 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Pulse
- Review Date: December 19, 2006
- PG-13
- Genre: Horror
- 2006
Common Sense Media says
Moody horror remake is too creepy for kids.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that the movie is relentlessly dark, with a buzzing, spooky soundtrack: The grim music and noise hardly let up. It includes several deaths by grisly means: a college student hangs himself, while others are consumed by the machine-derived "ghost." All these deaths include screaming and shuddering, and are generally spooky and abstract. A couple of minor characters wield (but don't shoot) guns, demonstrating their desperation. Characters smoke cigarettes and drink; one of the girls sleeps with a guy she's just met at a bar. Some profanity, including one f-word, uttered in despair.
What's the story?
A self-described "future shrink," Mattie (Kristen Bell, of Veronica Mars) is studying psych at an unnamed urban university. Worried that her boyfriend Josh (Jonathan Tucker) isn't returning her phone calls, she doesn't want to believe her best friend and roommate Izzie (Christina Milian) that she needs to "let go." Little does she know that he's been "consumed" by a ghost from a computer virus, a creepy grey sort of death force that seems to emerge from computers and make its victims so depressed that they kill themselves or dissolve into nothingness. The "virus," as TV reporters describe it, is soon worldwide, shutting down system after system, rendering users so pained and fearful, so "unlike themselves," that they're unable to resist the ghosts.
Is it any good?
Very dark and moody, PULSE imagines a dire near future for electronic communications. As college students become immersed in their devices -- cell phones, computers, PDAs -- they lose touch with each other, and so, literally, lose themselves. The problem of communication is at the center of Jim Sonzero's remake of the 2001 Japanese movie Kairo, and while this bad-machines theme is familiar, the execution is effectively ooky, with a persistent blueish light and buzzy soundtrack. The ghosts, it turns out, "want what they don't have, they want life." The film frames its horror as if the ghosts are so many Pinocchios, yearning for what seems inherently valuable to humans. Communication has turned consumptive.
While adults are ineffective (Mattie's smug therapist [Ron Rifkin] dismisses her concerns out of hand), a computer geek helps Mattie to find the webcam loop that affected Josh. It helps that Dexter (Ian Somerhalder) is very good looking, of course, but he's also clever and determined. He finds images of other dead souls, gazing forlornly from the computer screen, emblems of the future of non-communication.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the subjects of depression and suicide. How might the victims have been better able to cope with their psychic pain if they had communicated it with one another? They could talk about the metaphor of the ghosts: lonely, isolated people who literally disappear. They may also discuss the enduring popularity of horror movies and why young people in particular are so drawn to them.
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AGE
Good horror movie~
I saw the PG-13 version around the time I was 12, and it really scared me. (although I doubt I'd be scared it I watched it again) Unlike most horror movies the plot wasn't completely stupid, but there were some stupid parts. The rated version is fine for kids 13+
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AGE
Hmm
When I watched this movie with my best friend and little sister, we got really scared. After I saw it I bragged that I saw a scary movie - but I didnt sleep well that night. I don't really recommend this for kids 13 and under.
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AGE
I just saw the movie and it was pretty good and it was scary too. The movie was very entertaining and the effects were so cool it felt like it was in 3-D. I would recomend this movie for kids and adults who are not scared of horror movies. Because this movie would freak out kids 8 and under.
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AGE
A good film for people over the age of 15
I liked this film from beginning to the end, scary and suspenseful
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AGE
i would reccomend it
ok im 11 and it did not scare me. but i dont get scared easily because i watch scary things all the time. nothing was that bad! the picture u see on the cover never even happens in the movie. it is actually more funny than scary. for example this guy is scared so he duck tapes himself into the room. and it is somewhat predictable. another thing is the people in the movie do dumb things... they get a link on their computer saying -do u want to see a ghost?- so they go right ahead and click on it- how dumb can u be?! alot of things in the csm review never even happen. i just watched this last night. so overall i would say if you are 10+ and can handle somewat scary things your fine. believe me it is not scary- i didnt jump 1 time!! not the best movie but if your looking 4 something to do i would recommend it!
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AGE
Who's idea was this?!
Completely terrible. Do not see, unless you are desperate.
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| Studio: | Dimension |
| Director: | Jim Shonzero |
| Cast: | Christina Milian, Ian Somerhalder, Kristen Bell |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Run time: | 87 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | August 11, 2006 |
| DVD release date: | December 19, 2006 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | violent and disturbing images. |
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