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The Cell
A psychotherapist journeys inside a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim.
2000 · Directed by Tarsem Singh · 107 min · Horror · Science Fiction · Thriller · Screenplay in the scene database · 31 frames
Tagline
Enter the mind of a killer.
Plot
Child psychologist Catherine Deane 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, a young boy left comatose by a viral infection that causes an unusual form of schizophrenia. Baines's progress has been hampered by a bogeyman-like alter ego whom Deane avoids. 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 consequences of his experiencing an unfamiliar world.
Serial killer Carl Rudolph Stargher traps his victims in a cell-like 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. After learning of this experimental technology, Agent Peter Novak 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 versions of his victims. Stargher's innocent side manifests as Young Stargher and leads Deane through his memories of abuse he suffered at the hands of his sadistic father. Deane nurtures Young Stargher in hopes of obtaining 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 forgets 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.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Written by: Mark Protosevich
- Cinematography: Paul Laufer
- Edited by: Robert Duffy, Paul Rubell
- Music: Howard Shore
- Production design: Tom Foden
- Produced by: Julio Caro, Eric McLeod
Cast
- Jennifer Lopez as Catherine Deane
- Vince Vaughn as Peter Novak
- Vincent D'Onofrio as Carl Rudolph Stargher
- Catherine Sutherland as Anne Marie Vicksey
- James Gammon as Teddy Lee
- Colton James as Edward Baines
- Dylan Baker as Henry West
- Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Dr. Miriam Kent
- Gerry Becker as Dr. Barry Cooperman
- Musetta Vander as Ella Baines
Production
- Country: United States of America, Germany
- Language: English
- Studios: Caro-McLeod, Katira Productions, New Line Cinema, Avery Pix
- Budget: $33,000,000
- Box office: $104,155,843
- Themes: california, schizophrenia, drowning, virtual reality, therapist, psychopath, fbi, investigation, horse, gore
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