What really caught me up was the feeling of no escape. Once the virus gets out and people start dying, there is no escape. That feeling, and the resulting atmosphere, make understanding the root causes unnecessary. The idea of being trapped - that no matter what you do, you are doomed - is the most palpable feeling to be gotten from Pulse. In that respect it is not like your typical film where you have a hero or heroine who will save the day at the end; the best you can hope is to merely survive, as there is no way of stopping what is to come.

Sure the film has a familiar structure, but the way it plays out was not typical. The ending actually reminded me of Escape from LA, another entertaining if not terribly high quality movie. It, too, had a theme of humanity's reliance on technology.

Kristen Bell really anchors this film. Whatever flaws the movie has, she is able to give it that center. She ably plays all the required emotions, and is just a wonderful young actress. She has great charisma and likeability, she can play to a wide range, and this is a mere glimpse into her future potential. The rest of the cast has some recognizable actors, but aren't nearly up to the task as well as Bell was.

The film was Jim Sonzero's first big screen effort, working from a screenplay from horror master Wes Craven and Ray Wright based on the original film from Kiyoshi Kurosawa. They did a nice job of creating the amosphere and some creepy scenes in conjunction with DP, Mark Plummer, who gives the film a washed-out look that helps the creepy sadness that is pervasive throughout. I get the distinct feeling that there is a better film sitting on the cutting room floor, as this was a victim of post-production tinkering, and for that I wonder what the film would have looked like without studio interference. It was originally slated for release this past March, but got delayed, and it had been originally rated R. Another fact that will join the pantheon's of horror What If's, what if Wes Craven had directed as had originally been slated?

Bottomline. I liked this film, flaws and all. Kristen Bell is fine emotional anchor, and there is some genuine creepiness. The way the story expands from the localized phenomenon to the coming of a new world order is interesting. It is a thematically interesting movie that doesn't fully payoff on what it wants to say, but is frightening in implication. Now I have to dig out my DVD of the original Kairo (translated as Pulse).

Recommended.