Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Octane, which also goes by the equally ambiguous and stylish title 'Pulse', is a fascinating, frustrating pseudo - horror effort that charges out of the gate in positively wicked fashion, with one of the most suspenseful opening thirds I've seen. It's doesn't keep up that rich, devilishly dark tone for the entire time though, degenerating into muddy clichés upon reaching the final act. It's almost as if it tried so hard to resist genre conventions by throwing bizarre shock tactics into the mix that it stumbles over itself and spills the entire concoction all over the floor. I can forgive it that though, because in a genre full of filmmakers who don't even try, it at least strives to give the story it's own specific brand of unnerving menace, and when it's good, it's really good. Madeleine Stowe is fantastically intense as Senga Wilson, a single mother driving across country through the night with her daughter Natasha (Mischa Barton). There are tricky mother daughter issues which create tension between the two, only intensified by the arrival of a mysterious hitchhiker (Bijou Philips) who entices Natasha with wild tales of the road and unsettled Senga. Then, during a brief pause at a truck stop, Natasha disappears into thin air, propelling Senga into a feverish fit of panic, paranoia and maternal angst. The police are only vaguely interested, and no one else seems to have any clue what happened, save for a strange couple who constantly appear at the sight of accidents. Her only help comes from a tow truck driver named The Recovery Man (Norman Reedus balances comforting and sinister scarily well), who is trawling the night looking for something as well. She's led on a dark odyssey with an unearthly feel, coming across dead ends, red herrings and psychos galore including a vampiric cult leader (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). The film soaks in much of its atmosphere via a score by a group called Orbital that is like nothing on this earth, musically speaking. It's such a weird composition of synth, drums, creepy vocals and droning phenomena it brings any scene to life and gets you to pray you don't get stuck in Senga's situation. I just really wish the film didn't derail and fall apart near the end, because it's got a lot of really strong elements and it would have been to cool to see a consistency to them that it just doesn't sustain. Having said that, it's still worth a look for its unique brand of eeriness.

With such actors as Johnathan Rhys Meyers, and Madeleine Stowe one initially might think reviews giving this movie the thumbs down might be a bit harsh. Unfortunately, this effort is no gem...and manages to run out of octane before it has even begun. Redundant plot, redundant characters can't even save the best of actors and this piece is full of predictability. Unfortunately, the predictability runs straight into the end of the movie where we are left to wonder HOW? things end up as they do. For the reviewers who gave this piece anymore than 2 stars I offer that just because you like something it doesn't mean it is good. I'm a big Twinkie fan but that doesn't mean they are actually good...it just means I like bad food. Same with this movie there will be a few people who will "buy" into the visual images. Those images (and there aren't many) are the only thing that cause this piece to get my two stars, that and the actors. The gas tank party palace- could have been really cool device in a different movie. But This little ditty is just plain out of gas! Rolling down the road on fumes.

After reading some of the comments on Octane, i really was in doubt weather to watch the movie or not. But hey, it was Saturday night, nothing else to watch, so i gave it a try. I was prepared to get puzzled half through the movie, 'cause some comments explained the ending was hard to get.I did get the ending, but i don't get some of the comments. The movie doesn't explain everything into detail: it leaves a little of the plot to your own fantasy, but the story of the movie is pretty consistent.Overall the acting is doable, Madeleine Stowe is intriguing as always and the cinematographic shots and the editing give the movie a plus. True, the story does rap up a little too fast at the ending and this movie is definitely not a horror, but a thriller. For a late Saturday night a nice thriller to watch.

It took 3 attempts to finish this turkey, and I only did it because my husband was interested. Sad to say, all of our guesses as to what was happening were better than the actual plot. Who makes these things and why? Whatever they paid the actors could not possibly have been enough to compensate them for the damage it must have done to their future careers. I have been a lifelong fan of the Horror?Thriller genre, and this is a reasonably unique picture. I would rather see a trite plot that makes some kind of sense than whatever the heck this was. Watch this puppy at your own risk. There is no redemption for a movie that drags on without any real hint of what's going on and at the end there is no satisfaction.