David (Joey Lawrence) has traveled from Colorado to California to stay with his father Bill (Cliff De Young) and stepmother Ellen (Roxanne Hart). However, his father doesn’t really seem to have time for him, always busy with work-related things. David befriends one of the neighborhood boys, Stevie (Matthew Lawrence), who tells him about the strange things that happened at the house across the street just before he arrived. These events ultimately led to the accidental deaths of the man who lived there and his wife. When David breaks into the boarded-up house to investigate, he runs into a seemingly-crazy old man, Bill Durham (Charles Tyner), who explains his theory that electricity has a mind of its own, and that it was responsible for the deaths of the homeowners. He tells David that he’s already seen 20 cases like this, and no one believes him—the electricity is out to get all of us, and that’s why he now lives off the gird.

David starts to notice strange things happening at his father’s house that mirror the events that ultimately killed the neighbors—the grass is going brown, appliances are turning on on their own, and the electricity is constantly sparking and crackling—making sounds as though the wires contain voices. David worries that he and his family may befall the same fate as the neighbors, and pleads with his parents to leave, but they don’t believe him. Soon, it becomes undeniable that something in strange and evil the electricity—it is turning the house and its contents into a weapon, and is trying trap and kill them. The family now finds themselves in a struggle to survive, but is it too late for them to escape this terror?!

The PG-13 horror film Pulse was originally released in 1988. I have seen it a number of times over the years, and always enjoy it when I revisit it. The villain of the movie is never completely explained, and doesn’t have a physical presence like a Freddy or a Jason. However, it is still quite menacing, and director Paul Golding does a nice job of building the tension, and making its presence known. There are constant cuts to electric sparks and crackling, and circuit board connections melting and reforming as the electricity evolves and takes control. This may not sound scary, but adding the film’s tense score, these scenes really set the tone. This mysterious evil entity turns seemingly harmless everyday objects and household appliances into deadly weapons, kind of like Final Destination, but well before those films. It is a solid thriller/horror movie that will keep you second-guessing if you’ve remembered to turn off all of the electronics in your home, and make you question turning on that garbage disposal.

The film has a pretty small cast, and primarily focuses on a very young Joey Lawrence, who does an excellent job as the lead, carrying much of the film on his own. He is convincing as this regular boy who just wants to spend time with his father after he moved far away following the divorce, and is now upset his father is still not around. As he starts to discover what is really going on, he gets more and more terrified of the situation, and really sells this to the audience. The audience, like David, just want to get out of that house!
 

Mill Creek Entertainment had previously released this film on Blu-ray back in 2017, and this new re-release is just a re-issue of that same disc, with the updated Alliance Home Entertainment (formerly Mill Creek Entertainment) opening logo. The Blu-ray presentation looks solid, with a generally clean, sharp picture. The audio may not be a modern surround track, but it is sufficient, providing clear dialogue, and capturing the constant, creepy crackling of the electricity, gas, water or whatever else the entity utilizes in its attempts to eliminate this family.

The Blu-ray release is barebones, containing just the film and no bonus material. The disc is packed in a standard HD keepcase. Our review copy did not include any slipcover, and no digital copy is included.

What’s Included:

Film (1:31:01):

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

No bonus material included.

Final Thoughts:

Pulse is a solid horror-thriller that holds up quite well nearly 40 years later. Despite the villain being non-corporeal, the filmmakers do a nice job of raising the tension and having its presence felt. The film stars a very young Joey Lawrence, who does an excellent job carrying the brunt of the film on his own. This Blu-ray is just a re-issue of the previous Mill Creek disc release, so there is still no bonus material, but the presentation is solid and worth a look for fans.