Written by: Ashtyn at 11:34 pm
Movie Info:
Writer: Joel Soisson
Director: Joel Soisson
Cast: Jackie Arnold, Jamie Bamber, Kent Jude Bernard, Boti Bliss, David Addison Brown, Dodie Brown, Bruce Bryant, Georgina Rylance
Rating: R
Studio: Weinstein
Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 30, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $13.99
Unless we are talking about A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 or a few other choice movies, horror sequels are known for being disgustingly bad. Maybe it’s because the realism is blown or maybe it’s because in nine out of ten cases the talent doesn’t come back. Whatever it is, horror sequels are known for sucking and you aren’t going to hear me say any different when it comes to Pulse 2.
This movie actually had a small chance of surpassing the issue of the talent leaving. You see, if you’ve seen the first Pulse you know that the problem is that a computer virus has grown out of control and has infected every area where there are cell phones, computers, telephones, and televisions. The only hope anyone has is of being in a dead zone. While any remaining survivors left for the zone in the first Pulse, the second could pick up with new people and a new story, but still remain close enough to carry the name. Unfortunately, this idea is all but squandered on bad writing, bad direction, and horrid acting on the part of a few actors.
The worst acting of the year award goes to Boti Bliss who plays Marta in the movie. She is unoriginal, unattractive, boring, bland, and shockingly horrid. Even when she goes through a transformation she sucks. I would rather sew my eyes shut than watch her in a movie again. She was so bad in this I cannot imagine that she is any good in anything else she is in. Even in bad movies, actors can try and save face by offering a good performance. She might have given it her all, but it wasn’t even close to being good enough. I’ve seen better actors in high school sex education videos, and if you’ve seen those videos you know how bad those actors are.
That being said, Jamie Bamber as Stephen and Georgina Rylance as Michelle seem capable enough. Karley Scott Collins, the young girl that plays Justine also seems to handle herself well despite being newer to film acting. My biggest problem acting wise was with Boti and the lesser known actors in the film. Next to Boti, the worst had to be Robin McGee. I don’t know if he is someone’s uncle, but he was so bad that nothing could have saved his performance. I am only thankful that his part was as small as it was.
Pulse 2 is just a bad film that no one can relate to. The characters are one dimensional and unlikable. They do stupid things so you don’t really care who lives and who dies. There are a few that you really want to die, but when it comes to living you don’t really care who is saved as long as the movie ends. Naturally, with all bad horror films it ends in a way that allows for a third film to be made.
The Pulse 2: Afterlife Plot
I feel incredibly silly writing a plot for this because in truth, there really isn’t much of one to talk about. Michelle and Stephen are looking for their daughter Justine. The couple has recently divorced and it has affected the mental status of Michelle enough to allow Stephen to win full custody. Currently, Michelle is supposed to have their daughter, but she is distraught because she is unable to find her. She looks everywhere, but Justine is nowhere to be found. Eventually she is found at Michelle’s aunt and uncle’s house, but Michelle’s aunt tells her not to touch the girl, so she goes home.
Stephen looks for Justine a little more adamantly than Michelle does and this even includes a visit to the couple’s old home. He reads her computer journal to learn that Michelle knew that he was cheating on her and how pained she was that he was leaving. Soon the tone changed, discussing how she sat in chatrooms all day and couldn’t eat or sleep. Her words (told in voice over) became vengeful when she spoke of how Stephen got custody, and then she became devoid of all emotion when she brought up the dead people that she saw. She made up her mind. She was going to kill Justine and then herself.
It doesn’t take long to see that Justine isn’t dead though and Michelle has been taken by the virus. She is only shown as a ghost, wandering the area where she once lived, looking for her daughter. Getting Justine to a dead zone would be easy considering Stephen lives in a cabin in the woods. However, when new girlfriend Marta arrives she attempts a feeble moment of seduction, which leads to Stephen’s laptop being turned on. He begins receiving messages from Michelle asking for their daughter back. When Stephen responds, Michelle is able to travel through the connection to reach him and find their daughter.
This is far from the end, but it does begin the chase. The chase ends in what is supposed to be the ultimate climax for this weakly sewn together idea. Unfortunately, it is trite and predictable rather than climactic. The ending was so bad that it ruined the rest of the film, though the rest was not much better. In short, if you haven’t figured it out, this film was a total waste of time.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting: 
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
The video for Pulse 2 is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 in anamorphic widescreen. The picture is often gritty and tends to fall on the dark side, though considering it is a horror movie it’s likely that this was the plan. At other times the movie is too clear providing an almost surreal, green screen feeling like you get when a person is obviously standing in front of a background rather than being in that setting. The video quality is average, at best. It’s not terribly distracting, but it could have been better.
Pulse 2 required a basic audio transfer. There is not much here from an audio standpoint that is going to test the limits of Dolby 2.0, much less the 5.1 that this transfer was given. The sound works just fine with good consistency and no need to toggle the volume. This is hardly a dynamic soundtrack, but as it has been originally mentioned there really was no need for greatness with this film. Accompanying the audio are subtitles in both English and Spanish.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
The good news is that there are not too many special features here for Pulse 2. There are some deleted scenes, which are amazingly worse than the bad movie. There is also a commentary that includes a whopping eight people talking about this movie and their part in it. Eight people seems a tad extreme to me, but that’s what they offer here. The commentary includes words from Joel Soisson (writer/director), Michael Leahy (producer), Christian Agypt (co-producer), Ron Vecchiarelli (line producer), Kirk Morri (editor), Gary Tunnicliffe (make-up), and Kevin O’Neill (visual effects).
The only other things here are a sneak peek of the upcoming Pulse 3 and a series of trailers that all play prior to the film. The trailers are for The Zombie Diaries, Mother of Tears, and Diary of the Dead.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
Pulse 2 is not the type of movie that you end up wanting to see more than once. In fact, if you are the majority of people you probably won’t want to see more than 25 minutes of this. I see where the story was meant to pick up from the end of the last movie. While that is a good idea, the follow-through was atrocious, the majority of the acting looked like the casting director picked up talent at Chucky Cheese, and the climax was horrendously predictable. If you feel the need to torture yourself without bloodletting this would be the best way to do so. Otherwise, I recommend staying away from this film.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: DVD Review, Horror, Sequel, Internet, Pulse 2, Red Tape, Refugee Camp, Ghost, Bad Acting
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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
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Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.
