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Cell, The

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 32 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 14 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller
Written by: Mark Protosevich
Directed by: Tarsem Singh
Release Date:
Theatrical: August 18, 2000
DVD: December 19, 2000
Running Time: 107 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for bizarre violence and sexual images, nudity and language
Starring Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, and Vincent D'Onofrio
A child therapist enters the mind of a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim.
Also On Metacritic
FILM: The Fall
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
Something of an unforgettable experience.
Rolling Stone 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.
Boston Globe Jay Carr
Many of the film's images will prove more than some viewers can take.
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Has its effectively nasty, chilling moments -- and it also brings body piercing to new heights of ickiness.
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
The Cell is eye candy - but it could give your brain a bad case of indigestion.
Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
Impresses more than it entertains.
Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
Repetitive, aimless, and as frustrating as you'd imagine any two-hour music video to be.
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
The costumes are phenomenal, the set design ravishing and the sadistic inventiveness extraordinary.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The Cell is foremost about singular imagery, a succession of still pictures strung together frame by frame.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Visually impressive but exceedingly unpleasant little nail-biter.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The action is as grisly as it is surrealistic.
Read Full Review >TNT RoughCut J. Rentilly
A must-see movie, simply for its awe-inspiring production values, but you'll feel nothing but punished by Tarsem's ghoulish parade of images.
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Generic variation on the overworked serial-killer genre.
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
A high-tech freak show, a gallery of grotesqueries that are fascinating and repellent.
The New York Times A.O. Scott
Mr. Singh may have an artist's temperament, and he shows signs of being a director
Read Full Review >Film.com Ernest Hardy
What makes The Cell worth viewing at all is the carefully sculpted imagery.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
Riveting in its low way. It traffics in imagery profoundly disturbing.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
There's so little action or suspense that this Cell isn't too likely to multiply itself into a sequel.
Variety Emanuel Levy
A slender story that's not particularly suspenseful or involving, resulting in a movie that's a feast to the eye but not much for the intellect.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Manohla Dargis
Jennifer Lopez's butt? Alas, the moment is over all too soon; the movie, sadly, is not.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
It's a pleasure to watch, but I found myself wondering if having a story here even mattered to the director at all.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris
It's mesmerizing nonetheless for its flagrant disregard for narrative, character, pacing, performance and good lighting.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Almost no plot here and even less character--just a lot of pretexts for S-M imagery, Catholic decor, gobs of gore, and the usual designer schizophrenia.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
If The Cell were six minutes long it would blow your mind. At two hours, it's a disordered muddle of hellacious highs and pedestrian lows.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky
Disappointing only because its best moments are transcendent; its worst moments, sadly, are just so ordinary.
Read Full Review >Slate David Edelstein
Serves up some of the most gruesomely misogynistic imagery in years, then ends with a bid for understanding. Are its makers so deluded that they think they're making the world a more compassionate place?
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Some movies make you sorry you've seen them, and The Cell is one of those. Creepy and horrific, it's a torture chamber film.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.7 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
marshall m. gave it a10:
Wonderfully bizarre! masterpeice! the best psychological thriller since "silence of the lambs"!
Ben gave it a 9:
I love it! I've seen it three times, and J. Lo is so preety!
Uter gave it a 6:
It's really cool at times, but at others, it's boring or stupid. The dream sequences are nicely done for the most part. Except for 1 where Jen Lopez falling is obviously some stuntMAN with a bad wig on - really bad. I had the dvd but decided to sell it because I had no desire to watch again.
Alex gave it a 10:
Yes this movie is really disturbing and it takes a strong mind(and stomach) to handle the imagery.
Desutch Andre gave it a 7:
I totally agree with Anonymous.
[Anonymous] gave it a 10:
Für mich ist "The Cell" ein sehr eindrucks stker Film. Es kann sein das manche Leute dies nich erkennen , dies liegt aber daran das sie vermutlich nicht mit der tiefe und mit vollem ewustsin den Film angeschaut haben . Vielleicht ist er auch für manche zu "unblutig" das muss aber ein Horrorfilm gar nicht sein. Es kommt darauf an was der Film einem sagen möchte. Hat sich schon einmal jemand gefragt warum man ihr Gesicht beim herrunterstürtzen nicht sieht?
Sundy Y. gave it a 9:
I was quite impressed with the movie. I even couldn't stopping thinking about it when I was lying on my bed that night. It's really amazing!!!!
