The cell is not a film for those people with a faint heart. It swings from detective story to mad, surreal horror like some stone bonkers line dancer. Still, it was a box office number one in the US so maybe that’s what people want.

Vincent D’Onofrio plays a serial killer, who murders his victims by dumping them in a huge fish tank. Just as you have guessed he is a bit wacko jacko (and the worrying thing is D’Onofrio seems to be having a ball playing the character!). After hiding away his latest victim, he selfishly slips into a coma before the good old FBI can figure out where he has hidden her, just a side bar, why is it always a female victim in these films? Is it because the police wouldn’t be so bothered about finding a guy?

Anyway, this is where the gorgeous Jennifer Lopez comes in, she is psychologist Catherine Deane, who works at a lab where they have discovered a way to enter the subconscious mind. Deane is forced to mind meld with the killer and that’s when the film goes a bit weird.

It is also where the film goes a bit dull, sure the subconscious psyche of the killer is painted on the screen in all it’s horrifying and stunning glory. But you can’t help wondering how much better the film would have been with a bit more substance. As a weird and wonderful visual experience the film gets a ten out of ten, but that is not always enough. As it is, the film left me with the feeling of it looked good but ultimately unfulfilling.

If you like your films stunning to look at and don’t mind a lack of coherent plot then this will be right up your alley, if not…

5/10 (including one extra star for Lopez, who is truly stunning)

The Cast

Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Weber

Directed by Tarsem Singh