The Cell (2000)

Director:

Tarsem Singh

Writer (WGA):

Mark Protosevich (written by)

Release Date:

18 August 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

This Summer... Enter The Mind Of A Killer

Plot:

A psychotherapist journeys inside a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim.

Plot Keywords:

SWAT | Animal In Cast Credits | Virtual Reality | Alternative Reality | Suspension

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

Jennifer Lopez	...	Catherine Deane
Colton James	...	Edward Baines
Dylan Baker	...	Henry West
Marianne Jean-Baptiste	...	Dr. Miriam Kent
Gerry Becker	...	Dr. Barry Cooperman
Musetta Vander	...	Ella Baines
Patrick Bauchau	...	Lucien Baines
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Carl Stargher
Catherine Sutherland	...	Anne Marie Vicksey
Vince Vaughn	...	Peter Novak
James Gammon	...	Teddy Lee
Jake Weber	...	Gordon Ramsey
Dean Norris	...	Cole
Tara Subkoff	...	Julia Hickson
Lauri Johnson	...	Mrs. Hickson

MPAA:

Rated R for bizarre violence and sexual images, nudity and language.

Runtime:

107 min | Germany:109 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:16 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Malaysia:18PL (uncut version) | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA (original rating) | Australia:R (director's cut) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:16+ (Québec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:18 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:18 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 (video rating) | New Zealand:R18 (director's cut) | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #37605) | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Singapore:R(A)

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Company:

Avery Pix

Trivia:

In the scene where Catherine talks with Carl while he is "cleaning" his first victim, the scenery resembles the music video "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M.; that video was directed by this film's director, Tarsem Singh.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the girl is kidnapped in the parking garage and after she and Stargher have hit the ground, the dog is heard barking at the struggle. However, we can clearly see the dog in the shot and he is simply lying there calmly, not barking.

Quotes:

Carl Stargher: And what world do you live in?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dil Chahta Hai (2001)

Soundtrack:

O SCIORE CCHIU FELICE

Nightmarishly good, but far from perfect.

Style over substance. But what a style it is. "The Cell" is the internal version of most serial killer movies. Unfortunately, the story hardly supports the visuals.

Psychotherapist Catherine Deane (J-Lo) goes into her patients' dreams via artificial means to discover and help them over come their phobias and obsessions. A new patient whose fallen into a coma, is brought to her attention by the FBI. He's a serial killer who drowns his female victims then poses their bodies in grotesque scenarios like mannequins. Deane must enter the killer's mind and navigate through his sick fantasies in order to find and save his latest victim.

Director Tarsem Singh has incredible visions and set pieces for this production. Each dream sequence is like a nightmare-ish painting in motion, from the landscapes to the costumes.

But the plot suffers from lack of history of its characters. Stargher is the only person with a thorough background and he's the last person you want to care about. Without him, you basically have a movie that moves in the present tense only, which is a shame since the movie is so visually stunning and genuinely scary. Lopez is wasted but she's not that amazing an actress anyway, though she's as gorgeous as ever. And Vince Vaughn? I don't even know why he was chosen. This is not his forte and he overacts to boot. He tried too hard to become his character and it showed. Stick to comedy, Vince! Even so, this movie is so visually frightening, I still watch this movie with the lights on and can never fall asleep right away afterward.