The plot is fairly simple and straight forward. A mysterious cell phone signal triggers what basically amounts to a zombie outbreak. We follow an artist named Clay (Cusack) who makes it his mission to find his family amid the ensuing chaos.
There are moments here and there, but the movie largely falls flat. There isn't nearly as much tension as it seems like there should be. One major problem is with the phoners themselves. They don't come off as particularly menacing due to the fact that the extras playing them make them come off as more ridiculous. Given that their extras, one might forgive their lack of talent, but the camera spends a lot of time on close ups of them, making it a more noticeable flaw.
Things do get better when they start to coordinate and become more than just the typical rage zombies, but it isn't enough to make a lasting impression.
The human cast fares slightly better, though they don't have a whole lot to work with. Samuel L. Jackson brings some of his trademark gravitas to the table and his character does have a lot of the best lines, but you can see better from him in other films.
Stacy Keach also could have used more screen time. He's great in the portion of the film he's in, but he's pretty much a one-scene wonder.
Isabelle Furhman stands out as the only one who seems to be making a genuine effort. She's the only one who shows signs of shock, grief, and horror at what's going down. She's probably the one you connect to the most.
As a result, even the film's attempts to be more emotional don't work as well as they should. When Clay goes on what amounts to a suicide mission, the big goodbye should be a powerful and moving moment, but it's just kind of there.
The movie also has structural problems. The group just kind of wanders from place to place. I honestly forgot what their end goal was at one point, which is odd given that it's pretty simple. There needed to be more of an impetus behind the characters' actions.
Even when Raggedy shows up, not much is done with him. He's just there because he was there in the book. Granted, he wasn't the most impressive King villain in the source material, but at least he did stuff. There's no development or exploration of what he is or what his end goal is. He just stands there.
Pacing is also a problem. Like in the book, the pulse hits very early allowing for the action to start almost immediately. However, with only a 98 minute run time, the film's plot feels both underdeveloped and unnecessarily padded out. A part of me wishes that the movie had more time to explore certain aspects, but it didn't really use the time it had very well.
The Pulse itself is never really explored. Even the speculation scene amounts to one line from Jackson's character. It's pretty much just a plot device.
Overall, this was a lackluster outing. It had potential and there are sparks here and there, but it is another film that isn't really worth going out of your way to see.
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