“Pulse” is based on the 2001 Japanese horror film “Kairo.” Written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, “Kairo” revolves around a group of Japanese teens who investigate a series of disappearances linked to an internet webcam that promises visitors the chance to interact with the dead.
"What attracted me to this story is the message,” says director Jim Sonzero.
“'Pulse' illustrates the paradox of our technology; that which is supposed to bring us together - our communications technology - creates its opposite: alienation. We spend hours on our computers, emailing, texting, surfing, literally depositing bytes on each others machines, having the illusion of connection, but in reality we are not really interfacing on a human level. Virtual interaction is paradise lost. This is the central theme of this material. As we are seduced by our technology we are becoming more and more dependent on it, and it is changing us. 'Pulse' is a cautionary tale. Buyer beware – this is really happening to us. We are becoming less human and more isolated.”
“It’s a horror film that’s very haunting, mysterious and poetic,” says producer Joel Soisson. “We learned a lot from the original film. The Japanese excel at restraint, even in horror. But when they do deliver the scare, and you don’t expect it, it takes your breath away. I think we’ve captured that sort of attitude in ‘Pulse.’”
While still preserving the innate sense of dread that permeates Kurosawa’s film, the American version expands on the original concept. “We’ve tried to make it bigger and scarier, and I think it works,” says Soisson. “We want to make you jump out of your seat.”
Like “Kairo,” “Pulse” addresses the latent dangers of our fast-paced, wire free, digitally driven lifestyles and exploits our fears about technology. In “Pulse,” a group of friends stumble upon a campus wi-fi portal that doesn’t just connect them to the internet—it plunges them into a hi-tech nightmare. Leahy calls it “the ultimate computer virus.”
“‘Pulse’ leaves a lot of questions hanging about the technology that we’re using— like, is it really using us?” asks Kristen Bell, who stars in the film. “Some of this technology can think for itself, and that’s really frightening.”
For producer Soisson, these elements combine to make “Pulse” a terrifying frightfest that feeds into our hidden paranoia about modern living. “In our film,” says Soisson, “the terror is personal.”
Says Sonzero: “The scares in 'Pulse' are pure Lovecraft. The threat comes through the wifi. That means there is no safe haven for us, zero protection. These horrible beings come through thin air. Any wifi environment, cell phones PDA's are conduits for the invasion.”
Hip commercial director Jim Sonzero was selected to direct “Pulse.” “We knew he would bring an incredible eye to the project,” says Soisson. “Jim understands what a frame of film can do better than anyone. He also has an affinity for actors and a great sense of story—things a commercial director doesn’t often get a chance to display. That’s why he wanted to do this, along with loving the project.
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