I am never comfortable with harshly slating a show. And it is more so, on the back of Covid-19, as I know the hard work that goes into making a series or film.
Of course, it is the nature of the beast.
I have to say, along with fans, I was excited to watch the horror series, “Pulse”, for two reasons: I am a fan of the genre and some of Mzansi’s finest have been cast.
The plot was fascinating, too. A group of international game creators find themselves in a real-life battle for survival when an electromagnetic pulse bomb fries every electrical circuit in the building and, in so doing, also affects the chemical balance of several characters.
The main characters are Dom (Sven Ruygrok), Eddie (Carel Nel), Jaz (Tarryn Wyngaard), Errol (Thapelo Makoena) and Casspar (Earl Wan).
Trapped in the building, the real-life characters now share the same space as their characters in the game. This means that their strengths and weaknesses, done in a sort of “Jumanji”-esque way, will dictate their lifespan.
If you have the memory of a goldfish, Eddie, who is the security guy and the show’s antagonist points out the “survivalist horror” theme a few times. Yawn!
I couldn’t go beyond two episodes. I tried. But no. It was really hard to look past some of the ham-fisted performances. It felt more like watching a reading for a part as the words were not underpinned by the body language and emotions that the storyline demanded.
The only saving grace was Nel. He unleashed the lunacy of his character with such mastery and unbridled intensity.
While fast-paced, “Pulse” appears too preoccupied with getting to the end of the game, so to speak, and, in doing so, sacrifices character and storyline development. The result is a surge of disappointment.
“Pulse” is streaming on Showmax.