I can’t explain why the Japanese horror film “Pulse” has taken four years to get a proper release in America, but it’s a case of better late than never. This hair-curling exercise in J-horror is a worthy addition to a scary movie genre.
| Creepy: A hair-curling exercise in Japanese horror from director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, stronger on gradual creepiness and overall mood than big shocks. (In Japanese, with English subtitles.)
Rated: Not rated; probably R for violence. Now showing: Varsity |
It comes from the mind of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the man whose dark visions were responsible for “Cure” and “Seance,” two creepy pictures. His horror movies have a slow, Kubrick-like pace, and they rarely explain themselves fully.
I could try to recount the plot of “Pulse,” but that would only take us so far, for there is much that is unexplained in this movie, too. It begins with various Tokyo residents coming across a Web site that promises the opportunity to speak with the dead.
This cannot possibly lead to anything good. Not only does it cause problems for those unfortunate enough to click on the ghostly Internet button, it also unleashes some mysterious force that escapes into Tokyo itself.
Kurosawa’s point is not to get us to identify with characters, or even to get to know them very well. He’s busy creating an overall sense of utter dread, a feeling that every time a scene begins, something awful could suddenly overtake his alienated, lonely people.
You know that message that comes up on your computer telling you “the system has become unstable”? (Well, it comes up on my computer.) That’s the feeling of this movie: The system has become unstable, and you can’t trust any room you enter.
Kurosawa does this with a visual style that emphasizes darkness and the difficulty of seeing clearly. You’ll be watching this film and gradually become aware that the black spot on the opposite wall may have started moving. Or did it?
This director is also a master of the nerve-fraying soundtrack. Throughout the film, an undercurrent of humming, creaking, and whooshing is always going on. If you watched “Pulse” with the picture off it would still freak you out.
This kind of moody J-horror inevitably divides fans of the horror genre, some of whom demand more overt violence (or maybe just clearer storytelling). It’ll be interesting to see the Hollywood remake, which is due in early 2006. But if you’re the kind of person that lost sleep because of the Japanese “Ring,” check out the original first.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
