Reviewed by: Joe Russo (Film Critic & SoSF Contributor)
A far superior installment then the franchise’s last effort but not nearly as intriguing as the concept could have been
Pulse 3, the next film in Dimension and The Weinstein Company’s upcoming behemoth, straight to DVD release schedule, is a far superior installment then the franchise’s last effort, but like the rest of the series, it is still not nearly as intriguing as the concept could have been.
After living in a world where technology is banned, Justine discovers one last working laptop in her refuge camp. With a longing to escape, a mysterious person (Rider Strong) contacts Justine through the Internet, luring the young girl into a city filled with vengeful ghosts.
While the clever nudge at Internet dating is surprisingly current, once again the execution of the latest Pulse installment is entirely off. The first film promised worldwide destruction, and unfortunately on a straight to video budget, Pulse 2 and 3 proved that it is just not possible to create that.
Deserted city streets are photo-shopped on top of a soundstage, where actors are lit incorrectly giving them a persistent green halo in wide, master shots. This approach gives everything a very flat, dull look. The few times director Joel Soisson actually takes the story into a live environment, they make the effects driven scenes look all the worse for it.
While I love that the Weinstein’s are taking a chance and churning out more opportunities for low-budget horror filmmakers, the studio needs to start putting its money behind character driven horror films that can embrace less resources, not suffer because they are trying to recreate an epic scale. Until this paradigm shift happens, we’re not likely to see a fully satisfying horror release from Dimension’s straight to video angle.
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