Trash Or Terror Tuesday: Pulse (1988)

It’s time for #TrashOrTerrorTuesday

…when I examine a film that’s been languishing in my personal library to determine if it is #Trash or #Terror

– or more importantly, if it deserves to stay in my collection.

And so, out from the dusty shelves of #VHS tapes comes…

VHS box for Pulse (1988)Pulse (1988) by #PaulGolding

w/ #CliffDeYoung #RoxanneHart #JoeyLawrence

A son tries to warn his dad and stepmom that they are being menaced by an intelligent pulse of electricity.

“It traps you in your own house… then pulls the plug.”

#Horror #SciFi

#TrashOrTerrorTuesday

 

Not to be confused with Pulse (2001) – a Japanese horror films also know as Kairo – or the American remake, Pulse (2006) – which led to the sequels Pulse 2: Afterlife (2008) and Pulse 3 (2008) Pulse (1988) is a movie that I remember fondly from the dying days of the 1980s, but seems to be largely forgotten. In fact, I may have been the only one on the planet who, upon hearing that the movie Pulse (2006) was coming out, said “Is that a remake of the one with that Joey Lawrence kid?”

No, it’s remake of the Japanese film Kairo, someone told me.

“Was Kairo a remake of the one with that Joey Lawrence kid?”

I was almost kicked out of the horror movie appreciation society…

Just based on my own experience, it seems like Pulse (1988) is not remembered by many people, and was probably not a big success when it was released. But it feels like it should have been – or was designed to be. Since I hadn’t seen it in years, I decided to put it to the #TrashOrTerrorTuesday test…

Pulse (1988) is a PG movie, and I dare say it’s pretty family friendly. I think it was going for the same vibe and/or audience as movies like Gremlins (1984) and The Goonies (1985). I might even go so far as to suggest that the filmmakers had Poltergeist (1982) on their minds when they conceived of this one.

Pulse (1988) takes place in a picture perfect (almost Spielbergian) suburban neighborhood and features a family being menaced by electricity in their house. Their TV set is featured prominently in the mysterious action, which automatically gives me flashbacks to Poltergeist. The story is ultimately very different, but I suspect the producers would have been thrilled to capture even a small percent of Poltergeist‘s success. 

Just to be clear, Pulse (1988) is nowhere near as good as any of these other films that may have influenced it. However, it’s actually a pretty good movie, with a great cast, some state of the art ’80s special affects, and a few genuinely suspenseful and scary sequences. I would have loved it as a twelve year old and, as someone who is a little bit older than that, I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

So what’s the verdict?

I would have to say that Pulse (1988) is a medium #Terror. Especially good for younger viewers, and those with a yen for healthy dose of 1980s nostalgia. I will be hanging onto my VHS tape for whenever I need my next fix.

2 thoughts on “Trash Or Terror Tuesday: Pulse (1988)

  1. I don’t remember this movie, Angus. I do remember the ond right Kristen Bell and sll the red tape.

    • You’re not alone in not remembering this one., Sylvia. Ah, yes, Kristen Bell and the red tape is the 2006 remake of Pulse. But not a remake of this Pulse…

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