The Cell (New Line Platinum Series) [Region 1]

Catherine Deane is a psychologist who is working on an experimental technique in which she enters into the subconscious of people who are comotose, she's been trying to help a young boy named Edward to wake out of a coma without much luck. Peter Novak from the FBI is on the case of a serial killer who drowns his victims and turns them into human dolls, when he and his team find the killer Carl Stargher, he is lying unconscious in his kitchen. With Carl being in an irreversible coma, they call on Catherine to enter the mind of the killer and try to find the location of his last victim who is in a glass room slowly filling with water. Catherine now has to explore Carl's twisted, fractured mind to find the location, but with Carl being a schizophrenic psychopath, his mind is a strange, scary and dangerous place to be.Jennifer Lopez probably gives her best performance in The Cell, the only other performance that I quite liked was in Out Of Sight. She will never be a great actress, but when she appears in a strong film with good actors around her then she does okay. Vince Vaughn was pretty good as Peter Novak, it's a shame he's only really known as a comedy star these days because he's a very good serious actor when he wants to be. I think he's great in movies like Dodgeball, Old School and Wedding Crashers, but i'd highly recommend watching some of his films from the late '90s such as A Cool Dry Place, Return To Paradise and Clay Pigeons to see the potential he had before taking the easy, comedic route. Vincent D'Onofrio is superb as the unstable killer Carl Stargher, he's genuinely creepy but has the odd moment where you almost sympathise with his character. The supporting cast is great with many well known faces, Dylan Baker, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Jake Weber, Dean Norris, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Peter Sarsgaard in an uncredited role as the final victims fiance all give excellent performances.It's confidently directed by Tarsem Singh making his very first feature film, he has a visual style that's unique and spectacular. His next film called The Fall was every bit as visually stylish as The Cell, and any shortcomings The Cell may have had, the visuals more than make up for. It's probably the most beautiful horror film i've ever seen, the images, effects, make up and costumes when they're inside Carl's mind were phenominal. A lot of the images are taken from real life peices of art from people like Odd Nerdrum, Damien Hirst and H.R. Giger. The movie definitely benefits from watching it with the sound turned up loud, it has a great creepy soundtrack that is extremely effective in adding to the films overall creepiness.The film had an impressive $33,000,000 budget, i'm sure a lot of that was spent on the visuals. It made an equally impressive $104,000,000 worldwide, but seems to have been forgotten and it's definitely an underrated movie. The dvd looks good but hopefully the fantastic visuals will be improved with a region 2 blu ray release. There's a commentary from director Tarsem Singh, deleted scenes, filmographies, isolated score, behind the scenes and trailers. The Cell is a very good film that fans of psychological horror should enjoy, but the imagery is the real winner and the film's worth buying for that alone.

The rules of polite discourse forbid describing the manner in which the serial killer treats his victims post mortem. I found this very disturbing and had to look away.However....once our Jennifer gets into the mind of the killer - literally! - it becomes a visual feast. Jenny (see, I like her so much I am becoming familiar) is a very deep and empathetic psychotherapist who is treating a child in coma through entering his mind. This happens through a machine that sort of provides a Vulcan mind meld without the pointy ears. The killer (who is not the child - pay attention!) has been apprehended only he is in a coma and they fear another victim is hidden and waiting to die, as he leaves them on a timer, in peril for their lives, awaiting his return to satisfy his eminently depraved tastes. The only way to find out where this woman is is for our Jen to enter his mind and tease it out of his damaged mind and rampant, dreaming unconscious, (This is a rather Freudian film viewer be warned.)Which our valiant heroine does at considerable personal risk as she may not return, for if she is killed in situ then she dies in real life, rather like Neo in The Matrix.At this point all the idiocy of the premise, and the rather cloying emotionalism of resident super-empath Lady J, dissolves.The film becomes a feast of imagination and visual beauty, as it takes place in the unconscious of the killer. Cue 'need for suspension of disbelief'. Achieve this, and the film is well worth your time, even if - as per normal - the killer does what he does because of 'early childhood abuse' which is rather like the punchline in the weekly joke in Criminal Minds '....the killer is a white Caucasian male age 25 - 40.....'.A triumph of form over content, I suppose.

Contrary to magazine, newspaper and TV reviews, and the quotes printed all over the DVD packaging, this is not all about Jenniffer Lopez dressing sexy and pouting.Visionary director Tarsem Singh, who cut his teeth in TV commercials, has put together an absolute masterpiece, in my opinion. It's one of those few multi-genre movies that really hits the mark in all areas; Sci-fi, fantasy, and horriffic thriller are all woven beautifully together, to create a story that is gripping, captivating, and convincing.J-Lo plays the role of Catherine, a psycho-therapist who's job is to literally enter the mind, and fantasy world, of children with serious mental illness, to try and help improve their quality of life.When the FBI, on the hunt for an illusive serial killer, find their suspect in a coma, Catherine is asked to enter the dark, twisted fantasy world in his mind to try to determine where his next victim is being held in captivity.Singh's unique visionary approach to setting, costume and general atmosphere make the story moving and frightening, but equally enticing - obscure and unnerving as some scenes are, they are also sometimes quite stunning, and it really makes it worth putting up with the chill-factor because you just want to see what happens next.This is the only film I have seen that has honestly come close to feeling like a real-life dream/nightmare feels. It's got all the elements of twisted reality that you get from a strange dream, with out being too far-out and ridiculous."The Cell" is not a hugely gory or violent film, like "Saw" or "Hostel"....it's intelligent, and uses psychological trickery to keep you right on the edge of your seat. It would appeal both to people who like a good, suspenseful thriller, as well as anyone interested in dark, artistic fantasy as seen in films such as "Pan's Labrynth".Careful use of CGI is combined with quality direction, a solid storyline and script, and is brilliantly executed by it's leading cast. Don't dismiss it just because it's J-Lo - you'd be really missing out...