Botany students, Michi (Kumiko Aso), Junko (Karume Arisaka) and Toshio (Masatochi Matsuo) begin to worry about the whereabouts of their friend, Taguchi (Kenji Mizuhashi), who is working on a computer program for them. Michi pays Taguchi a visit to see if he's finished with the disc and finds him somewhat preoccupied, but tells Michi to look for the disc. As she's searching for the disc, she finds one and walks through the apartment to ask Taguchi if the disc she's found is the one for the group and falls back in horror to find Taguchi has hanged himself. This would be most disturbing, had Taguchi had a problem with depression, but it's even more difficult for the friends to accept, since Taguchi was basically a happy person with no signs that he was going to take his own life. Then, student, Ryosuke Kawashima (Haruhiko Kato) receives his first computer and attempts to access the Internet, he's taken to a page asking if he wants to see a ghost and then through a web cam, sees another individual in a dark room. Toshio begins receiving calls on his cell phone and through the static, he hears a plea for help. Tashio begins to investigate what may have happened to Taguchi and soon he is taken to a website called, 'The Forbidden Room' and it isn't long before Toshio is also in the strange trance-like state that Taguchi was before he committed suicide. Kawashima is both frightened and perplexed at the website being forced on him and seeks the help of Harue Karasawa (Kyruki), a computer tech at school. Kawashima hears of pages like this appearing all over the city and the appearances of ghosts. It seems Tokyo is under a blanket of sadness with the population committing suicide, disappearing and leaving strange black stains throughout the city. Soon, Kawashima, Harue, Junko and Michi are in the middle of this 'epidemic' and find themselves trying to find what has caused this strange course of events, but if they find the answer to why all this is taking place, could it mean the end of the human race?

Pulse is offered in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and looks good. There is a fair amount of fine grain throughout the film and at times, the bright scenes seem a bit washed out, but I think that may have been the look the film was going for, as this is a dark film, not so dark that it's difficult to watch, but be warned, it's dark and quite shadowy and that really isn't a bad thing, where the film is concerned. As for audio, the original Japanese language track is offered in Dolby Digital 2.0 and English and Spanish subtitles are offered. As for bonus features, the disc offers:

-The Making of Pulse: Behind the Scenes Footage (Best viewed AFTER watching the film)

-Original Theatrical Trailer (Probably best viewed AFTER watching the film)

-Additional Trailers For: Enron: The Smartest Guys In the Room, Bubble, The War Within, A League of Ordinary Gentlemen

 I have to say, I completely enjoyed this film. It's definitely not an all-out blitz of horror, it's the kind of horror that creeps up on you and you suddenly find moments where you're chilled and a little freaked out and this feeling sticks with you long after the film has ended. I've always been a fan of classic horror and it's only been in the last two or three years that I've found a new appreciation for horror from the Far East. Some of the horror films from Japan, Korea and China are the kind that punch you in the face and leave you gasping for breath, then there are the films like, Pulse that I can best describe as being under water than having someone punch you in the stomach.....a punch that doesn't cause pain, really, but you know you've been punched and you have this strange feeling of being violated and what you know has happened is far worse than had the blow been fast and hard. A kind of ripple effect that sticks with you and leaves you feeling a bit more frightened and wanting to see more. I'd feel safe and recommending this film to most any fan of the horror genre, it's not a typical 'ghost' story, it's not an all-out horror story, but it's a fine mixture of both and it left me very satisfied with the end result.

Buy Pulse on DVD at Amazon.com