Pulse 2: Afterlife

Last updated
Pulse 2: Afterlife
Pulse-2-preview-2.jpg
DVD cover
Directed by Joel Soisson
Written byJoel Soisson
Produced byMichael Leahy
Starring
Cinematography Brandon Trost
Edited byKirk Morri
Music by Elia Cmiral
Production
companies
  • Distant Horizon
  • Neo Art & Logic
Distributed by Dimension Extreme
Release dates
  • September 22, 2008 (2008-09-22)(Fantastic Fest)
  • September 30, 2008 (2008-09-30)(United States)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Pulse 2: Afterlife (also known on-screen as Pulse 2) is a 2008 horror film. It is a straight-to-DVD sequel to the 2006 film Pulse . The film is written and directed by Joel Soisson. It was followed by Pulse 3 (2008).

Contents

Plot

During a pandemic of mass suicides and mysterious deaths caused by ghosts who spread through technology, Michelle searches for her daughter, Justine. Michelle’s ex-husband Stephen traces her path, discovering evidence that she planned to kill her daughter and herself. While at home, Michelle sees Justine on the road returning to her apartment. Michelle rushes downstairs, but Stephen grabs his daughter and leaves in his truck. Michelle transforms into a ghost and angrily stares at them as they drive away.

Stephen takes Justine up to his cabin and asks about what happened. She explains that her mother has died, dissolving into ash while attempting to kill her. Stephen's girlfriend Marta arrives that night. She sits down and gives a litany of complaints, one of them being that she refuses to lock herself up inside a red taped room. Stephen starts going through the food and Marta gets worried that he might not keep her around. Marta, trying to get Stephen to think she's useful to have around, tries to seduce him. She pulls him to a table, but the moment she sits on it, a laptop sitting on the table turns on. She complains because they're not supposed to have that type of technology, but Stephen says it's not even plugged in. Marta goes to hit the laptop with a golf club, but Stephen stops her. Suddenly they see continuous instant messages to Stephen from Michelle. When even more messages begin to come in, Marta shoves the laptop off the table and into a wall.

Stephen goes to speak with his daughter and she assures him that her mother is dead. While everyone is asleep, Stephen hears a beep indicating a new message and picks up the laptop. Despite the damage it is still working, so he sends an instant message to Michelle, causing her to appear at the cabin. Michelle kills Marta, but Stephen and Justine escape.

They are stopped by a man dressed in red, who commands Stephen at gunpoint to take him to a computer supply store and find a processor for him. With the processor, the man plans to find a solution for the world. Once Stephen completes this, the man gives him red tape and Stephen and Justine keep driving. They stop in the middle of a road, where Stephen covers the car in red tape. He and Justine fall asleep, but Stephen wakes up in the middle of the night to find the passenger-side door open and Justine missing. He manages to get Justine back before she touches her mother's ghost and they race back to the car.

The next day, Stephen peeks through the tape and sees a bus that is going to a refugee camp where wireless computer signals cannot reach. He and Justine get out, and he tells her to run straight to the bus. As they are about to reach it, Michelle appears. Stephen convinces his daughter that she should get on the bus and sacrifices himself to Michelle, saying that if she did not want to be lonely, she should take him and not their daughter. She kisses him then backs off and disappears with a smile. Stephen is relieved and thanks her, but Marta's ghost clings to him and takes his soul. Marta then backs off and Michelle is shown standing there, smiling.

Justine is safely in the bus with other refugees and escapees unscathed.

Cast

Release

The Weinstein Company released Pulse 2: Afterlife in the United States on September 30, 2008. [1]

Reception

Bloody Disgusting rated it 1/5 stars and called it one of the worst sequels made, as it has strayed far from the original Japanese film, has distractingly bad special effects, and poor directing. [2] Steve Barton of Dread Central rated it 1.5/5 stars and wrote: "If you thought it couldn't get any worse, guess again". [3] Michael Zupan rated it 1.5/5 stars and wrote: "Poor pacing, 'Colorforms' green screen effects, and some bad acting from the supporting cast, all play a hand in making this film fall apart". [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Ghost Dad</i> 1990 American fantasy comedy film

Ghost Dad is a 1990 American fantasy comedy film directed by Sidney Poitier and starring Bill Cosby, in which a widower's spirit is able to communicate with his children after his death. It was a critical and box office bomb.

<i>Pulse</i> (2006 film) 2006 American horror film by Jim Sonzero

Pulse is a 2006 American horror film written by Wes Craven and Ray Wright, and directed by Jim Sonzero. It is a remake of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2001 Japanese horror film Kairo. The film stars Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder and Christina Milian. The film spawned two straight-to-DVD sequels: Pulse 2: Afterlife and Pulse 3, both released in 2008.

<i>The Grudge 2</i> 2006 film by Takashi Shimizu

The Grudge 2 is a 2006 American supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu and written by Stephen Susco. The film is a sequel to The Grudge (2004) and the second installment in the American The Grudge film series. The film stars Arielle Kebbel, Amber Tamblyn, Jennifer Beals, Edison Chen, Sarah Roemer, and Sarah Michelle Gellar who reprises her role from the first film. Like its predecessor, the film features a plot that is told through a nonlinear sequence of events and includes several intersecting subplots. It follows Karen's younger sister Aubrey coming to Japan after finding out about Doug's death, a schoolgirl named Allison being haunted by the ghosts of the Saeki family after entering the house with two of her classmates, and a young boy named Jake whose apartment building is haunted by the ghosts.

<i>Pulse</i> (2001 film) 2001 Japanese horror film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Pulse is a 2001 Japanese techno-horror film directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. The movie was well-received critically and has a cult following. An English-language remake, also titled Pulse, debuted in 2006 and spawned two sequels. The script was also adapted into a novel of the same name by Kurosawa himself.

<i>1408</i> (film) 2007 film by Mikael Håfström

1408 is a 2007 American psychological horror film based on Stephen King's 1999 short story of the same name. It was directed by Mikael Håfström, written by Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and stars John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson.

<i>Trick r Treat</i> 2007 American film by Michael Dougherty

Trick 'r Treat is a 2007 American anthology horror film written and directed by Michael Dougherty and produced by Bryan Singer. The film stars Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes, Anna Paquin and Brian Cox. It relates four Halloween horror stories with a common element in them: Sam, a trick-or-treating demon wearing orange footie pajamas with a burlap sack over his head. The character makes an appearance in each of the stories whenever one of the other characters breaks a Halloween tradition.

<i>100 Feet</i> 2008 American film

100 Feet is a 2008 American horror film written and directed by Eric Red and starring Famke Janssen, Bobby Cannavale, Ed Westwick and Michael Paré.

<i>Ghost Town</i> (2008 film) 2008 film directed by David Koepp

Ghost Town is a 2008 American fantasy comedy film directed by David Koepp, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Kamps. It stars English comedian Ricky Gervais in his first leading feature-film role, as a dentist who can see and talk with ghosts, along with Téa Leoni as a young widow and Greg Kinnear as her recently deceased husband. Gavin Polone produced the film for Spyglass Entertainment and Pariah, and it was distributed by Paramount Pictures through the DreamWorks Pictures label.

<i>Sorority Row</i> 2009 American film

Sorority Row is a 2009 American slasher film directed by Stewart Hendler and written by Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger. A remake of the 1982 film The House on Sorority Row, the film stars Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes, Rumer Willis, Jamie Chung, Margo Harshman, Audrina Patridge, and Carrie Fisher. It follows a group of sorority sisters who cover up the accidental death of a fellow sister after a prank goes horribly wrong. Eight months later, a masked killer begins stalking and murdering the girls on the night of their graduation.

<i>Pulse 3</i> 2008 American film

Pulse 3 is a 2008 American horror film written and directed by Joel Soisson. Rider Strong and Brittany Finamore star as two people who begin chatting online in a post-apocalyptic society where technology is forbidden. It is a sequel to Pulse 2: Afterlife and the third and final installment of the Pulse trilogy.

<i>Tormented</i> (2009 British film) 2009 British film

Tormented is a 2009 British black comedy slasher film directed by Jon Wright, written by Stephen Prentice, and starring Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson, Dimitri Leonidas, Calvin Dean and Tuppence Middleton. The plot centres on a group of students being stalked and murdered by the ghost of a bullied teenager. The film was released on 22 May 2009 in the United Kingdom by Pathé and was produced by BBC Films, Pathé, Slingshot Studios, Forward Films, and Screen West Midlands. It received mixed reviews from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ghost Network</span> 3rd episode of the 1st season of Fringe

"The Ghost Network" is the third episode of the first season of the American science fiction drama television series Fringe. The episode was written by co-executive producer David H. Goodman and supervising producer J. R. Orci, and was directed by Frederick E. O. Toye. The episode follows the Fringe team's investigation into a bus that was filled with amber, encasing the people inside. They discover a man named Roy who predicted it and other similar events, and Walter realizes Roy has connections to a past experiment he did over twenty years ago, called the "Ghost Network".

<i>Ultimate Comics: Armor Wars</i> American comic book limited series

Ultimate Comics: Armor Wars is an American comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. The series is set in the Ultimate Universe, and is written by Warren Ellis and pencilled by Steve Kurth.

<i>Panic Button</i> (2011 film) 2011 British film

Panic Button is a British independent horror-thriller film released in 2011. The film is intended as a cautionary tale on the dangers of online social networking.

<i>V/H/S/2</i> 2013 found footage horror anthology film

V/H/S/2 is a 2013 found footage horror anthology film produced by Bloody Disgusting and Roxanne Benjamin. The second installment in the V/H/S franchise, it comprises four found footage segments linked together by a fifth frame narrative. V/H/S/2 features a largely different group of directors: Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Timo Tjahjanto, Eduardo Sánchez, and Gregg Hale, and franchise returnees Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard.

<i>Kill Katie Malone</i> 2010 American film

Kill Katie Malone is a 2010 American horror film directed by Carlos Ramos Jr. and starring Masiela Lusha and Dean Cain. The screenplay was written by Mark Onspaugh.

<i>Haunter</i> (film) 2013 Canadian film

Haunter is a 2013 Canadian supernatural horror film directed by Vincenzo Natali, written by Brian King, and starring Abigail Breslin. The film premiered at the 2013 South by Southwest Film Festival, and was picked up for U.S. distribution there by IFC Midnight.

<i>Sx Tape</i> 2013 American film

Sx_Tape is a 2013 American found-footage horror film directed, edited, and photographed by Bernard Rose. The film premiered on October 10, 2013 at the BFI London Film Festival and released to DVD on July 2, 2014. It stars Caitlyn Folley and Ian Duncan as a young couple that decides to film a sex tape in an abandoned hospital, only to discover that it is not as abandoned as they believed it to be. The film has had a predominantly negative critical reception.

Dark Remains 2005 American horror film written and directed by Brian Avenet-Bradley. It stars Greg Thompson, Cheri Christian, and Scott Hodges. A couple believes that their dead daughter may be attempting to contact them.

<i>Kristy</i> (film) 2014 American film

Kristy is a 2014 American horror thriller film directed by Oliver Blackburn and starring Haley Bennett, Chris Coy, Mike Seal, Lucius Falick and Ashley Greene. The plot follows a college student who stays on campus alone over Thanksgiving break and finds herself terrorized by a cult of ritual killers. The film premiered on October 14, 2014, at the London Film Festival and also had theatrical releases internationally. In the United States, the film debuted on Lifetime on October 17, 2015, and was released on Netflix on November 5, 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 Zupan, Michael (2008-10-02). "Pulse 2". DVD Talk . Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  2. "Pulse 2: Afterlife (V)". Bloody Disgusting . 2008-09-24. Archived from the original on 2023-09-16. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  3. Barton, Steve (2008-09-22). "Pulse 2 (DVD)". Dread Central . Archived from the original on 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2016-10-09.