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32 reviews in total

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15 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
For God's Sake, Get Out!, 10 April 2005

Author: golbez-1 from Canada

If this tag line seems familiar to you, it's because it is. It's the famous tag line for "The Amityville Horror". Not much happened in this movie, and yet it's considered a classic. We never, in the movie, understood the full source of evil from Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining", and yet it's one of the most horrifying films of the 20th century. Better leave things unexplained, and you'll have a great time. Do the same with "Pulse" and you'll enjoy it to the max. I sure did. I always liked how the movie never explained the source of the evil electricity. It makes things scarier. Once I'll find out, it's like spoiling a movie's ending. As the tag line for "Amityville", one is wondered why the occupants of the house do not leave yet. Well, the answer's simple, and Cliff DeYoung's character clearly showed it in the movie. It's because there's a rational explanation behind all of this. And the house is not entirely paid, they have to sleep there, eat there, and... just a place to sit down and relax. Because if they leave, they will look like crazy people. That's all the movie is about. What makes sense? What is best to do? I keep myself on the edge of my seat seeing for myself as what will be coming up next. "Pulse" is indeed an undiscovered gem. What a shame.

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9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Good old fashioned creeps, 20 March 2006

Author: spost8260 from San Pablo, CA

I agree that some of the lines in this film are 'cheesy', but its been a long time since I've seen a film that actually gave me a good case of the creeps and this filled the bill. I'm sick of the blood, gore, sex and foul language. SOmetimes its okay, but gets painfully boring after awhile. I want to be able to be spooked or creeped out; to be able to walk away looking over my shoulder or wondering "what if" and this film was the last film ever made that gave me this feeling. Not many films do, because it seems blood and filth is what horror is supposed to be about. Well I like good old spooky stories, too and this film has what it takes to give you a good case of the creeps. If you like blood, gore and sex, then you probably wont like this film. But if you want to spend the next two weeks walking on the paranoid side, check it out!

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Nifty little late 80's sci-fi/horror sleeper, 19 May 2006

Author: Woodyanders (Woodyanders@aol.com) from The Last New Jersey Drive-In on the Left

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Young boy David (a winning performance by Joey Lawrence of the TV show "Blossom") is spending the week with his estranged, hard-working father Bill (the always solid Cliff De Young) and new stepmother Ellen (a fine Roxanne Hart). David notices that the electricity in the house has taken on a lethal and malevolent life of its own, but can't convince either his dad or stepmom that something's amiss.

Writer/director Paul Golding makes this fantastic premise seem fairly credible and extremely chilling by carefully evoking a thoroughly plausible everyday mundane world that's ripped violently asunder by a bizarre and inexplicable phenomenon (Golding's stubborn refusal to provide some kind of valid explanation for why the electricity is acting up adds a truly eerie and unnerving ambiguity to the picture). Moreover, Golding successfully creates believable and sympathetic characters and offers a gradual build-up of skin-crawling tension which culminates in a positively harrowing and nerve-wracking climax with all the electricity going dangerously haywire. Peter Lyons Collister's exceptional macro photography, Jay Ferguson's shuddery score, and the first-rate special effects further contribute to the film's sterling quality. Kudos are also in order for the uniformly ace acting; veteran character actor Charles Tyner has a colorfully quirky supporting part as a nutty old paranoid electrician and Robert Romanus (Mike Damone in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High") pops up in a cool cameo as a smooth-talking TV repairman. Spooky and intense, "Pulse" rates as a real nifty little sci-fi/horror sleeper.

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9 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
A lot better than ratings might suggest., 2 March 2002

Author: Michael J. Barkley (mjbarkl@inreach.com) from Manteca, CA, USA

Every so often comes an offbeat movie that begs to be seen over and over again, which is now possible because of cable and satellite. "Pulse" is such a movie. Don't over analyze it. Just get a lot of popcorn and whatever and sit forward on your seat, grip the arms of your chair, and immerse yourself in it. If you're looking for more of the same, similar feelings without it being a slasher movie (yuck!), add "Final Destination" to your viewing evening, another 10 in my book.... Of course, I'm talking about a different standard than great drama, I'm talking about a movie that makes you grip your seat and exclaim "Holy S..t!"....

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Mild Current Instead Of A Jolt, 10 January 2000
Author: Cobbler from Venice Beach, CA.

This one wasn't so much frightening as it was an interesting attempt at a horror/sci-fi mix. I think the script needed a little juking, a few more twists and turns and genuinely suspenseful moments, before I could recommend it. There was a little too much macro-photography of wires melting, and not enough attention paid to the characters (one of the major ones is inexplicably written out of the story before the climax.) I never thought I'd say this, but Joey Lawrence actually gives a good performance, and there are some nice, subtle moments-- particularly some strong observations about family. I was never scared, but the ambiguity & unusual premise kept me interested. I think POLTERGEIST was much more effective in creating horror in inanimate objects. Still, a good try. 6/10.

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5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
at the height of late '80s thrillers was "Pulse", 10 November 1998
Author: (supremelegend@hotmail.com)

The plot is so simple: deadly electricity. It has its scary moments, but lacks the acting that could have made it great. The movie falls in the same field of PG-13 "horror" that such other underrated '80s films have, like "Critters." Go see this one, if you can, since it's in limited release and is hard to find.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Funky Electricity Film, 4 July 2002
Author: AngeFatoh from Maine

I wonder why The Big Screen Savers Movie on TechTV hasn't picked this

film up yet! It's a cool tech thriller. I catch it on MoviePlex and HBO sometimes. It usually shows up when I'm

really, really, really bored. I'm glad it only comes on once in a while, because it would spoil the

thrill of the "evil" pulse electricity destroying a whole house. Then

the movie would become boring and repeated for me. I love the stop-motion animation of electricity destroying circuit

boards, but then again, I'm a tech fan. The light in the TV's cathrode

ray tube scanning over things like a deadly laser can prove to be quite

creepy. I actually think I can feel the metallic intense heat from the

electricity sometimes. Also, the score and the end credits are almost as fun as the movie

itself! (The background switches from circuit boards to city scapes on

the cr

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3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
an all-time favorite... Great "80's sci-fi flick!!!, 11 November 2006

Author: djtrix26 from United States

inspired by this movie after seeing some of it for the first time when I was 3 years old (back in '93), I instantly fell in love with the plot. It was extremely thrilling. After just seeing this film again yesterday for the 2nd time in 13years, I was able to finally refresh my faded memory of this film, and make a better judgment on it. First things first.....I love the acting, and I love Cliff De Young! I think the choice of actors was a fabulous cast for this film. The idea is cool, since people don't always think of electricity and power-poles being potentially threatening. This film basically elaborates on the idea that electricity has a mind of its own. The story-line good, but a tad mysterious (maybe for the better). Some things are left unexplained and you will have questions at the end. That being said, no other decade than the 1980's could have pulled this film off as stylishly as it was! The special effects were good for the time, and not cheesy. The electricity moved realistically, and the "hypnotic-laser" -idea that struck out of the T.V was an awesome way of showing the Pulse trying to reach out. The music was a major- flavor-savor for this film. Great, intense, electric synth music with a suspenseful ominous low tone that accompanied build-up moments, which i personally love in a film score. **(See the scene with a bunch of phone lines that cuts right after a shot on a Real Estate sign "Nero Realtors") & also the music that plays with a heartbeat over the Kilowatthour meter, towards the end. -This is what i mean by "low tone"). Excellent opening and ending credit-music as well, especially the ending! Makes you wish there was a soundtrack available. For a rare movie about electricity that builds tension and suspense, makes this film one to be watched over and over. I will always hold this movie as one of my all-time favs. I'll give it *** out of ****, thumbs up for "good and worth seeing again and again". I'd like to see IMDb's rating go up to at least a 6.0 for this movie. I think 5.0 too low, based on IMDb's standards. WATCH THIS ONE! NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT! It definitely deserves a sequel or pseudo-sequel someday, but not another damn horrid remake please!!! .......... Don't watch the new PULSE (2006)....has nothing to do with this, not a sequel, and totally sucks compared to the 1988 film of the same title.

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"Good 80's Sci-Fi/Horror!", 11 April 2012

Author: gwnightscream from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Cliff De Young, Joey Lawrence and Roxanne Hart star in this 1988 sci-fi/horror film. An electrical force terrorizes a boy and his family. This starts with Bill Rockland (De Young), his wife, Ellen (Hart) and neighbors witnessing a couple on their street getting into an accident. Soon, Bill's son, David (Lawrence) comes to visit for a while and starts hearing strange noises in the house at night. David hears about the accident on the street and begins getting terrorized by an electrical force called, a "pulse" causing the noises. David tries explaining to his dad and Ellen what's happening, but his dad doesn't believe him. Ellen does and fears that the evil force is trying to harm their family. After Ellen gets into an accident, Bill starts to believe what's happening and tries to stop the pulse with David. I remember this used to be on TV a lot years ago and always thought it was creepy. I recommend this good 80's sci-fi/horror flick.

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We're going to rock down to … Electric Avenue!, 15 August 2010

Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The opinions on "Pulse" appear to be very diverged around here. Approximately half of the reviewers claim it's a very original and genuinely suspenseful thriller, whereas the other half thinks it's a ludicrous and far-fetched piece of rubbish. Even the rating is exactly 5.0 out of 10 at this particular moment, so I guess it's safe to say this is a film you either love or hate. I must admit I belong in the first camp. The basic idea of electrical impulses suddenly developing homicidal tendencies may indeed sound a bit grotesque and implausible, and the complete lack of valid explanation is most unfortunate, but generally speaking "Pulse" contains more positive aspects than negative ones. For starters, the continuously high level of suspense. This might very well be the horror film with the absolute lowest death toll of the entire 80's decade, and yet it didn't bother me for a single second because the tension was constantly there and often even nearly unbearable. There's only one fatality, at the very beginning of the movie and even appearing off-screen, still you'll be sitting on the edge of your seat more than once. This is also one of the rare 80's genre films where you honestly care for the lead characters and actually don't want for them to die! The leads are a three-headed suburban family, existing of the father, son and stepmother. The son joins his father and his sympathetic new wife during school holiday, but quickly notices something isn't kosher in the neighborhood. And David is right, as a seemingly intelligent electrical pulse is gradually taking over all the circuits and transforming electronic devices into murderous machines. The same thing overcame their neighbor, but everybody just thought he was crazy. Writer/director Paul Golding definitely had some bright ideas when making this film, and it's admirable that he was resistant to turning this into a bloody carnage flick. Oddly enough, the sight of melting circuits and vibrating wires is a lot scarier than I thought. "Pulse" features some extremely powerful sequences, like Roxanne Hart in the shower and Cliff De Young narrowly escaping death by electrocution in the flooded kitchen. Roxanne Hart depicts the most lovable female horror character I've seen in years! She's the most atypical stepmother imaginable: gorgeous, friendly, helpful and intelligent. She almost immediately believes the drivel about electric terror, and that's not common in horror films. "Pulse" is definitely an underrated 80's horror/thriller gem.

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