It seems as if everytime us Americans decide to rehash an excellent Japanese horror film--we end up leaving out half of the storyline, script, and everything else, which made it scary in the first place.

I recently saw the movie "Pulse," which was remade from an original Japanese version. Other movies of this type include, "Ring" (Ringu), "Grudge" (Juon), etc.

I've seen Ringu, and Juon, and those movie both crawled under my skin! I mean...still for Japanese horror, they weren't up to par with some that I've seen; however, they had a story, and they still had suspense!

Eastern-based horror movies really rely on the psychological factors of the movie to creep out the audience. Ambience, environment, scripting, soundtrack, ghosts not blood....and it works.

I suppose I'm venting. But, why does Hollywood leave out such key elements in the story? Let me hash out the movie "PULSE." This is going to include spoilers, so don't see the movie, because it sucked to high heaven, anyway.

Where to begin?

Takes place at college. Dude all alone in library. Followed by a static-shadow person. (scarrrrrrrrrrry) In a dark hall of library, after lights flicker on and off, and after running into the creepy old-man librarian, he goes into the dark hall, where it looks like somebody is throwing books off the shelf! Don't look into the black hole in the shelf!! Don't look in there!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! What does the dumb person do???

Then an average joe looking ghosty comes from the hole, and knocks him to the ground, and screams in his face...and sucks his soul out of him. So....dumb.

So, basically...this soulless man's girlfriend goes into his dorm, to find a cat with poked out eyeballs crying in the closet, and to find her soulless man hanging himself in the bathroom.

Dumb, dumb, and dumb again.

Ummm....what else?
All around campus, you learn there's suicides. What's up? Well, let's get straight to the point. Basically, there's this computer virus, that came alive....yes, you guessed it...alive. That's the ghostie shadow-static person that killed the bf in the library.

Anyway, all around the world, computers are wreaking havoc by switching from windows to this messed up program. It's like a webcam. You turn your comp on, and it says to you, "Do you want to see a ghost?" Then it just goes and shows you all these sad looking peole...looking at the computer. That was kinda freaky. It's like thousands of diff people just looking at you. Looking through you.

And, you had this guy with a bag over his head...but you never knew who that guy was--that was dumb...did it even have anything to do with the story? I thought it would have.

So, whatever. Basically, you the computer virus sucking souls out of everybody in the world, and Veronica Mars, and some incredibly hot computer nerd is out to shut down the virus. So, they get this counter-virus out of nowhere, only to find out that the computer-virus people are afraid of red-duct tape.

So, if the computer virus people are from an unknown frequency, and beyond human capabilites...and can teleport themselves from one room to another...why does red duct tape keep them at the windows? (scarrrrrrrrrry)

*runs to hardware store*

I mean....come on. It didn't tell you who the main ghostie was who sucked the soul of the people...it didn't tell you who that guy with the garbage bag over his head was...it didn't tell you why they couldn't teleport beyond the red duct tape...it didn't tell you why nobody put that stupid eyeball-lacking cat out of it's misery...cuz everytime somebody wandered into that same dorm...you heard the poor thing meowing.

It just didn't do anything but make you go: why, why, why???
Ohhhhhh...I still forgot like 99.8% of the movie. K. Get this. When you get your soul sucked out of you, you develop a rash. More like a black blood coursing through your veins...when it consumes your body...what happens? You turn into ash...literally. You just POOF!! And fly away in the wind. I'm like. "uhhhhhhhh..." Whatever.

So...we learn @ the end of the movie, and at the beginning, that if you don't want to be attacked by the computer virus...you turn your computer off. Simple concept. However, since like half of the world has turned into those shadow people...you really can't escape. Because the shadow people thrive on umm....cell towers. And, that type of frequency. But, here's another thought. If all those people running the world's energy supply were dead--why can't the power just be shut down?? Or somebody destroy the sattellites keeping it alive? Omg...I'm thinking too much for such a stupid movie...

At the end of the movie, after the two main characters hit a dead spot...the static people stop attacking them. But, the movie, being horrible as it is--has both of them keep their cell phones! Those people are attracted to computers, PDA, cell phones, etc.

omg...so they're getting attacked again...when the chick finally is smart enough to throw her Blackberry out the window...the credits roll, and thank God.

I still didn't even say what half of the movie was about..I don't even think it's worth the dollar theaters. However, if you want to enlighten me on the movie--then by all means, please do. Because I'm not brainless enough to understand it.



So, does anybody else become annoyed at these movies?


Wait...the movie gets better!!!!! At the end of the movie, when they insert the computer virus in the computer on campus--ok..I have to vent again. If this virus is killing the population of the entire world, how can inserting a 20 GB USB port into a collge campus computer with an anti-virus on it, going to affect anything??? So, the computer turns off, and you think, "They did it!!!" But, then you get thinking about the rest of the world, and you're still like ,"What the hell???"

Anyway, the shadow people return, and Veronica yells, "The system is them! We can't shut them down!!" Umm...duh.

So @ the very end of the movie--she hears an announcement from the US Army stating how they have people in a type of camp. Survivors. People need to dispose of celly phones, computers, etc, before entering.

Basically, technology was supposed to keep us connected....instead, caused our demise.

Except for the Amish, and the Quakers...they still sit around, and twiddle their thumbs. My friend made a comment like that, and I busted out laughing. They wouldn't even know if the world ceased to exist...which it did.

The movie had a good concept...I like apocalyptic movies. Just when they're made well.



-- Edited by Darrel at 09:37, 2006-08-16