NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Eureka Blu-ray (February 2021): Eureka have transferred Paul Golding's 1988 film Pulse to Blu-ray. It's on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and looks excellent in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio showcasing bright visuals, true colors exporting depth and solid contrast. There is consistent grain spread evenly throughout the HD presentation. I haven't seen the Sony Blu-ray from 2017 but I would be surprised if it looks this strong.

NOTE: We have added 66 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Eureka use a linear PCM 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language. There are plenty of 'electrical' effects - zapping circuits, popping condensers and a raging fire or two. They come through fairly impressively with punchy depth. There is a score credited to Jay Ferguson (Bad Dreams) lifting the mystery-infused tension and heightening the serenity of suburbia. All good. Eureka offer optional English (SDH) subtitles (see sample below) on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

The Eureka Blu-ray offers a new audio commentary by Amanda Reyes (author of Are You In The House Alone?: A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999). I like her unabashed enthusiasm for this genre - 80's films - as she discusses the Suburban Gothic (reading from B. Murphy's The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture), Rosenheim Poltergeist, the subtext she finds in Pulse, family drama, Roxanne Hart (who I remember from The Verdict), DoP Peter Lyons Collister, she discusses how there are a fair number of musicians in the film... and, although she tends to dig unnecessarily deep at times, it is still enjoyable as she makes excellent analysis and salient observations about the film. She clearly knows and loves the topics. There is also an excellent video essay by writer and film historian Lee Gambin entitled Tuning in to Tech Horror, where he makes many references to other similar genre films - the threat of machinery, appliances, computers and innocuous and everyday manmade technological advancements as film plots. There is also a trailer and the package has a limited edition collector's booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar and author Craig Ian Mann; and an article on the film by filmmaker Adrián García Bogliano (Dark Phases). It offers a O-card Slipcase (First Print Run of 2000 copies only). 

As I watched Pulse I began to realize how much I was enjoying it. This is a far better film than I was anticipating. It stands above much of the 80's schlock that it would invariably become associated with. I was impressed and enjoyed the Amanda Reyes commentary and Lee Gambin video essay. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and we endorse the Eureka Blu-ray as a desirable package. You may wish to give this one a chance and be pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of the film.

Gary Tooze