Two separate groups of people discover that spirits are using the internet to enter our world and eliminate us.
A social commentary with strengths and weaknesses.
I deliberately chose the translated title over its original, Kairo, as I vividly remember giving a rather unforgiving review to its American adaptation, Pulse (2006): https://kaygazpro.com/pulse-2006-horror-sci-fi-thriller/, a film I would rather not comment on any further.
So, about this one… Dark. That is the first word that comes to mind. Twenty-four years after first watching it in 2002, I decided to revisit writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s eerie meditation on technology, loneliness, and human disconnection. Unsurprisingly, my perception of the world has evolved. Yet somehow, the nostalgia of this film remains intact.
Watching Pulse today is a fascinating experience. Modern audiences may smile – or even laugh – at some of its warnings regarding the Internet. After all, we now live in a world of smartphones, social media, streaming services, and constant connectivity. But it is important to remember that this film emerged during the early Internet era, when the online world still felt mysterious, foreign, and, for some, genuinely frightening.
Kurosawa cleverly exploited those fears. Horror had already given us haunted houses, cursed objects, and possessed places. Here, he transformed the Internet itself into a haunted space. At the time, that idea felt revolutionary.
The result is an atmosphere that remains remarkably effective. The eerie music, haunting reflections, shadowy frames, frightened reactions, and endless sense of dread create a world that feels as though it is slowly fading away. Even now, certain moments retain their power. The hanged man. The woman who throws herself to her death. Images that stood the test of time.
What fascinates me most, however, is how prophetic the film feels. The Internet was supposed to connect the world. Instead, it often isolates us while creating the illusion of connection. Look at how many platforms we have to communicate on, yet approaching someone at the bar to say “hi” feels more intrusive than online.
As one character observes: “Wanted to connect with other people?… People don’t really connect, you know… We all live totally separately.”
That is the film’s true horror. Not the ghosts. Not the website. Not the shadows in empty rooms. But the possibility that despite being more connected than ever before, we remain profoundly alone.
Highly recommended, whether you are discovering it for the first time or revisiting it decades later – for more than one reason.
Thanks for reading!
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Solidarity for all the innocent lives that suffer the atrocities of war!
Stay safe!
