Mar 8, 2012
The Cell had every reason to suck in my mind before I even entered the theater. Jennifer Lopez (Antz, Out of Sight, U Turn) as a psychotherapist? Come on, who is going to believe that? Well much to my surprise, Lopez actually pulls it off. Luckily, her character doesn’t have to say or do anything that would give you the chance to question the character’s authenticity. Fortunately she had no real chances to blow it; of course she didn’t really shine either. What did shine was the complete originality of the things that appear up on the screen while Lopez’s character, Catharine Deane, wanders through Carl StargherÃs (Vincent D’Onofrio: The Thirteenth Floor, The Newton Boys, Strange Days) mind. To avoid spoiling the shock, surprise, and awe for you I’ll avoid describing them, but they are pure genius or maybe insanity. The use of colors, textures, and shadow really bring this crazy man’s subconscious to life. All this though, still would not have made a great movie. What brings all this together and messes with your mind and even stabs fear deep in to your heart is the character and performance by Vincent D’Onofrio; most would remember him from his brilliant role as Private Golmer Pyle in Full Metal Jacket. His portrayal of pure insane evil shines on screen and really makes all the special effects and scary scenery feel very real. I can’t say enough about his character. He barely says a word, but all his pain, suffering, and hate are all painted on the screen effortlessly. The primary cast for the film is adequately rounded out by Vince Vaughn (Psycho, Clay Pigeons, Return to Paradise) as Detective Peter Novak, who also puts in a pretty good performance.
The down side to The Cell, which prevents me from handing over a five star rating, is the lack of strong story. As much as I enjoyed the spooky mind traveling, the serial killer side of the film felt like cheap borrowing from Silence of the Lambs. This may be a little unfair, since I’ll probably compare every serial killer movie to this film, but I couldn’t help the feeling. This part of the story didn’t offer anything new; it even had the cliche love interest tension going on between the main heroes. Thankfully, this movie really isn’t about the serial killer plot, it simply serves as a launching pad for the mind travel horror story that we all want to see.