5 Best & 5 Worst Asian Horror Movie Remakes Ever Made

5 Worst

5. Pulse

Admittedly, the idea of a film based on ghosts invading the human world via the internet and using a webcam site to compel living folk to commit suicide might sound silly rather than scary, but in the hands of acclaimed Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa it’s nothing short of brilliant. Not only a genuinely original and creepy film, his original Pulse – better known as Kairo in Japan – also incorporates an unnervingly accurate commentary on how a technology intended to inspire connectivity can actually cause alienation instead.

Shame then that director Jim Sonzero, whose dubious past credits include directing a Mariah Carey music video, produced a piss-poor remake that largely disregarded the message and emotion of the original in favour of a simplified storyline and cringeworthy jump scares. Star Kristen Bell, possibly the only saving grace of the remake, tries her best but can only do so much in what is ultimately an utterly pointless remake that ended up barely turning a profit.

Interestingly, co-screenwriter Wes Craven was originally set to direct the remake. One can’t help but wonder how the film might have fared better in the hands of a true horror aficionado like Craven.