Taglines: His Mind Is Her Prison.
The Cell movie storyline. Catharine Deane is a psychotherapist who is part of a revolutionary new treatment which allows her mind to literally enter the mind of her patients. Her experience in this method takes an unexpected turn when an FBI agent comes to ask for a desperate favour. They had just tracked down a notorious serial killer, Carl Stargher, whose MO is to abduct women one at a time and place them in a secret area where they are kept for about 40 hours until they are slowly drowned.
Unfortunately, the killer has fallen into an irreversible coma which means he cannot confess where he has taken his latest victim before she dies. Now, Catherine Deane must race against time to explore the twisted mind of the killer to get the information she needs, but Stargher’s damaged personality poses dangers that threaten to overwhelm her.
The Cell is a 2000 American science fiction horror film directed by Tarsem Singh in his directorial debut, and starring Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, and Vincent D’Onofrio. It received mixed reviews upon its release, with critics praising its visuals, direction, make-up, costumes and D’Onofrio’s performance, while criticizing its Silence of the Lambs-inspired plot, an emphasis on style rather than substance, and masochistic imagery.
About the Production
Some of the scenes in The Cell are inspired by works of art. A scene in which a horse is split into sections by falling glass panels was inspired by the works of British artist Damien Hirst. The film also includes scenes based on the work of other late 20th century artists, including Odd Nerdrum, H. R. Giger and the Brothers Quay. Tarsem—who began his career directing music videos such as En Vogue’s “Hold On” and R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion”—drew upon such imagery for Stargher’s dream sequences. In particular, he was influenced by videos directed by Mark Romanek, such as “Closer” and “The Perfect Drug” by Nine Inch Nails, “Bedtime Story” by Madonna,[2] and the many videos that Floria Sigismondi directed for Marilyn Manson. During a scene, Jennifer Lopez falls asleep watching a film; the film is Fantastic Planet.
In the scene where Catherine talks with Carl while he is “cleaning” his first victim, the scenery resembles the music video “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M.. The scene where Peter Novak first enters the mind of Carl Stargher, and is confronted by three women with open mouths to the sky is based on the painting Dawn by Norwegian painter Odd Nerdrum. The scene when Catherine Deane is chasing Carl through a stone hallway, right before she enters the room with the horse, is based on a painting by H. R. Giger called “Schacht”.
A psychiatrist entering the dreams of an insane patient in order to take control of the dreams and so to cure the patient’s mind (this being a very risky attempt, because the insanity may prevail during such “neuro-participatory therapy”) was described in the novella He Who Shapes (1965) by Roger Zelazny, but the film Dreamscape (1984), subsequently developed from Zelazny’s basic idea, had a completely different plot.
About the Story
Child psychologist Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez) is hired to conduct an experimental virtual reality treatment for coma patients: a “Neurological Cartography and Synaptic Transfer System” device managed by doctors Henry West and Miriam Kent that allows her to enter a comatose mind and attempt to coax them into consciousness.
The technology is funded by the parents of her patient, Edward Baines (Colton James), a young boy left comatose by a latent viral infection that causes an unusual form of schizophrenia. Despite Deane’s lack of progress, West and Kent reject Deane’s suggestion to reverse the feed to bring Baines into her mind, fearing the unknown consequences of him experiencing an unfamiliar world.
Serial killer Carl Rudolph Stargher (Vincent D’Onofrio) traps his victims in a cell in the form of a glass enclosure that slowly fills with water by means of an automatic timer, then uses a hoist in his basement to suspend himself above their bodies while watching the recorded video of their deaths. He succumbs to the same schizophrenic illness and falls into a coma just as the FBI identifies him, leaving them without any leads as to the location of his latest victim, Julia Hickson (Tara Subkoff). After learning of this experimental technology, Agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn) persuades Deane to enter Stargher’s mind and discover Hickson’s location.
Deane enters the dark dreamscape of Stargher’s twisted psyche, filled with doll-like replicas of his victims. Stargher’s innocent side manifests as Young Stargher (Jake Thomas) and leads Deane through his memories of abuse he suffered at the hands of his sadistic father. Deane nurtures Young Stargher in hopes of getting Hickson’s location but she is thwarted by another manifestation: King Stargher, a demonic idealization of his murderous side that dominates the dreamscape.
King Stargher torments Deane until she is mentally at his mercy, making her forget the world is not real. Dr. West discovers this while monitoring Deane’s vitals. He warns that what happens to Deane while she is integrated into Stargher’s mindscape will inflict neurological damage on her real body. Novak volunteers to enter Stargher’s mind to make Deane remember herself.
The Cell (2000)
Directed by: Tarsem Singh
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D’Onofrio, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Jake Weber, Dylan Baker, Musetta Vander, Catherine Sutherland, Tara Subkoff, Lauri Johnson
Screenplay by: Mark Protosevich
Production Design by: Tom Foden
Cinematography by: Paul Laufer
Film Editing by: Robert Duffy, Paul Rubell
Costume Design by: Eiko Ishioka, April Napier
Set Decoration by: Tessa Posnansky
Art Direction by: Geoff Hubbard, Michael Manson
Music by: Howard Shore
MPAA Rating: R for bizarre violence and sexual images, nudity and language.
Distributed by: New Line Cinema
Release Date: August 18, 2000
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