Jennifer Lopez in "The Cell."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film a: Stars: Jennifer Lopez and Vince Vaughn Director: Tarsem Singh Rated: R, with extreme gore and nudity Length: 110 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(August 18, 2000) -- Jennifer Lopez stars as a psychologist who takes a dark journey into the mind of a serial killer in The Cell, a surreal but insubstantial -- and very gory -- gothic thriller.

First-time director Tarsem Singh is clearly following in the murky wake of Silence of the Lambs and Seven with this tale of a demented sadist named Carl who drowns beautiful young women, bleaches them chalky white and turns them into dolls for his amusement.

If that's not enough, this sick puppy also has a dozen metal rings sewn into his body, by which he hangs himself on chains from the ceiling, nearly tearing the flesh from his body.

Determined FBI agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn) finally catches up with Carl (Vincent D'Onofrio), but only after the killer has lapsed into a coma.

Novak somehow knows Carl's most recent victim is alive and in a booby-trapped cell, and he desperately needs to find her. Clearly the comatose Carl can't help locate her.

But then Novak discovers experiments being conducted (conveniently nearby) in which psychologist Catherine Deane (Lopez) links neurons with a patient and enters into his psyche. Novak enlists the nervous but courageous Catherine to make the mind trip.

Once there, she discovers a surreal world of elaborate Salvador Dali landscapes, ruled by a demonic warrior king (Carl in heavy makeup and Wagnerian wardrobe). She also encounters the younger version of Carl, a sweetly sad little boy who is abused by his father.

The hope is that amid the dark, fantasy-world images, Catherine will discover a clue about the whereabouts of Carl's latest victim.

It all becomes terrifying for Catherine, especially when she becomes confused about what's real and what's fantasy. (We'll call it The Matrix dilemma.)

Running parallel to her nightmarish mind trip is a standard chase-the-killer police saga. It admittedly generates enough excitement and suspense to hold your attention.

Singh certainly has an eye for visual design and intriguing imagery, reflecting his previous experience with commercials and music videos. But he's less skillful as a storyteller.

He sketches his central characters thinly, and he ends the film on a slightly confusing note.

The talented D'Onofrio allows us to see Carl as both a monster and a tragic victim, but Vaughn and especially Lopez are flat and ineffectual as the heroes of the piece.