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Movies / On DVD / The Cell
The Cell

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The Cell (2000)

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Reviews Counted:139

Fresh:63

Rotten:76

Average Rating:5.2/10

Consensus: The Cell offers disturbing, stunning eye candy, but it is undermined by a weak and shallow plotline that offers nothing new.

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Box Office: $17,515,050

Synopsis: A wild ride inside the mind of a serial killer, THE CELL is a movie that leads viewers on a strange visual and psychological journey. Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez) is a child therapist working... A wild ride inside the mind of a serial killer, THE CELL is a movie that leads viewers on a strange visual and psychological journey. Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez) is a child therapist working on an experimental new technology that allows for direct access into someone else's mind. However, the benefits of the technology are still unproven. Meanwhile FBI Agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn) is hard at work tracking down a serial killer who encloses women in a small glass cell and drowns them. Novak is able to identify the killer as Carl Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio), but before he can be arrested, he goes into a coma. The only way to rescue his most recent victim is for Catherine to enter his mind using the experimental technology. However, Stargher's mind is so warped and frightening, there's no way to know what Deane will encounter inside of it. THE CELL is the feature film debut of Tarsem Singh, a renowned commercial and video director who overloads his film with visual splendor and horror, while sticking to a simple story of innocence lost and innocent victims saved. A must-see for fans of dark psychological thrillers, THE CELL features some controversial violence and sexual content along with amazing special effects. A chilling yet strangely elegant thriller, THE CELL is a stunning cinematic experience. [More]

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Dylan Baker, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jake Weber, Patrick Bauchau, James Gammon, Tara Subkoff, Jake Thomas

Director: Tarsem Singh

Director: Tarsem Singh
Screenwriter: Mark Protosevich
Producer: Julio Caro, Eric McLeod
Composer: Howard Shore

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Release:

Jul 7, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

Blu-ray Disc Features:

  • Region 0
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby True HD 5.1 - English, French
 
 
 
 

Reviews for The Cell

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
tomato
3/5

Bob Grimm

The dream sequences are so well-done that it’s easy to forgive the film’s lack of dramatic punch.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 07 2008 03:16 AM

Sacramento News & Review

splat
0/5

Rob Gonsalves

Lopez wades through many nonsensical, pompous, gradually annoying dream-logic scenes.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 24 2007 12:09 PM

eFilmCritic.com

tomato
3/4

Joe Lozito

What could have been a by-the-numbers serial killer mystery becomes a beautiful tour de force of film magic.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 14 2007 05:09 AM

Big Picture Big Sound

splat

Nick Funnell

Lopez is hard to take as the empathetic psychologist who uses a synaptic transfer machine to penetrate the comatose killer's tortured psyche in hopes of finding his latest victim.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 09 2006 03:17 AM

Time Out

tomato
6/10

John Venable

Visually stunning, but rather pedestrian.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 31 2005 03:06 PM

Supercala.com

tomato
4/5

Ron Wells

It's excellent.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 06 2005 07:59 PM

Film Threat

tomato

Peter Travers

Tarsem uses the dramatically shallow plot to create a dream world densely packed with images of beauty and terror that cling to the memory even if you don't want them to.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 07 2005 03:46 AM

Rolling Stone

splat
D

Jeffrey Overstreet

It's not the villain but the director who seems most interested in these grisly spectacles. He was certainly uninterested in his characters.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 15 2005 10:46 PM

Looking Closer

splat
1.5/4

Jeffrey Westhoff

The Cell may be another repellent serial killer movie, but at least it tries something different.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 07 2005 08:32 AM

Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

splat
2.5/4

Jeffrey M. Anderson

The cop/serial killer part of the story (written by Mark Protosevich) offers absolutely nothing of interest.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 24 2003 06:10 PM

Combustible Celluloid

tomato
A

Eugene Novikov

Writer Mark Protosevich and director Tarsem Singh, both making their feature debut, have crafted the year's first masterpiece, an insanely ambitious movie that miraculously fulfills every one of its ambitions.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 22 2003 05:22 PM

Film Blather

tomato
3.5/4

Jeanne Aufmuth

This is a mind-bending acid trip of a movie -- fresh, disturbing and inimitable.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 14 2003 05:07 PM

Palo Alto Weekly

tomato
4.5/5

John R. McEwen

D'Onofrio proves that his performance as the bug-wearing-an-Edgar-suit in Men in Black was no fluke.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 08 2003 08:13 AM

Film Quips Online

tomato
A

Nick Davis

An amazing, courageous, and thoroughly dark visualization of what the inside of a deeply troubled mind might look like.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 10 2003 08:15 AM

Nick's Flick Picks

splat

Ken Hollings

With little room for either narrative detail or character development, Tarsem's exploration of a deranged mind soon loses momentum.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 02 2002 08:13 AM

Sight and Sound

splat
1/5

Matthew Turner

This movie is bad in so many ways that it’s difficult to know where to begin.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 30 2002 08:14 AM

ViewLondon

tomato
3/4

Margaret A. McGurk

The movie looks so good that its dazzling appearance hides some shortcomings.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 15 2002 08:12 AM

Cincinnati Enquirer

tomato
3.5/4

Kevin N. Laforest

In the end, maybe The Cell isn't about much, and it could have been deeper and all but as it stands, it's still a must-see.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 10 2002 08:11 AM

Montreal Film Journal

splat
2.5/4

Marty Mapes

The plot is a formulaic ditty where the cop uses a beautiful woman as bait to trap the killer. It has very little to do with surrealism or desert photography.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 21 2002 08:11 AM

Movie Habit

tomato

Betty Jo Tucker

The Cell is not just another serial killer flick. Despite its horrific theme and graphic violence, it’s a stunning work of art.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 02 2002 08:12 AM

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

 
 
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Latest News for The Cell

October 03, 2008: Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 1
Its otherworldly story split critics down the middle, but none can argue with the power of its imagery. Opening in the UK this week, Tarsem's The Fall is one of the year's most... More...

June 14, 2007: Another Superhero Movie! "Thor" is Coming!
He's a Norse god with a giant hammer. Bring on the bad guys! More...

December 01, 2006: The Weekly Ketchup: A Third "Starship Troopers," Jack Black Collaborates With Michel Gondry, Tension Between Fox And Marvel Over "X-Men," And More!
In this week's Ketchup, the campy classic "Starship Troopers" may finally get a proper successor with Casper Van Dien returning for "Starship Troopers 3"... More...

September 25, 2006: Toronto Wrapup: Senh, Jen And Tim's Raves And Rants From The Festival
We saw some great movies, some of them big ("Babel") and some tiny ("The Patterns Trilogy"). We saw some interesting failures ("The Banquet") and... More...

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