FFFA: Pulse (2001)

Kairo 回路

“★★★★ During a Kurosawa Kiyoshi film, one sits in anticipation of the horrors lingering just outside the frame.” – Slant Magazine

“★★★★½ There are very few moments in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s fiercely original, thrillingly creepy horror movie that don’t evoke a dreamlike dread of the truly unknown.” – The New York Times

From director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure), the ‘Godfather of J-horror’, Pulse is an unnerving, sinister techno-thriller that’s often referred to as one of the scariest films ever made.

A group of friends in Tokyo start experiencing strange phenomena involving missing coworkers, technological breakdown and an unsettling presence emerging from their computers. Is their friend trying to contact them from beyond the grave? Is there a ghost in the machine? As the friends investigate further, crowded Tokyo starts to become emptier by the day, there are terrifying rooms sealed with red tape in abandoned construction sites, and a website known as the ‘Forbidden Room’ asks “Do you want to see a ghost?”

Ahead of its time in its exploration of 21st century loneliness and social media malaise, Pulse is a chilling vision of disconnection in a digital world. Like Cure, its horror lies not in jump scares or gore, but in its profoundly creepy atmosphere of dread and unease. 

Festivals & Awards
Cannes Film Festival 2001 – Winner, FIPRESCI Prize; Nominee, Un Certain Regard Award
Sitges Film Festival 2001 – Winner, José Luis Guarner Critics’ Award

Screens as part of Umbrella-Palooza: Digital Nightmares Triple Feature.

Rating

Unclassified 18+

Duration

119 min

Country

Japan

Language

Japanese (English subtitles)

Cast

Haruhiko Katô, Kumiko Asô, Koyuki

Director

Kiyoshi Kurosawa