Pulse

This film absolutely blew me away. I was very excited to watch this since the director, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, also directed Cure, which I LOVEEE!!!!! I can definitely see some similarities between the two movies, especially the eeriness and downright terrifying vibes that both films heavily emit. I believe that Pulse did an even better job than Cure in terms of creating a very unsettling atmosphere, however, and it was able to depict the loneliness that the ever growing internet creates. There is so much to love about this beautifully haunting masterpiece that quite frankly overwhelms me. The music is incredibly perfect and elevates every single scene so very much. The sound design is also very great and added to the eeriness of the film. I love how this movie depicts ghosts and the loneliness that presumably comes with death. The forbidden room is a whole different level of scary and certain scenes within it gave me CHILLS. For instance, the first time we get a glimpse inside of the forbidden room, Yabe encounters a mysteriously terrifying ghost and this encounter leads to him becoming depressed. My favorite scene, however, was definitely when Harue witnesses a man wearing a plastic bag over his head (who we had seen earlier in the film) shoot himself on her computer and then she sees a live recording of herself on the very same computer upon clicking the enter key. She slowly approaches the area in which the recording is coming from, but to her surprise, it is an invisible figure watching her. Without hesitation, she embraces this figure and proclaims that she is not alone. My jaw dropped whilst watching this scene and I cannot shake off the harrowing feeling I felt as I witnessed that scene play out. There are just so many bone chilling moments throughout this movie, especially every scene in which someone commits suicide, which happened a few times. This movie deals with such a large variety of heavy themes and REALLY made me think about loneliness and death. It made me realize just how many people live their lives through screens, trying desperately to seek a connection, but ultimately becoming consumed by the painful loneliness that oh so many people feel. Another terrifying aspect of this film was the black stains that replaced people who had encountered ghosts in the forbidden room. Every person who went in to the room came out differently and inevitably faded into this black stain that presumably symbolizes their transition to the after life. Also, one of the most terrifying scenes I have ever witnessed in my entire life occurred within the forbidden room in which Ryosuke encountered a ghost. This scene depicts a ghosts slow and silent approach across an eerie and shadowy room and is more frightening than most other horror movies ever dream of being. The last twenty minutes were absolutely INSANE and definitely solidified my love for this movie. The cherry on top was the fact that everything came full circle and the movie ended with the first scene. So yeah, this was a very unexpected masterpiece that I love a great deal and will definitely have to revisit at some point.