Pulse (2001)
"Kairo" (original title)

Japanese university students investigate a series of suicides linked to an Internet Web cam that promises visitors the chance to interact with the dead.

Director:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Writer:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Stars:

Haruhiko Katô, Kumiko Asô, Koyuki

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Haruhiko Katô	...	Ryosuke Kawashima
Kumiko Asô	...	Michi Kudo
Koyuki	...	Harue Karasawa
Kurume Arisaka	...	Junko Sasano
Masatoshi Matsuo	...	Toshio Yabe
Shinji Takeda	...	Yoshizaki
Jun Fubuki	...	Michi's mother
Shun Sugata	...	Boss
Shô Aikawa	...	Employee
Kôji Yakusho	...	Ship Captain
Kenji Mizuhashi	...	Taguchi
Takumi Tanji	...	Man with Bag
Hassei Takano	...	Student A
Atsushi Yuki	...	Student B
Go Takashima	...	Student C

Storyline

After one of their friends commits suicide, strange things begin happening to a group of young Tokyo residents. One of them sees visions of his dead friend in the shadows on the wall, while another's computer keeps showing strange, ghostly images. Is their friend trying to contact them from beyond the grave, or is there something much more sinister going on?

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Plot Keywords:

suicide | internet | student | computer | shadow | 

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Taglines:

Yûrei ni aitai desu ka? (Do you want to meet a ghost?)

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent images

Details

Official Sites:

Magnolia Pictures Company

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

9 November 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Circuit

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$7,250 (USA) (11 November 2005)

Gross:

$49,046 (USA) (16 December 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Eiga, Hakuhodo, Imagica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Japanese title written in Mandarin means "the road back".

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Quotes

Ghost: Death was... eternal loneliness.

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Connections

Referenced in FeardotCom (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Hane Lay Down My Arms"
Performed by Cocco

User Reviews

The creepiest horror movie ever made

Sorry for the hyperbole topic but I mean it. I am a horror movie fanatic and I have become desensitized to cheap scares with loud noises and murderers running around with axes. I am very picky and only like one out of every few dozen horror movies I watch. I also don't like nonsensical supernatural horror that uses creepy images as a gimmick without actually bothering to make any sense. So when I say that this is the creepiest horror movie ever made, it is not hyperbole.

That said, this movie will bore or confound the average horror movie watcher. It is not linear or logical and it doesn't explain everything that is going on, but it doesn't have to.

This is an apocalyptic horror movie about loneliness and how people may become distant islands and ghosts even through connecting technology like cellphones and the internet. I don't know how anyone can make a horror movie about loneliness and make it creepy as hell but Kiyoshi Kurosawa pulled it off.

That's all you need to know. Experience it with the lights off, no breaks, noise or distractions, or I will lock you in a room with a depressed ghost and tape the door shut with red tape until you become so lonely you will evaporate into nothing.