A child psychologist (Jennifer Lopez) is developing a new form of therapy on one of her comatose patients whereby she enters the subject's subconscious. When a serial killer (Vincent D'Onofrio) is incapacitated during his arrest, leaving of his victims in a timed water chamber of unknown whereabouts, an FBI investigator (Vince Vaughn) persuades the psychologist to use her technique to enter the diabolical realms of the killer's psyche. "The Cell" is the debut feature film from Tarsem Singh, who is known for his astounding visuals in music videos, "The Fall", and even the unheralded "Immortals". In "The Cell", Singh offers us a vivid and surreal dream world on top of a pretty intriguing serial killer picture. Jennifer Lopez is surprisingly magnetic in the lead role and I like Vince Vaughn's work as the jaded federal agent. Vincent D'Onofrio turns in another creepy performance, the likes of which he has come to be known by. The film does seem to wrap up too quickly and arrives at its conclusion with too much ease though. While watching "The Cell", I couldn't help but think of "Inception" and while that movie has garnered endless amounts of praise, it seems to me that this film handles a similar subject with more tact, plausibility, and character development, thus creating a dream world of people we actually know and care about, and set against a darkly beautiful backdrop.
