RATING: ****1/2
Cast:
Catherine Deane: Jennifer Lopez
Novak: Vincent Vaugh
Ramsey: Jake Webster
Carl Stargher: Vincent D'Onofrio
Director: Tarsem
The Cell was one of the bright spots for the year 2000 in terms of movies. Of all of the movies that I saw (which was very few in number) I'd have to say The Cell was by far the best. Why? Well, because its a psychological masterpiece in terms of fear and terror. After all, Catherine I believe must be a very brave woman to go into the mind of a (dare I say) psychopath like Carl. You have to admire that. The acting in this movie is very well done. I will go so far as to say that Jennifer Lopez should give up her singing career and do what she's actually good at: acting.
The Plotline: Like all movies that I like, this synopsis could ramble on, but I'll keep it short. Catherine Martin is a social worker who specializes in a certain type of therapy: she goes into a person's dreams and attempts to help them get better. At the beginning, she is working on a schizophrenic patient named Edward who has gone into a catatonic trance and can't wake up. She is trying to bring him out of this state, and overcome his fear of "Moki-Lok" (or the boogeyman). However, she is running out of time - the experimental program is mere months away from being shut down unless something big happens.
However, something big does happen. That is Carl Stargher. Carl is a serial killer who tracks down beautiful women, ambush them, and take them to a special tank, where he slowly tortures them until they drown. This tanks is self-operated, and if someone is placed inside, then they will eventually drown.
Carl has captured a young woman and trapped her in there, and he waits for her to die. However, something happens to Carl. He has a schizoid embolism and he goes into a coma. No one knows where the imprisoned girl is and only Carl knows. So how can they reach him and find her? Catherine, that's who. She is assigned to go into his mind and find out where the girl is hidden. Along the way, she finds more than she bargained for however, and only with the help of Agent Novak does she succeed. I will end this synopsis here, but be aware that there is a lot more to the plot than this.
I've never actually heard of Tarsem before, but he has crafted a fine movie here. The visual effects are disturbing to say the least, but so would the dreams of a schizophrenic patient. This whole movie has incredibly disturbing imagery throughout, and I will confess, some of this weirdness is what drew me to this movie. I also loved the acting - I thought it was superb; any movie that I can watch and forget that the actors exist outside of the movie is good to me. This movie scared me a little bit too, but it wasn't as scary as I've been told it was.
What else can I really say? The special effects as well as disturbing, are also wonderfully done, same with the audio effects of being in a dream. The storyline has some problems, like why doesn't Novak die at one point, because he obviously believes what he feels is real (I won't say anymore - you'll have to watch it yourself). Other than that, this movie has the power and drawing power of a great movie, because it has the elements to make itself good.
The problem? Well, it seems an awful lot like another great horror/thriller movie than it really should: The Silence of the Lambs. The water tank... hmm... doesn't that sound like a pit into which it places the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again (sorry for the quote, but it fits). Or how bout Carl? He's so messed up, just like Buffalo Bill. As well, many of the scenes with the detectives are very very similar to Sotl events. The ending too is very much like Sotl; at the end of both movies, a main character keeps the dog and they both arrive just in time to save the helpless victim. As well, both serial killers use similar tricks in order to trap their victims. However, unfortunately for The Cell Sotl was a much more original movie, and much scarier. To this day, I can't look at the gaze of Hannibal Lector without being unnerved.
This is not to say that I don't like The Cell because I do - it is a really good movie! However, there are some things that ensure that it can't receive top marks from me. Sorry to all you Cell fans out there. K.R