Pulse (2006)

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has nothing
to do with me, okay?
Are you okay?
Yeah. Fine. I'm fine.
Zeigler?
Zeigler?
Excuse me.
Zeigler!
Zeig?
Zeigler?
My boy hooked me up, okay?
I mean, I'm talking, now,
free passwords
to, like, over 100 sites.
So we're talking... Thank you...
horny coeds,
Japanese girls in bondage
and...
what... granny trannys...
Okay, you did not just say that.
I never looked at 'em. Okay?
I'm just saying,
I have the passwords...
- He totally looked.
- You know he did.
I call it
having access to information.
It's called
having a girlfriend, Stone.
You should check it out.
- Damn!
- Wow, that's harsh.
Sorry.
Shrink in training...
I gotta tell it like it is.
Ha!
Tim!
I'm right here.
What?
Mm! Check this out.
- Oh, he's cute.
- Oh, yeah.
Scroll down...
Gay!
Absolutely.
What?!
It's a boy-toy,
who saw your name is Izzie
and thought you was a guy.
You need to stop hatin'.
- Oh, I'm hatin'?
- Yeah.
Tim?!
What?! It's not me!
I swear!
Okay, who we shutting down?
No one.
No, I just...
thought Josh might call.
He's been avoiding me
for over a week.
Our relationship
has been reduced
to text-messaging.
How tragic is that?
Okay, Mattie, come on.
I know... I know.
I guess I'm still hoping
he'll just...
figure it out.
You need to let go, okay?
You guys have been breaking up
way longer than you hooked up.
If he can't recognize
that you got it going on,
then... you don't need
to be involved with him.
Besides, look,
it's raining men right now.
Right, guys?
Yo. Ready to dance?
We could do that.
That's what I'm talking about.
- Come on.
- No.
- Come on!
- Come on.
Have you seen me dance?
It's not pretty.
Good night.
Hey!
Don't... do that.
Oh. Sorry.
I wanted out of there.
Thought I'd walk with you.
You live the other way.
I'll take the spiral route.
Plus, you know, single guy,
walking alone, late at night...
Well, thanks.
I'm good from here.
See you tomorrow?
Sure.
Okay. Bye.
You have two new messages.
First message, 9:37 P.M.
Mattie, it's Mom.
This is call number three,
honey.
I know you're busy,
but call me back, okay?
I miss you.
Next message, 10:47 P.M.
Mattie, it's Josh. Um...
Never mind.
This is Josh.
I'm not here right now.
Leave a message.
Josh, it's Mattie.
Pick up.
You haven't returned
one of my calls,
and now...
what's with the weird message?
Hey, Iz, are you here?
Ugh...
You know you have to get up.
You have class.
Get up! Now!
Of course there are
other kinds of stalking.
There is public stalking.
There is cyber stalking.
Each with its
own set of behaviors.
What I want to talk about now...
is stalking,
the pathological mind...
...and the other.
Now, the pathological mind...
The pathological mind can only
satisfy its need for the other
by consuming the other;
leading, once again,
to great need,
and, of course,
the cycle begins again.
Now, what I'd like you to do
Friday, in preparation
for the midterm,
is write an essay on
what we've spoken about today,
including in it ritual...
Come on, Mattie, you know
you're gonna have fun.
Chill out, relax.
Have a drink.
- Yeah, but...
- You're gonna come.
We're gonna hang out.
We need this, okay?
I'm gonna call you
right back.
Damn. Y'all look good.
A'ight. Check this out.
I got all the new joint...
Actually, these last four,
y'all have already.
And then, these five,
right here,
won't even be out
for another month.
Plus, I have some
other ones here...
Yeah. You know, you should
just save us a few little
tax dollars and drive yourself
to jail right now.
Can I use your car?
And don't forget,
I gotta take you with me
because you did buy
some of the stuff.
Oh, and your boy Josh...
genius!
For every minute
I use on my cellphone,
I get credited for two.
It's a beautiful thing.
Excuse me for one second.
What's up?
All right,
we're going to lunch, right?
Uh, actually, I'm gonna
hang here for a bit.
But I'll call you.
Okay. Um...
I'm gonna see you later then?
Maybe.
Josh?
Josh, it's Mattie.
Josh?
Oh, shit!
Josh.
Hey.
Why don't you answer my calls?
Everyone is worried about you.
Stay here. All right?
Oh, my... Josh!
Josh?
Oh, my God.
Hello, this is Louise Webber.
Leave your name and message
and I'll get back to you.
Hey, Mom. Tag, you're it.
Hey, call me as soon
as you get this, okay?
Something happened.
I'll just tell you about it
when you call, okay?
I love you.
- Josh.
- Mattie...
Are you there?
I'm not me anymore.
Something's wrong with me.
I know it's very difficult
for us to talk about loss.
So many conflicting emotions
involved.
This might sound pat to you,
but it is okay to cry, Mattie.
I have.
You have?
What, five minutes,
is that all I get, Mattie?
I'm wasting your time.
You're not wasting my time.
You're wasting mine.
You're angry.
That's normal.
Actually,
I'm just late for class.
You loved him, didn't you?
And you think it's something
that you did
that might've caused this.
The only person I blame...
is Josh.
You sure about this?
Fuck...
Come on.
Talk.
I don't know why
I didn't see the signs.
I should've been there;
done something.
Sometimes,
there aren't any signs.
This was an intensely lonely
young man.
More than you can ever know.
He was very skilled
at hiding his loneliness.
And when he couldn't hide it
anymore, he hid himself.
Have you ever felt
that kind of loneliness?
Hmm?
Don't worry. I read your book.
I'm not a suicide risk.
You psych students,
you all have a tendency
to resist self-analysis.
Don't.
Don't avoid your fears.
Confront them.
You can keep your emotions down
for a while,
but somehow, some way,
they will come out;
and they will be
even more painful
and more destructive.
Do you understand that?
Hey.
You good?
Everything's
going to be okay.
It has to be a virus.
I mean, his computer is
probably still logged on.
It's just hitting
his address book.
They said, "Help me."
Yeah, but viruses always have
some important-sounding shit.
I mean, just the other day,
I got one that said,
"Urgent, Stone. Read me now."
I mean, that's a natural
occurrence.
- It happens all the time...
- That was from me, you idiot.
Damn.
That was pretty strong.
Well, someone should at least
log Josh's computer off.
I'd do it, but I don't want
to go back over there.
All right, I'll go.
Thanks.
Yeah...
There was something so strange
about him
when I went over there...
like he wasn't himself.
But he really wasn't. It...
It was like looking
at a different person.
Why did he do it?
I don't know.
And I think that's
what's driving me crazy...
that I didn't see it coming.
None of us did, okay?
You know, it's not all on you.
Are you still getting
those messages?
Yeah. What's the deal?
Did Stone not get over there?
You know, he didn't even
show up to class today.
I haven't spoken to him.
Hello?
Hey, Stone.
Hey, Izzie.
It's Mattie.
What's up, Mattie?
Are you still getting
those messages from Josh?
I haven't signed on.
I've just been kind of leaving
my computer alone.
Did you log off Josh's computer?
Did you turn it off?
Are you okay?
I just been kind of down,
you know?
Yeah, I know.
We all are.
Oh, my God.
You here to see the apartment?
Well, take a look.
New paint.
Gonna have new carpet.
You won't beat the rent.
Mm-mm!
The guy who lived here
was a friend of mine.
I need his computer.
Computer?
What'd you do with it?
I don't know nothing
about no computer.
His computer was
right over there,
with all the rest of his stuff.
Girl, you better get out
of my face
or I'm calling the police.
Why don't I call the police?
All right.
All right! Don't get crazy.
For two months,
that boy lived here
- and didn't pay his rent.
- You sold it?!
For two months...
what was I supposed to do?
Who did you sell it to?
Mm-hmm!
Dead cats,
and he done killed himself,
and here, now, you
come here bugging me
about a damn computer.
You tell him he still
owe me a hundred bucks.
The bank didn't take
his raggedy-ass check.
Dexter McCarthy.
What, it bounced?
I guess that doesn't
really matter,
since you bought
a stolen computer.
She seemed pretty honest to me.
Why are you e-mailing me?
E-mailing you?
I don't even know who you are.
That computer belonged
to someone I know.
You found his password.
Now you're messing
with the people
in his address book?
That's a really shitty
thing to do.
Really?
Come here.
That's not possible.
I have a procrastination
problem.
It hasn't been plugged in...
since you bought it?
No. Look, stolen or not,
the thing cost me
to get me a refund?
Your boyfriend can have
his computer back.
Keep it.
He doesn't need it anymore.
He's dead.
Classic.
What's that?
It's from Josh.
This is his handwriting.
When was it sent?
Seventeenth.
That's two days before he died.
Keeps what out?
He obviously went nuts,
that's all.
What about Stone?
What about him?
Wait, what's up with Stone?
He didn't sound like himself.
I can't explain it.
Kinda got the same feeling.
The same feeling as what?
As when I was at Josh's.
Later on in this broadcast,
we'll show how
you and your family
can stay healthy and germ-free
at home and in the workplace.
And here's Skip Warren
with a late-breaking story.
A spokesman
for the County Health Department
is calling a recent cluster
of suicides in the city
"tragic and very unfortunate,"
and he added that there's
no evidence to suggest
that they are connected
in any way.
Hey.
Go on.
It's okay.
Okay.
Go ahead, I got it.
How well did you
actually know this guy?
- Why?
- 'Cause he was into
some scary shit.
Can I show you something?
What are we looking for?
You'll see.
So, your friend,
was it an accident?
No.
Then what was it?
I'm not sure.
I thought it was just looping
the same clips over and over
again, but it's not.
They don't always
do the same thing.
It's some kind of Web-cam feed.
Ah, Bag Man. Watch.
Every time he tries
to take it off,
the image just cuts... it goes
right back to the beginning.
How did this get on there?
All I did was plug it in.
How long have you been
watching this?
No, I think the question is,
is how long have they
been watching me?
Damn it.
Yeah?
Look, look, man...
Turn it off. Turn it off!
Turn it off.
I can't believe
you showed me that.
It was your friend's computer.
Did he get off on the stuff?
Was he shooting those videos
and selling them on-line?
What was he doing?
Josh tied a phone cord
around his neck
and hanged himself...
that's what he was doing.
Mattie... Mattie,
don't you think
that your friend having
the video feeds
and then doing what he did
is not a coincidence?
And if those people,
if what they're doing,
if it's real,
- if they're all dead...
- You know what I think?
I think, no matter what...
Josh is still gonna be gone.
I think you need
to go back upstairs
and erase his hard drive.
I tried.
It won't let me.
I need to move on.
I'm sorry.
Don't you want to know why?
Hello, this is Louise Webber.
Leave your name and message
and I'll get back...
Oh!
Josh?
Josh, it's Mattie.
Mattie.
Are you there?
I feel all alone.
Josh?
Josh.
Something is wrong with me.
I have seen two people
kill themselves.
My psych professor stepped out
in front of a moving bus.
All in the last week.
Have you walked
around campus lately?
Every classroom is half-empty
and no one is talking
about it.
Something is following me.
It's in my dreams.
- I saw it on the bus.
- Come on, Mattie,
do you honestly feel
there are ghosts of some kind
walking around out there?
I don't know.
But something is wrong.
You're a very smart young woman.
I want you to add this up
for me.
A flu epidemic breaks out.
People are in a weakened state;
they're fearful of each other.
And then add a trigger event:
this coincidental clustering
of suicides.
The e-mail rumor mill
goes into overdrive,
and suddenly people are seeing
strange things in the shadows?
I'm not imagining this!
Why do you think
you came here again?
It certainly isn't
because you thought
that I would agree with you.
You knew what my response
would be; you knew that
you needed to hear it.
You can't articulate
what you think
is going on out there, Mattie,
because it isn't real.
So what am I supposed to do?
Just ignore everything
I'm feeling?
No. No.
You have to face what you
think is happening out there.
You have to stand ground,
take a good, long look,
and you'll see it's not there.
You're not real.
You're not real.
Stone?
- I don't want to die!
- Stone...
I don't want to do it myself.
S-S...
I don't want to die!
- Stone! What's happening!
- I don't want to die!
I don't want to do it myself!
Stone!
Oh, my God!
I'm ready to know.
What did you find?
Well, his hard drive
was fried,
but I was able to retrieve
most of the shit off of it.
Apparently your boy's
into stockpiling some
pretty serious viruses.
Why would he do that?
It's a power trip.
It's like keeping nukes
in your closet.
I found some other stuff that
I think you need to see.
When I booted the drive,
this is what came up.
Josh?
This message is
for Douglas Zeigler.
I'm Josh Ockmann, I'm the guy
who hacked into your system.
I'm sorry...
but now I got to talk to you.
He kept a video diary?
It's more like a play-by-play.
Zeigler, it's Josh again.
How can I convince you
to talk to me?
Whatever you had locked up
in your system,
I let it loose.
I let...
And now I don't know
how to stop it.
You okay with this?
Yeah.
I need to know
what you had in there.
I... I need to know.
I've never seen
anything like it,
but it's burning
through every firewall,
it's frying every circuit.
I need your help.
I bookmarked the rest.
Zeig, I got your e-mail.
I think I figured out
a way to stop it.
I'm writing a virus
that could shut it down.
Meet me at the library
at 5:00 today.
Check this one out.
I saw something in the library.
I can still feel it.
Like it reached inside of me,
like it took something
out of me.
My life.
Why won't you answer me, Zeig?
I need your help.
Goddamn it,
why didn't you warn me?
Is that it?
There's one more,
but...
I want to see it.
It's breaking me down.
I feel like
there's nothing left of me.
I can't think, I can't move,
I can't take the pain.
I just can't.
I'm not even me anymore.
It's all gone.
I... can't go on.
I'm sorry, Mattie.
I'm so sorry, Mattie.
What if it's all connected?
- What?
- The suicides,
the... Internet people,
the things I saw.
The ghosts?
I'm not buying it, Mattie.
Josh thought he saw them...
and it messed him up
so bad, he...
...he did what he did.
W...
Okay, what do you think
drove him over the edge?
Josh had some pretty
bad shit going on.
Josh wasn't on a power trip
with viruses.
He saw something horrible...
something like this...
and he wanted to stop it.
Hackers do this stuff
all the time.
It's a prank.
He got it off the Internet.
Come on.
But it wasn't hooked up
to the Internet.
- The cable was unplugged.
- So?
It came through the Wi-Fi.
Just like Josh said,
he pulled something through...
Pulled ghosts through the Wi-Fi?
It just doesn't make any sense.
It makes all the sense
in the world.
Do you have any idea
of the amount of data
that's floating out there?
The amount of information
we just beam into the air?
We broadcast
to everyone where we are,
and we think we're safe?
The whole freakin' city
is going insane,
and we're acting like
it's nothing.
Well, it's not nothing.
It's something
we don't understand,
and it is coming for us.
You're freaking us out, man.
It's the end of the world.
That's what it is.
Maybe it's the booze
in your coffee.
What about Zeigler?
This whole thing
started with him.
He was one of Josh's
hacker friends.
There's got to be
someone at school
who knows how we can find him.
Maybe he knows
what the hell is going on.
...computer virus
is affecting Internet service
worldwide.
Authorities are requesting
those of you who do not need
to use your computers,
to shut them down now
to avoid spreading the bug.
Hey.
I'm starting to think
I'm the only one living here.
Is there anything
going on tonight?
I don't really go out much.
Sorry.
Bitch.
"Douglas Zeigler."
Zeigler, the virus is inside...
inside... inside...
Inside?
Are you saying...
...not available for comment,
but we are receiving reports
of... mass disappearances
in other cities, as well.
By all accounts, the crisis
appears to be spreading,
and the federal government
is mobilizing a response,
as more and more law enforcement
and emergency systems
appear to be...
simply shutting dow...
I just wanted
to see you, Mattie.
Tim?
I just wanted to see you.
How are you doing this?
I see you.
Izzie, are you in there?
- This voice mail is no longer
- Hey, I'm looking for Izzie.
accepting incoming messages.
Please try again later.
Message 687.
Isabelle?
Oh...
Come here. Come here.
You'll be okay.
You know what dying tastes like?
Metal.
You don't want to breathe.
Because every time, it's...
...it's more of it inside you.
I want to die but I'm
too afraid to do it.
You're not gonna die.
I want to.
What do they want?
They want what they
don't have anymore.
They want life.
They're coming for you, too.
There's nothing
you can do about it.
God, you're freezing.
Wait... here a second.
You have reached 911 emergency.
Sorry, all operators are busy.
Please stay on the line
for the next available operator.
I'm sorry, Mattie.
Izzie!
- Hello. This is Louise Webber.
- Hello?
- Leave your name and message...
- Damn it!
Mattie!
Dexter...
Isabelle's gone.
What do you mean she's gone?
I'm packing a bag.
I'll meet you out front.
I'm on my way.
She was just standing there,
empty...
like she wanted to die.
And she was just nothing.
Just... ash, just this
Mattie, look at me.
...black, floating ash.
- Look at me!
I saw it... the thing Josh was
talking about, it came for me.
- Right after I found this.
- What?
The virus Josh was working on.
I found it taped
inside of his computer case.
Off-line, where they
couldn't get to it.
- Will it work?
- I don't know.
But Zeigler will.
You found Zeigler?
We're gonna get some answers.
Yeah.
We're gonna shut it down.
We're gonna shut it down.
Mattie... Mattie...
You all right?
Yeah.
Get out of the car.
Get out of the car.
Is he all right?
- Let's go.
- What?!
Come on.
There's nobody in the car?
No.
Come on. Come on.
Don't you move!
What the f...
- Don't come any closer!
- Don't shoot!
Put the gun down!
Calvin, are you crazy?
They're safe, they're not...
they're just kids!
We're not going to hurt you.
Put it down.
We've got to keep moving.
We're wasting time.
We've got to get out
of the city!
They came through the computer.
We saw them.
We think we have a solution.
Are you people insane?
You stay here, you're dead.
We shouldn't be out here...
they say it's spreading.
They say
that they don't know how long
until it's everywhere.
The cops are gone!
People are dying
all over the place! Come on!
We heard it's safe
in the dead zones,
anywhere there's no computers,
no phones, no Wi-Fi.
Come on!
Anywhere where they
can't come through.
- Let's go!
- Save yourselves!
Hurry!
What if they got Zeigler?
What if we can't get out?
He's alive!
He's got to be.
Douglas Zeigler?
Zeigler!
Whoa.
My God.
He's not here.
No! You're going
to let them in!
- Who are you?!
My friend Josh
needed to see you. Why?
That's the little prick
who let them in.
Let what in?
The slightest leak,
the slightest hole,
that's how.
We need to know
what you were working on.
What was it?!
It was a telecom project!
It was my baby.
It was super-wide band.
We found frequencies that we
didn't even know existed,
and they came through.
Who did?
We didn't know
what it was at first.
We thought it was
like a radio wave interference.
Then, we realized
that there was a pattern to it.
Every time that we'd try
to monitor them,
they would stop, or they
would change frequencies.
I mean, they were smart.
They were reacting to us,
and then...
we started seeing things
around the lab.
But shadows can't hide
underneath the desk.
Shadows can't walk
across a room
in broad daylight.
There was this tape.
Red utility tape.
Have you seen it?
It must have blocked
part of the spectrum
that they needed
for transmissions,
so we could keep them
out of a room,
but we couldn't keep them out.
I mean, they were coming through
so fast,
it was like a blur.
The last thing you want,
the last thing you ever want
is for them to get to you.
'Cause when they grab ahold,
they take your will to live.
Everything that made you
you is gone.
You don't want to talk,
you don't want to move.
You're a shell.
And then come the bruises.
They spread all over.
Your body dies
right out from under you,
and the next thing you know,
you're just a pile of ash!
I saw it happen to Tillman.
I saw it happen to Plummer.
What are they?
I wish I knew.
I just watched
my best friends die, Zeigler.
That's not the answer
I came here for.
Well, what do you want me
to say?
They've already crawled in
the entire regional network.
Everywhere...
cellphones, Pads...
We can't stop them.
We have to crash
the entire system.
How are we supposed
to crash the system?
This is what Josh
was working on.
A virus configured
to the specs of your system.
Where's your server?
In a highly non-optimum place.
Where is it?!
It's in the basement,
in the computer lab!
It doesn't matter,
because even if you upload it,
it still doesn't mean
that it's going to work!
No-no-no-no-no-
no-no-no-no!
No!
Run!
Go!
Come on!
Dexter!
Go!
Mattie.
Josh?
Josh?
I'm sorry, Mattie.
No, don't look!
Just run!
Mattie! Mattie!
Come back to me.
I saw it, Dex.
I saw...
Okay. Stay right here.
I'll be right back.
I'll be right back.
No!
- I have to.
- It's too late.
There's nothing we can do.
I can still
shut the system down.
Don't you get it?
There's no system to shut down.
They are the system.
I have to go.
No... no...
It worked.
Let's get the hell
out of here! Come on!
Come on! Run!
Geez!
Hey!
How much gas do we have left?
Half a tank.
How far is that gonna get us?
We're gonna find out.
This is an emergency message
from the United States Army.
Search and rescue units
have been dispatched to assist
survivors of the crisis.
We have established safe zones
in locations without wireless
or cellphone coverage.
Cellphones, computers
and Pads are all conduits
for the invasion.
Dispose of all technology before
proceeding to these locations.
Hold on, Mattie!
You all right?
Yeah. What happened?
I don't know.
We must've hit a dead zone.
They can't exist
without a signal.
We can never go back.
The cities are theirs.
Our lives are different now.
What was meant to connect us
to one another
instead connected us to forces
that we could've
never imagined.
The world we knew is gone.
But the will to live
never dies.
Not for us...
and not for them.