bad script, and several of the sceen actors and extras were also rather good. While several scenes are odd to begin with, they make more sense once you know they're dead. There are a couple absolute dog scenes, but only one grauitous nudity scene, which, considering thats how movies like this make up their bottom line, seemed to show a suprising amount of restraint.

Special effects were nonexistant, and papered over from the original movie. There were a few half decent startles, but don't waste more than a rental fee."

Pulse 2: Afterlife........

blackaciddevil | in the USA somewhere..... | 02/17/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The events of Pulse 2:Afterlife happens right after the events in the first film. The ghosts end up invading and are claiming lives like you wouldn't imagine. Survivors take shelter in remote parts of the country where wireless communication signals cannot reach. Our hero travels to a ghost-infested city to see if his daughter is still alive. He finds her but gets more than he bargains for. That's where the story begins.

Like the first movie, I didn't find too much bad about the sequel. It kept my interest til the end but, sadly, this movie was uninspired and fell flat on delivering the thrill and chills that a Japanese horror film story would. The look of the ghosts was horrible(just grease paint and actors trying to look scary), nothing like the first film. In this film, they are flickering tv images. No spooky looking ghosts here, folks. I thought we'd get treated to some good special features, at least, but all we get are commentary, two deleted scenes and a quick look at Pulse 3. After this movie, I'm not so sure I'll be returning for the third installment. We'll wait and see.

The only thing I can suggest is you rent this one. To buy? well- if it's cheap in a bargain bin somewhere....but I wouldn't pay full price for this. While it was a decent for a low budget movie, it didn't WOW me like the first one did."

I was forced to give one star

Nekeidria Lee | 10/30/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This movie was horrific (yeah, i was scared, scared that this was the worst movie I have seen in ages!!!) and barely stuck with the first movies concept. The plot didnt make much sense and even a secondary plot was started and never completed...seems like they just made a movie to just be making one. Me and my bestfriend wanted to poke our eyeballs out and couldnt wait for it to be over...but we are finishers, we wanted to give it a chance considering how much we liked the first Pulse. I would tell the people who made this movie...try again"