Where J-Horror (Japanese horror for those not in the “know) is concerned there are two truths. 1) Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s original Kairo (Pulse) is one of the sub-genre’s crowning achievements and 2) the American remake treated Kurosawa’s frightening and philosophical source material like an unwanted stepchild. Yet, the American failure isn’t stopping Dimension Films. Word from Bloody-Disgusting.com is that two straight-to-DVD sequels to Pulse will begin shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana this September.
To my knowledge, the only way to make a successful franchise out of a failure of a first film is to go the Sci-Fi Original route. I guess straight-to-DVD isn’t too far off. The first sequel, Pulse: Afterlife, offers a post-techno apocalyptic world where the only inhabitants are the Pulse spirits. They don’t know they are spirits and are doomed to repeat their existence until their souls are taken.
If that doesn’t pique your interest, the second sequel, Pulse: Invasion, follows the survivors of the spirit “invasion” as they recreate a society without any technology. There is a convoluted story line that follows a teenager escaping to the city, now controlled by the spirits, for whatever reason.
So, there you have it, the future plot synopsis on a couple of straight-to-DVD movies that some unsuspecting pre-teen might pickup by mistake. Apparently, Joel Soisson will write and direct both sequels. He hasn’t directed anything notable, but you might know his producing the likes of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, Feast, Dracula 2000. Sarcasm can’t even do this stupidity justice.
