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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Schizoid serial killer Carl Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio) has been captured at last, but a neurological seizure has rendered him comatose, and FBI agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughan) has no way to determine the location of Stargher's latest and still-living victim. To probe the secrets contained in Stargher's traumatized psyche, the FBI recruits psychologist Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez), who has mastered a new technology that allows her to enter the mind of another person. What she finds in Stargher's head is a theater of the grotesque, which, as envisioned by first-time director Tarsem Singh, is a smorgasbord of the surreal that borrows liberally from the Brothers Quay, Czech animator Jan Svankmajer, Hieronymous Bosch, Salvador Dali, and a surplus of other cannibalized sources.

This provides one of the wildest, weirdest visual feasts ever committed to film, and The Cell earns a place among such movie mind-trips as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Altered States, What Dreams May Come, and Un Chien Andalou. Is this a good thing? Sure, if all you want is freakazoid eye-candy. If you're looking for emotional depth, substantial plot, and artistic coherence, The Cell is sure to disappoint. The pop-psychology pablum of Mark Protosevich's screenplay would be laughable if it weren't given such somber significance, and Singh's exploitative use of sadomasochistic imagery is repugnant (this movie makes Seven look tame), so you're better off marveling at the nightmare visions that are realized with astonishing potency. The Cell is too shallow to stay in your head for long, but while it's there, it's one hell of a show. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews: Read 361 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

Watch it with the volume turned off. June 16, 2008
This film is a must see, just for the mind bending imagery.
Fascinating, beautiful and just plain trippy.
Too bad the story and the acting pretty much stink.
Honestly I can barely remember the story, can we say... unmemorable?
Not a must own but a must rent.
Check your brain at the door with the story.
Still, you won't see another movie with such crazy visuals.
Recommended viewing, recommended turning the volume off.

3 out of 5 stars

Visually stunning and powerfully acted yet sadly forgettable... June 6, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I think the best way to describe `The Cell' is to imagine `Law & Order: SVU' if it were on the Sci-Fi channel. Catherine Deane fits nicely into the `Olivia Benson' role, the sympathetic and emotionally attached partner to Peter Novak's `Elliot Stabler' character, the aggressive and angry FBI agent. If you think about `The Cell' in this manner then you are bound to find enjoyment out of it. It's not all that deep emotionally, but it suffices as a decent thriller thanks to some dedicated performances by the entire cast, especially D'Onofrio (of `Law & Order: CI' fame), on whom the entire film depends.

So the whole plot is `way out there' and requires a real suspension of disbelief (but then again this is a Sci-Fi movie, so we are expected to believe `anything' is possible). Carl Stargher is a sadistic serial rapist who tortures his victims by drowning them slowly and then bleaches them and makes them up to look like dolls, and then ditches them in the river. Peter Novak is the FBI agent on his tail and when he finally captures him Stargher falls into a coma, a coma that he will never wake up from, and so Novak enlists the help of psychotherapist Catherine Deane to help. Deane has been using a new technology that allows her to enter the minds of comatose patients and try and coax them out of their sleeplike state. She is asked to enter the mind of this killer in order to find out where he stashed his latest victim; that way they can find her before it is too late and she drowns to death.

Once inside Stargher's mind, `The Cell' transforms from a `Law & Order'esque thriller to an all out horror film complete with some of the most grotesque yet stunningly brilliant imagery I have ever seen. It is here that the film truly shines as D'Onofrio is allowed to take full reign of his character and dominate his surroundings.

More on Vincent in a minute.

The film thrives on the `Alice in Wonderland' gone horror type vibe that runs throughout the scenes within Stargher's head. Everything scene is inspired by some of the most bizarre paintings and artist's imagery around, and the end result is a completely engrossing and stimulating cinematic experience. Whether you are watching a horse be dissected or watching a strange tribalesque baptism or witnessing Vince Vaughn's intestines being slowly pulled from his stomach you are in for a very strange yet very intoxicating ride. There is nothing `pretty' about this world, yet it is gorgeously constructed to become like sinners-candy for the mind. You won't find any of this appealing, but you won't be able to turn your head either.

Here is where I find a bit of a sore-point as well though. The film in essence is nothing more than a glorified train-wreck. There is nothing of any substantial value. The characters have no real depth (even Stargher is a complete cliche) and so when all is said and done the only real reason to remember this film is the glossy presentation (that, and D'Onofrio). The plot is different and the whole `get inside your mind' approach was neat, but in the end it becomes nothing more than a decent Sci-Fi film. There is no real human development so we wind up not really caring one way or the other.

The acting though is a highlight. Vaughn and Lopez do enough to sell their performances, especially Lopez who actually is a decent actress when the quality of the film is right for her. The quality on `The Cell' isn't particularly high, but she works hard to make her character believable. The real star though is none other than Vincent D'Onofrio who just grabs hold of her character and dominates this movie. One minute he's solemn and disturbed as he `cleans' his victim (one of the most unsettling scenes in the film, yet one of the best acted) the next he is commanding and dominating as the lord of his world; and yet still he captures menace and insanity as he playfully toys with Vaughn's organs. His range is magnificent here and his performance is key to the success of the film. If he had not nailed this performance than this film wouldn't even be worth its technical brilliance.

In the end I can recommend `The Cell' based on the visuals and D'Onofrio. Honestly, as a Sci-Fi thriller is works very well. I may not have enough meat on its bones to constitute a smart and memorable cinematic experience, but it will dazzle and disturb you while you watch it, so who cares if you forget most of what you've seen when the credits finish their stroll.

5 out of 5 stars

Visually Stunning and Decent Story May 7, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

Certainly this is disturbing, like all serial killer movies, but it has visually stunning special effects, sets, costuming and make up. The use of color and imagery is amazing, and the transformations of the characters from ordinary to nearly god-like beings transfixes. The story is not particularly unique, abused child grows up to be a serial killer, but the way in which the protagonists enter his mind certainly is. They have the killer in custody for most of the movie, and their task is to find his latest victim who will soon die from drowning. Jennifer Lopez is perfect for this role since she is capable of portraying a nurturing-mothering type and a tough/take-care-of-business-even-if-I-have-to-kill-type. I don't think there's really a way to save someone who has become a monster, but the movie tries to do so in a death-resurrection, water-purifying scene near the end. They do save the victim so this has somewhat of a happy ending. I enjoyed watching this more for the visual beauty of it rather than the story, but the story itself is interesting for those who can stomach the disturbing parts.

4 out of 5 stars

Underrated May 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This movie was definately underrated. Visual effects were stunning and defnately one in a few of Jennifer's best movies.

4 out of 5 stars

The Cell for that Inner Self April 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I recently saw this rather disturbing film, and it is also very interesting, scary, and shocking. It is almost twisted and dark if you plan on going into the mind of a serial killer. And, it is most certainly like going into the world of surreal and twisted sense of reality to which you have to break through to find the answers. Personally, I think this movie is an interesting look at one's twisted mind to which there are two "selves:" a wounded child (inner self) and an evil predator (false self).

While I think the acting on Lopez's and Vaughn's parts were good considering, the story and the depiction of how the mind works when a inner self was suppressed and a false self took over was very interesting and it has some harsh truth to it: it can happen in real life where one do not have control over oneself.

"The Cell" is a great title for this movie as it shows a prison for that inner self (a wounded child) while the false self controls everything.

It is really good film to watch, in my personal opinion.

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