#SilverScreenBlack: 'Pulse' / '回路' (2001)

(1hr 54 mins, Jap)

Mario's rating: 3/5 (forbidden rooms)

'You've Got (Death) Mail!': A surprising suicide signals an avalanche of soul possessions from an over-crowded afterlife.

👍 Eternal joy:
The sound design and cinematography are top notch; both stunning and unsettling throughout. As are Haruhiko Kato's choice of shirts. Stunning. And unsettling.

👎 Eternal loneliness:
The writing and editing can be a little muddled. The film's most obvious scary scenes, aren't; while its more subtle moments, are terrifying.
And any film that painfully under-uses a Ferrari speedboat(!) and Kōji Yakusho (one of Japan's best actors!) truly haunts me.

📽️ Favourite scene:
The tower climber. I won't spoil it. Just don't look away.

🥇 Best quote:
"Would you like to meet a ghost?"

🙁 Best depressing quote:
"From when I was really little, I was always alone. Then in high school it dawned on me. You might be all alone after death, too. That nothing changes with death. Just right now. Forever."

⏳ Best lockdown quote:
"Let's just act normal. At least for today."





#20thCFlicks #empiremagazine #guardianfilm #totalfilm @mariodhingsa