Dave Boyle To Direct Reimagining Of Japanese Horror Film ‘Pulse’ For Screen Gems, Spyglass & Parker Finn’s Bad Feeling
Sony's Screen Gems and Spyglass are developing a reimagining of the 2001 Japanese horror film "Pulse", with Dave Boyle attached to direct, according to a Deadline exclusive. Boyle will also rework a script by Luke Piotrowski, with Parker Finn and Jonathan Fass producing through their company Bad Feeling alongside Spyglass, marking another entry in Hollywood's continued mining of acclaimed Japanese horror properties for English-language remakes.
The original "Pulse", directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, premiered to critical acclaim in Cannes' Un Certain Regard section and centred on young Tokyoites experiencing technological breakdowns and a mysterious website linked to vanishing colleagues and friends. Plot specifics for the new version remain undisclosed, though it will be set in the present day with an entirely new cast of characters. The announcement comes shortly before the release of Boyle's own supernatural horror film "Never After Dark", which won the Midnighter Audience Award at SXSW and hits US cinemas via Magnolia Pictures on 25 September; Boyle's background telling Japan-set or Japanese-themed stories, including "House of Ninjas" and "Tokyo Cowboy", makes him a fitting choice for the project.
In short
- Dave Boyle to direct a reimagining of Japanese horror film "Pulse"
- Screen Gems, Spyglass and Parker Finn's Bad Feeling are producing
- New version set in modern day with fresh characters; plot details undisclosed
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A reimagining could introduce Pulse’s unsettling ideas about technology, isolation and disappearance to viewers who might not seek out the original, while giving filmmakers room to explore how those themes resonate in the present day. Dave Boyle’s experience with Japan-set stories and supernatural horror may help the new film approach the material with care while creating its own characters and perspective.
The case against
The original Pulse is acclaimed for Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s distinctive treatment of technology, loneliness and dread, so remaking it risks diluting what made the film resonant or turning its cultural specificity into a familiar Hollywood format. A new cast and updated setting may offer fresh ideas, but they could also leave the project borrowing the original’s reputation without matching its artistic force.
Explained simply
The original Pulse is a Japanese horror film directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, released in 2001. It follows young people in Tokyo as technology fails and a mysterious website appears linked to the disappearance of people they know.
The new film is being developed by Sony’s Screen Gems and Spyglass, with Dave Boyle set to direct and revise a script by Luke Piotrowski. Producers include Parker Finn and Jonathan Fass, through their company Bad Feeling. The new version is planned for the present day, with new characters; its plot has not been revealed.
The project is part of a longer trend of US studios adapting Japanese horror films for English-speaking audiences. Boyle has worked on stories set in Japan, including House of Ninjas and Tokyo Cowboy, while the original Pulse gained attention at the Cannes Film Festival.
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