The cell

Year of release : 2000

Run time : 1h47m

Genre : Sci Fi / Horror / Psychological Thriller

Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaugh, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jake Weber

Catherine is a child psychologist, who is using innovative and experimental treatment using virtual reality, to enter the mind of coma patients. She has been working for a year and a half to wake up a child, by entering his mind. His parents ,especially the father, wants to put him in a hospital as he thinks it's been enough time with no improvement. Catherine's bosses manage to give her 6 more months. Catherine wants to reverse the feed, to bring the patient into her mind, instead of her entering his mind, in order to be able to control the environment, as in the patient's head is unknown territory.

Carl Rudolph Stargher just k1lled his latest victim, by filling a glass tank or a cell, if you will, with water with the help of an automatic timer. He bleached her entire body, suspended himself over her body,watching her trapped in his "cell", and then left the body on the road in a plastic bag, prepped to look like a doll with a collar around her neck.

The lead FBI agent on the case, Peter Novak, thinks the k1ller wants to be caught as they found an albino dog hair on the victim, and he only waits for 6 days (!) to get his next victim!

Stargher has an attack while having a bath, and enters a coma.

The FBI find him through the albino dog hair. The doctor who is treating him tells him the patient is not only comatose, he is gone, and this could last forever. He suggests the virtual reality treatment Catherine is doing, as Novak knows Stargher already kidnapped another woman, whom he keeps trapped in his cell for 40 hours.

Catherine accepts to do it. She enters Stargher's mind, and makes contact with his child version, the innocent side of him, and she connects with him. He was abused and beaten by his father as a child.

The older version of Stargher sees himself as a king over his mind kingdom, as he knows he is asleep, and knows exactly what's in his head, as he asks Catherine where does she come from, when he sees her! Catherine freaks out, and logs out!

When she enters his mind again, trying to talk to his innocent version she gives him a mirror to shine when he wants to talk to her, and he shows her what his father put him through. She then sees his first k1ll, and the older version of himself traps her in his mind, making her believe what's happening to her is real, by symbolically putting a collar on her neck, meaning she is his (the way he does to his victims which he turns into dolls).

Peter goes into Stargher's mind to rescue Catherine, as she is chained to his bed. Stargher finds him, and tortures him. He makes Catherine snap out of it, as he tells her a story about her little brother.

The innocent version of Stargher shows them where the victim is, and Peter takes Catherine out, as the older version of Stargher makes an appearance again.

Peter gets his team as they look for the insignia he saw carved on the cell in Stargher's mind, as he knows he saw it in his basement, where he was prepping his victims.

Catherine locks her colleagues out, and reverses the process, bringing Stargher into her mind, as she feels compassion towards the innocent version of him.

I personally enjoyed the movie, it's one of my favorites from the 2000's. The way it was shot, it's so beautiful. The mind world is so vivid,so full of color although so twisted ! I loved how it was shot, how the frame adjusts, the slow motion, the costumes! Stargher really is a king over a twisted kingdom, like Catherine said. The scenes which take place in his mind are very dark and disturbing, and when they are over, it feels like finally coming out of a cave,into the warmth of sunlight.

The movie also has heart, as Catherine sympathises with Stargher's inner child. SPOILERS Stargher's inner child asks her to "save" him by k1lling him, thing she doesn't want to do. At the end she keeps his dog. Novak also goes after Cathrine in the dream world to pull her out.

The soundtrack was epic, a masterpiece! It blends with the visuals amazingly!

The visual effects were great.

Apparently the dream sequences were inspired by music videos, like Madonna's "Bedtime Story" and REM "Losing my religion", and some of Marilyn Manson. Ironically, watching the scene in which Catherine enters Stargher's mind for the first time, I was thinking it looks like a Marilyn Manson video (the scene with the victims looking like creepy dolls at a peep show or something)!

The acting was good, Vincent D'Onofrio was the best. The one who to me didn't give 100% was Jennifer Lopez. Pruitt Taylor Vince (he played in Constantine, Identity), who to me is an amazing actor, just like D'Onofrio, makes an appearance as Stargher's doctor.

Peter Sarsgaard makes a short appearance as the latest kidnap victim's brother.

The movie received mixed reviews, and grossed 104.1 million dollars at the box office, against a budget of 33 million.

Cinema Score audiences rated the movie a C+!

The movie received many award nominations (including an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup), winning some.

The movie had many filming locations including Spain, and Deadvlei in Namibia!

You can watch the full movie, here, for free :

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9m0p6m

Rating : Worth a watch !