Pulse

"THE ULTIMATE SHOCKER" - Front Cover

Summary

"You can't SEE it. You can't HEAR it. But you can FEEL it. And it's growing stronger and more deadly by the minute. It turn televisions, microwaves, computers, dryers and furnaces into demonic weapons of destruction. It's PULSE-an electrifying tale of terror starring Cliff De Young, Roxanne Hart and Joey Lawrence. At first, 11-year-old David (Lawrence) is excited about visiting his dad Bill (De Young) and stepmother Ellen (Hart) for the summer. But when he discovers that the house next door was violently destroyed and the old man living there electrocuted, David begins to panic. Even in his own home, the lights...the appliances...the electrical systems are taking on an evil, vengeful life of their own. David and Ellen know something is wrong, but Bill just thinks they're paranoid. Is it crazy to fear that "power" can destroy you...if it wants to? From writer/director Paul Golding comes a well-crafted thriller that will keep your heart pounding. It's PULSE...the ultimate shocker." - Back Cover

Soundtrack - 2.5 Sticks of Butter

Like most movies of this era the movie does not have a very noticeable soundtrack. While there was background music, it was not as pronounces as some of the musical scores featured in today's movies, however I found this quiet nondescript score appealing.

Plot - 3 Sticks of Butter

Pulse truly had an interesting plot. It is one of the more original ideas I have seen in a while. Focusing on the evils of technology in such a way that makes one think, wonder if we are indeed too reliant on the conveniences of the modern world, while still focusing on entertaining the audience. It is a feat that is not easy to do - make an audience think and still be entertained - but Pulse is able to do this.

Action - 1.5 Sticks of Butter

Now unless you consider appliances attacking (and not in the Poltergeist way - being thrown around) to be action packed you might be disappointed with the action in this movie. Although where it lacks in action in makes up for in an unconventional plot.

Effects - 2 Sticks of Butter

Considering the fact that this was a movie about technology I thought that there should have been more special effects. There were few scenes that even featured special effects, and the ones that were in this movie would not have been considered very "special" even during the time this movie was made.

Characters - 3 Sticks of Butter

I loved the step-mother in this film. She played the part of the caring step-mother very well, and I thought that she was able to contrast her husbands disbelief quite nicely while still not causing too much friction in the relationship. The blond boy the main character meets in this film really annoyed me though, I believe it was his voice that really turned me off. All in all I thought that the characters were fairly interesting and no part seemed out of place. The actors too played their parts well which made this movie quite pleasant to watch.

Overall Impressions - 3 Sticks of Butter

Pulse truly goes against convention as the evil is based more on an idea rather than on something tangible. It is this fact that makes this movie more original than most, and that is what I think adds to the appeal. I do believe the lack of special effects detracts from this movie though, but not enough to cause this movie to be boring.