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So what happens when you cross "The Ring" with an apocalyptic horror such as "Day of the Dead"? Well I would say you could invent something close to the upcoming film "Pulse" directed by Jim Sonzero and starring Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder and Christina Milian. The movie is based on an interesting concept and carries a lot of potential, but in the end is simply the same thing we've seen again and again.

"Pulse" is yet another Japanese horror film given the American remake treatment. Based on the 2001 horror-flick "Kairo", the movie revolves around a group of college students who are concerned about a friend of theirs who has ceased hanging out with them. When Mattie (Bell) checks up on him she finds him quiet and displaced, until the point where he calmly hangs himself. Horror stricken by his loss, her grief is only escalated as her other close friends begin to share similar fates along with hundreds of others within the city. An unholy force of some kind has found it's way into our world using our own wireless technology and it has no intention of leaving until it has exhausted it's food supply. Us.

So here is what is perplexing about "Pulse": It's pretty much everything we've already seen before, but at the same time it's not. Even Bob Weinstein himself was considering pulling the plug on this one early because it seemed too much like "The Ring". The similarity comes in the form of the film's villains who look a lot like a grey-ified Ben Kingsley. When they manifest into the world they appear as static emissions, which brings me to coin the phrase WiFi-Zombie. Often these WiFi-Zombies are used in the usual scary movie manner; moving slowly or disjointedly, and melding or jumping out of the darkness. But while there really isn't anything new to be seen here it doesn't stop you from being creeped out by it just the same.

You won't find any outstanding performances in this film. The actors all play their roles as written and that's about it. Kristen Bell gets the most screen time but Ian Somerhalder's supporting role is much more enjoyable to sit through. Now there isn't any acting that's outright horrible in this film, it's just not very memorable. The film makes the correct choice in not including any obviously unfavorable characters (the ones you really really hope will bite it). So essentially everyone is an unfortunate victim as they are killed off one by one. And to the actors' credit; they scream really well in the process.

Horror movies come in all types: comedic, horrific, gorey, etc. This movie can't decide what category if falls into. At times it is much more serious, such as "The Grudge", moving slowly and giving good buildup to the scares. At other times it is your typical teen bloodbath film, as the characters find themselves in scary/dirty libraries, women's restrooms, hallways, and basements. The Wifi Zombies have the habit of jumping out of places they shouldn't physically be able to fit into such as laundry machines. When a WiFi Zombie isn't around to give the audiences a scare, there are plenty of side characters to offer false ones as they leap out unexpectedly for little-to-no reason. The creep value comes from the scenes involving computers. Plugged in or not, computer monitors display grainy images of the souls of these monsters, staring at the computer's user. Again it's nothing special, but I had a queasy feeling in my stomach as I left the theater.

The movie has a slow pacing that actually ends up working against it. It comes off feeling much longer than it actually is, and you find yourself getting quite uncomfortable in your seat waiting for some semblance of answers to show up. The crazy editing involving sequences of quick-cuts becomes difficult to appreciate after a while, and seems like someone's half hearted attempt to make the film into some kind of artistic work of art.

The movie does go into the specifics on what is happening and why. I was hoping for something a little more creative but the answers to the puzzle come from a random man in a cafe and a guy who likes to seal himself up in his closet. The ending sequences come off as trivial, but it's difficult to go into specifics without really giving away everything.

For a horror movie that will blow your mind see "The Descent". For one that will give you a case of mild shivers when your cell phone rings you should see "Pulse". It passes as a decent addition to the Horror genre, but the creepy "Ben Kingsley" WiFi Zombies are not enough to completely terrify you. It is plagued by small pockets of unoriginality and a lack of solid scares.  If you really liked "The Ring" you might enjoy this one, otherwise you're going to have to look elsewhere for a plot you can completely appreciate.