Instant Favorite.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The story presented here is rather unique and I love that. There are ghosts that have stepped into the land of the living by way of the internet and they have a message. I won't say more than that about the plot but I will say that this is one of the creepiest movies I have seen in a long time. I prefer the creepy horror because it tends to stay with me longer. The play on shadows in this is really awesome. It made me feel like a little kid, laying in my bed at night, falling deeply into a state of terror as my imagination and the darkness played with my sense of security. I loved it.

Pulse (English title) & Kairo (Japanese title). A film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Impressed with the way he used the internet as the medium to potrays the ghost. And definitely there are no nonsense kind make-up ghosts. Love his drone shots especially in the first scene and last scene of the movie.

Now the more knowledgable ones amongst you may know that Hollywood remade this a few years later after this was originally released in 2001. Do yourself a favour and do not watch it. I repeat: Do. Not. Watch. It. Instead, go out and get the original. A group of young people in Tokyo start to experience strange phenomena including missing colleagues, technological glitches and unusual happenings. As suicide rates increase, three strangers scavenge the city to find answers. This is not your usual J-Horror. Yes, there are ghostly illusions that slowly creep towards the camera (which freaked me the hell out) but beneath this is a central metaphor regarding loneliness. How the utilisations and ever-growing prominence of technology will only serve to isolate us from reality. Exploiting social media and the internet into a horror film was inspired, and director Kiyoshi Kurosawa injected a sense of existential dread within every scene. An incredibly original concept back in 2001 that has clearly inspired many newer small budget horrors (Friend Request, Unfriended etc.). Kurosawa features some haunting cinematography, with the help of Junichiro Hayashi, which really hones in on the horror elements that the film required. I mean, who knew staring at computers and waiting for images to move could be so unnerving!? A few ambiguous scenes, like a website that asks the compelling question: "Do you want to meet a Ghost?" which for the most part work. Seriously though, if you see that...smash the computer with a hammer, burn the remains and bury the ashes. Don't just unplug it! Fools! Unfortunately, the third act loses all intrigue and suspense that the first two acts built, and settles for an apocalyptic tone. Personally, far too grandiose for a story that feels better on a smaller scale. I also felt too disconnected with the main characters, struggled to become invested in them. Having said that, Pulse is a great modern J-Horror and a dark reflection of our growing digital world.

A group of young people in Tokyo begin to experience strange phenomena involving missing co-workers and friends, technological breakdown, and a mysterious website which asks the compelling question, "Do you want to meet a ghost?" Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa spent years working in the world of "pink" films and direct-to-video movies. He was at this time best known in the west for "Cure" (1997), though it was "Pulse" that would make him an international sensation. Assisting him is cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi, known for two other J-horror modern classics, "Ring" and "Dark Water"."Pulse" was released at the right time for American audiences to latch on to. The American version of "The Ring" came out in 2002, and sparked a wider interest in Japanese horror, kicking off a wave of remakes. This also helped get the originals a wider distribution in the States -- "Pulse" being among those, as well as "Audition" and many of the Takashi Miike films that had previously been very niche.Kurosawa uses this film not just to tell a good ghost story, but to explore "the horror of isolation" in a world of increased inter-connectivity. With its dreary, depressing color palette and empty space, we find this story about the Internet to truly be about loneliness. Whether intentional or not, it is a clever social commentary that may be more true today (2017) than it was at the time.Some early reviews were critical because the film is heavier on style than substance and the narrative is not completely coherent. But since then, praise has only grown. In 2012, Jaime Christley of Slant magazine listed the film as one of the greatest of all time. In the early 2010s, Time Out conducted a poll with several authors, directors, actors and critics who have worked within the horror genre to vote for their top horror films. "Pulse" placed at number 65 on their top 100 list.The Arrow Video Blu-ray is a fine package and a great excuse to re-visit this film. Contents include (but are not limited to) new interviews with writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (at an astounding 43 minutes!), actor Show Aikawa and cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi (24 minutes); "The Horror of Isolation", a new video appreciation featuring Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett; an archive 'making of' documentary, plus four archive behind-the-scenes featurettes.