The Cell

2000

The Cell

Critics Consensus

The Cell offers disturbing, stunning eye candy, but its visual pleasures are no match for a confused storyline that undermines the movie's inventive aesthetic.

45%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 163

57%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 180,792
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Movie Info

Within the confines of an abandoned rural farmhouse, Carl Stargher, a psychologically disturbed killer has built The Cell, a glass-encased chamber where he drowns his innocent female victims before continuing a sadistic post-mortem ritual with their bodies. As the FBI finally closes in on the killer, he is rendered comatose by a violent seizure and is ultimately apprehended into their custody, but not before leaving his latest victim alive in The Cell with only forty hours to live. Unfortunately, only Stargher knows where she is. Enter Catherine Deane. Deane, a child therapist, is part of an advanced neurological study at the Campbell Center, a research division of a large pharmaceutical company, where she's been using her empathetic abilities along with breakthrough technology to enter into the mind of a catatonic young boy to help bring him back to his loving parents. While FBI agents Peter Novak and his partner Gordon Ramsey follow clues to uncover the missing girl's whereabouts, the FBI enlist Catherine to use her "gift" to embark on an uncharted and perilous journey through Stargher's demented mind.

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Cast

Jennifer Lopez
as Catherine Deane
Vince Vaughn
as Peter Novak
Vincent D'Onofrio
as Carl Stargher
Marianne Jean-Baptiste
as Dr. Miriam Kent
Jake Weber
as Gordon Ramsey
Dylan Baker
as Henry West
James Gammon
as Teddy Lee
Patrick Bauchau
as Lucien Baines
Tara Subkoff
as Julia Hickson
Jake Thomas
as Young Carl Stargher
Dean Norris
as Cole
Catherine Sutherland
as Anne Marie Vicksey
Musetta Vander
as Ella Baines
Gerry Becker
as Dr. Cooperman
Colton James
as Edward Baines
Lauri Johnson
as Mrs. Hickson
Kamar de los Reyes
as Officer Alexander
Christopher Janney
as Swat Team Member
Nicholas Cascone
as FBI Technician
Joe La Piana
as FBI K-9 Agent
Pruitt Taylor Vince
as Dr. Reid
Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls
as Stargher's Victim
Jennifer Dawn Day
as Stargher's Victim
Alanna Vicente
as Stargher's Victim
Aja Echols
as Stargher's Victim
Vanessa Branch
as Stargher's Victim
Elena Maddalo
as Stargher's Victim
Gareth Williams
as Stargher's Father
Glenda Chism
as Woman in Tub
Monica Creel
as Mother
Joy Creel Liefeld
as Mother
Leanna Creel
as Mother
Alan Purwin
as Helicopter Pilot
Tim
as Valentine
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Critic Reviews for The Cell

All Critics (163) | Top Critics (44)

View All Critic Reviews (163)

Audience Reviews for The Cell

  • Oct 22, 2018
    The screenplay is utter nonsense, but Tarsem's imagery is always compelling.
    Alec B Super Reviewer
  • Jun 22, 2016
    Jennifer Lopez plays a social worker that, with the help of experimental technology, can enter someone's mind. She is hired to get into the mind of a comatose serial killer to find where he left his latest kidnap victim. Sounds like a cool premise, huh? Well, JBlow does her best to help run this one into the ground. The concept is interesting but the script is just confusing and odd. The effects are pretty good but only help to dumbfound the audience.
    Patrick W Super Reviewer
  • Apr 17, 2015
    I can't... I can't call The Cell good... But it's artistically spectacular, features one of D'Onofrio's best roles ever, and though it has unoriginal concepts, it uses them in originally thematic ways. I can't call The Cell good... But I can tell you to watch it.
    Gimly M Super Reviewer
  • Aug 12, 2013
    It is certainly a gorgeous film to look at but the plot is weakened by the fact that Jennifer Lopez is seriously miscast and not at all convincing as a psychiatrist well suited for her job, especially given how the character's motivations are so unprofessional and confusing in the last act.
    Carlos M Super Reviewer
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