Pulse

Plot:

Mattie is a college student who worries about her boyfriend Josh, after he disappears for a few days and won’t return her calls. She and the rest of their friends are devastated to learn that he died, but are even more freaked out when they start getting messages from his computer. Mattie investigates and learns that all of his belongings, computer included, were sold to pay his back rent. Dexter, the guy who bought the computer, shows her that it’s buried in the trunk of his car. As the messages grow weirder and people in town start committing suicide, the two learn that some viruses aren’t just inside the computer.

Trivia:

Based on the Japanese horror film.

Written by icon Wes Craven.

Followed by Pulse 2: Afterlife and Pulse 3: Invasion.

Horror movie connections: Kristen Bell (Scream 4) and Brad Dourif (Child’s Play movies, Urban Legend, The Exorcist 3, etc.)

Thoughts:

Pulse reminds me of all the other PG-13 horror movies released for teens over the last few years, but that actually kind of makes me smile. Yes it’s horrible and yes it’s cheesy, but sometimes that’s exactly what I need to get through the day. Pulse is one of those movies I slip in the DVD player and zone out for a little bit. I know it’s lame and no one else likes it, but it could be worse…it could be one of the sequels.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Plot:

I don’t really know if I should rehash the plot here because you should know it. There’s basically a bunch of high school students who start dreaming of a man wearing a red and green sweater who attacks them. In the opening scene, Kris, Nancy and Quentin witness a boy named Dean kill himself by stabbing a knife in his throat. Dean is dreaming at the time and sees Freddy attack him in the same way. Oddly enough, Kris is the main character for a good portion of the film before it switches to Nancy and Quentin. Nancy confronts her mother about a man named Freddy Krueger, but her mom denies knowing him. Later the teens learn that Freddy was a man who worked in the same pre-school they all attended.

Trivia:

Some of the same scenes from past films were used here or inspired by the others, including a demon face coming out from Nancy’s wall and her mother getting pulled through a mirror.

Kyle Gallner (Quentin) had roles in The Haunting in Connecticut and Jennifer’s Body, while Katie Cassidy previously popped up in When a Stranger Calls and Black Christmas.

Wes Craven apparently wasn’t too happy with the decision to remake the movie, nor the fact that the filmmakers didn’t ask for his advice/guidance. Robert Englund on the other hand, gave the movie his full support.

Thoughts:

I really put off seeing this movie for far too long and I’m not sure why. I wasn’t thrilled when they remade my favorite horror flick (okay, top 5) My Bloody Valentine, but I saw it. This one though…I couldn’t really get excited about it. When I finally started watching it, I nearly giggled when I saw Freddy for the first time. There was something very…plastic about his face and fake, more so than the original. I also couldn’t get over Katie Cassidy playing yet another teenager. Is this 90210 the modern years or something? Everyone kept telling me that this movie was “so dark”, but I think I almost prefer the quipping Freddy, who made the ridiculous situations kind of fun. That’s not to say I hated the movie because I did like it. That first kill was probably the most impressive, though I was kind of hoping for a little more killing in the film. I’m also undecided on the new backstory of Freddy. I somehow prefer him as a child killer coming back for revenge on the parents who killed him, rather than a pedophile Freddy.