SPOOKTOBER 2021: FILM 18

Quietly creepy and reservedly scary, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Pulse has left a shadow on my mind, a patch of darkness that will fester for a while before fading.

The film's originality and execution holds up all of the flaws the story may have, such as the final ten minutes that turn a small-scale horror (which are always the best) into a Cloverfield type situation that I certainly didn't need. Thankfully, the superb sound design and special effects have blurred out what I didn't like about this film, leaving behind a nightmarish story of depression in the modern era.

Doing its own thing is the key to Pulse's quality, becoming all the more enthralling as it weaves its own interpretation of reality that was actually rather inspiring to me. Kurosawa's storytelling techniques are individual with clear influences that remain influences and never appear to act as templates, something that was seriously appreciated, especially paired with the pace. The way the story slowly glides along is just right, allowing for a constant progression that leaves time for grief, fear and curiosity, and though the slow narrative progression doesn't quite provide enough momentum for a loop-the-loop to finish the experience, a satisfying conclusion comes in the form of an inward thrill.

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SPOOKTOBER 2021

Halloween is one of my favourite times of the year, it's the month when the leaves fall off of the trees, the air becomes crisper, I get to wear my stylish long coat and darkness descends. It's a month when it becomes slightly more acceptable to scare, a month when ghouls and ghosts become part of the furniture.

Due to my love of horror, I wanted, for the month of October, to indulge in some of the highest praised and most talked about horrors and psychological thrillers that I've been wanting to watch or rewatch for the last few months. I'll be tagging all of the films I watch as a part of this project with 'spooktober2021' and you can track the films that I've been watching by taking a look at my Spooktober 2021 list!