Kairo (2001 film)
Kairo AKA Pulse (2001 Japanese film and 2006 American remake)
Summary
After a college student commits suicide, a number of young adults living in Tokyo witness terrifying visions transferred across the Internet. As more people disappear throughout the city, the Internet becomes a breeding ground for malevolent spirits. Three seemingly disconnected stories follow different investigators as they attempt to solve the mystery behind the ghostly visions that are seeping beyond their computer monitors.
Details
- Release Date: 2001 / 2006
- Country/Language: Japan, Japanese with English subtitles / US, English
- Genres/Technical: Horror, Science Fiction
- Runtime: 1 hr 58 min / 1 hr 30 min
- Starring: Haruhiko Katô, Kumiko Asô, Koyuki / Kristen Bell, Rick Gonzalez, Christina Milian
- Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa / Jim Sonzero
- Writer: Kiyoshi Kurosawa / Wes Craven (screenplay), Ray Wright (screenplay)
- Producer/Production Co: Daiei Eiga, Hakuhodo, Imagica / Weinstein Company, Distant Horizon, Neo Art & Logic
- View Trailer: (original), (remake)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: R (Violence, Profanity)
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- SS___ (Two Tentacles: Barely Lovecraftian; could be a very loose adaptation)
Some comparisons could be drawn between the premise of this film (a technology is developed that reveals a hidden world of ghostly spirits to the people caught in its field) and "From Beyond (fiction)", substituting the apocalyptic world of communication and isolation opened up by computer and internet technology for Lovecraft's world of discovery and horror opened up by his equivalent to the discovery of the microscope.
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- Felix Vasquez at Cinema-Crazed, (link) - "...Without a doubt one of the most bleak horror films I’ve seen in years, it’s a film that never really casts an optimistic brow, and it’s a horror film that reaches down to the core of human emotions and brings out the horrific implications of what we can do to ourselves that can spell the end of the world as we know it...."
Synopsis
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
After a college student commits suicide, a number of young adults living in Tokyo witness terrifying visions transferred across the Internet. As more people disappear throughout the city, the Internet becomes a breeding ground for malevolent spirits. Three seemingly disconnected stories follow different investigators as they attempt to solve the mystery behind the ghostly visions that are seeping beyond their computer monitors.
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
Associated Mythos Elements
- Fiction: compare with H.P. Lovecraft's "From Beyond (fiction)"
- Race: Ghosts
