Pulse - Not a great film (but I enjoyed it anyway)

If you check out other reviews for the U.S. remake of the Japanese horror film `Pulse' you'll see that the majority of people hated it. And I can see why. The first time I watched it I wasn't interested to begin with. It came across as your regular slasher film, only with computer ghosts stalking and killing teenagers instead of a physical killer.

Then there were the - obvious - similarities to the (far superior) 'The Ring.' However, I thought it actually picked up a bit of pace in the second half. Once the more `apocalyptic' side of the story takes over then there are a few nice moments.  We start off meeting a young man who's obviously being haunted by something nasty that keeps following him through a university campus.  However, he then disappears and we're introduced to a particularly forgettable group of your typical horror movie youngsters.  You have the 'perky blonde heroine,' the 'black best friend,' the 'friend-zoned male' and the 'good-looking potential hunk for the perky blonde to fall for.' Yup, they're all there.

This group of stereotypes have to then investigate what happened, while at the same time trying not to become the latest victims to the computer-generated nasties.  It was only on the second (or possibly third) viewing that I noticed how many famous names were attached to the making of this film.  If you can gloss over the obvious 'Harvey Weinstein' in the opening credit then you may notice that Wes Craven had a hand in the story.  Now, don't go hoping that 'Pulse' is up to any of his greatest work, but I'm guessing his involvement is perhaps the main reason that this film is - slightly - more than a cut above the average horror film.

If you have high expectations for this film, then you'll definitely hate it. However, if you're just looking for a (slightly) better than average horror flick then give it a go. Acting - average. Plot - average. Special effects - average. In fact, it ticks off pretty much every horror clicle going, but at least the second half is a lot more fun that the first.  And I did appreciate the ending (no spoilers!).  So, if you're in the right mood, you may give it that extra `mark' to turn its rating from a 6 to a 7/10.