Cell (film)

Cell
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tod Williams
Produced by
Screenplay by
Based on Cell
by Stephen King
Starring
Music by Marcelo Zarvos
Cinematography Michael Simmonds
Edited by Jacob Craycroft
Production
company
  • Benaroya Pictures[1]
  • International Film Trust
  • 120dB Films
  • Cargo Entertainment
  • The Genre Company[1]
  • Don Nafia
Distributed by Saban Films (US)[1]
Signature Entertainment (UK) [2]
Release date
  • June 10, 2016 (2016-06-10)
Running time
 98 minutes[2]
Country United States
Language English
Box office $735,841[3]

Cell is a 2016 American science fiction horror film based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The film is directed by Tod Williams, produced by John Cusack, with a screenplay by King and Adam Alleca. The film stars John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, and Isabelle Fuhrman. The film was released on June 10, 2016 to video on demand, prior to a limited release scheduled for July 8, 2016.[4] Cell is the second film adaptation of a King story to co-star Cusack and Jackson, after 1408 (2007).

The film was panned by critics upon its release; most criticized the film's acting and plot.

Plot

Clayton "Clay" Riddell (Cusack) is a disillusioned artist, whom a year earlier abandoned his wife, Sharon (Sarullo) and son, Johnny (Casto), in hopes of living his dream at publishing a graphic novel. At Boston International Airport, Riddell is attempting to board a flight in hopes of reconciling with his family. His cell phone battery dies and he's forced to use a pay phone to reconnect with Sharon. Suddenly an electronic signal is broadcast across mobile networks worldwide, cell phone users are instantly and dangerously re-programmed into rabid killers. Riddell manages to escape the chaos in the terminal, and is rescued by a group of survivors in a subway car. The train's driver Thomas "Tom" McCourt (Jackson) suggests abandoning the train and travelling through the tunnels, due to the power outage. Riddell agrees and, joined by a third man, attempts to escape the airport.

Near the tunnel's exit, their companion is stabbed to death by an infected man, later dubbed as "Phoners" and the two escape to the street above. Riddell leads Tom to his apartment to hide out and consider their options. That night the two are joined by Alice Maxwell (Fuhrman), a teenage neighbor of Riddell's who is in a blood soaked dress and confesses that she killed her mother in self-defense. The two take her in and decide to escape Boston.

Heading north through New England to find Sharon and Johnny, Riddell and the other two avoid the "Phoners" who have collectively ceased all violence to those infected, attacking only normal people. After acquiring weapons from a house, they encounter a single boy who is revealed to be a phoner. He is shot and killed, but a nearby flock chases the three to a nearby river. Hiding from the infected, they observe the flock (at sundown) emit mysterious signals from their mouth and then walk off as a group.

Eventually the three arrive at a private school with only two survivors remaining; Charles Ardai (Keach), the former headmaster, and a scholarship student, Jordan (Teague). Discussing the turn of events, Ardai posits that the "phoners" have developed a hive mind and are telepathic. He believes a war between the survivors of the "pulse" and the now-changed "phoners" is inevitable and suggests a first strike. He reveals to the others that a flock of hundreds of infected are now resting in the school's athletic field, some of whom are emitting signals from their mouth as they sleep. Ardai has a plan to use the stadium's gas pumps and a truck to douse the group and burn them. The others agree to help with the plan.

The plan goes fine, with Riddell and Tom driving over the unaware "phoners" who are then set ablaze by Ardai. A number of the phoners attempt to flee the flames, but are shot dead by the others. Unfortunately a line of fire back to the truck causes it to explode, killing Ardai in the process. The group (now joined by Jordan) resume their pilgrimage north. Taking shelter in an abandoned drive-in theater, the four all dream about a raggedy looking man in a red hoodie (Mikel).

Days later they notice a cryptic sign "Nashwak = No-fo" and encounter a group of survivors in a roadside bar. It is revealed that Nashwak is a state park in Maine, and the group tell Riddell and the others that there is no cell service out there. The bar survivors indicate a plan to travel there, and Riddell's group agree to accompany them. They spend the night relaxing and partying within the bar. Later the next morning Sally (Dyer) is awoken and then infected by a group outside, who can now transmit the pulse through their mouths. The group is attacked Tom and Jordan. Tom is attacked by an infected being. Alice saves him by shooting it dead twice. She is then bludgeoned in the head by Sally's bat. Tom fatally shoots Sally. The group takes Alice outside to a tree to rest where she succumbs to her head wound.

Moving on, the group next encounter Ray Huizenga (Reynolds) and Denise (Burns). They reveal that Nashwak is in fact a trap set by Raggedy Man. Ray confides in Riddell that he has planted explosives in his truck, and wants Riddell to go to Nashwak to detonate it. Ray kills himself to stop Raggedy from reading his mind. The group make it to Sharon's house and find that Sharon has already turned into a "Phoner". Riddell finds a note by Johnny on the refrigerator stating that he is in Nashwak park. Riddell orders the others to continue north while he drives alone to Nashwak, intent on locating Johnny. At the park Riddell finds thousands of "phoners" running in a giant circle around a massive communications tower with Raggedy waiting in the center. Riddell kills him, then begins to hear his son calling to him amongst the flock of people. Riddell fails to locate him and as he resolves to go through with the plan, Johnny appears before him. His son attempts to infect Riddell with the signal, but he triggers a bomb blowing up the tower, killing himself as well as the others.

It is then revealed that the explosion was an illusion. Riddell, in fact, has been infected by the pulse and is running in the circle around the tower. Raggedy is also alive and well.[5][6]

Cast

Production

The film is based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Stephen King. Dimension Films announced that in March 2006 that Eli Roth would direct the project after finishing Hostel 2.[7] Roth exited the project in 2009, saying:

There was just sort of a difference in opinion on how to make the film and what the story should be, and there's a different direction the studio wants to go with it. It was very friendly because it's the Weinsteins, they made Inglourious Basterds and we're all friends. I said, 'I'm not really interested in doing the film this way. You guys go ahead and I'm going to make my own films.' I've also learned that I really am only interested in directing original stories that I write, that's another thing I learned through that whole process.[8]

Following Roth's departure, ScreenRant.com noted that the film "faded into the background"[9] however on 2013 Tod Williams was announced as the director which brought the film back on track.[9] King stated that because fans did not like the ending of the book, he had changed it for the film.[10]

John Cusack was the first actor announced to have joined the film in October 2012.[11] Samuel L. Jackson was cast as Tom McCourt in November 2013.[12] Isabelle Fuhrman was announced as Alice on February 5, 2014.[13] The next day, Stacy Keach was cast in an unnamed role of a headmaster.[14]

Filming took place in January 2014 over 25 days in Atlanta, Georgia.[15]

Release

In February 2015, the producers of the film announced that Clarius Entertainment had acquired distribution rights.[16] The company, now called Aviron Pictures, later dropped the film.[17] Saban Films later acquired distribution rights to the film.[18] It was to receive its world premiere at FrightFest as part of the Glasgow Film Festival but was replaced at the last minute by Pandemic.[19] The film was released on June 10, 2016, to video on demand, prior to opening in a limited release on July 8, 2016.[1]

Reception

Cell was panned by critics.[20] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 10% based on 48 reviews and an average score of 3.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Shoddily crafted and devoid of suspense, Cell squanders a capable cast and Stephen King's once-prescient source material on a bland rehash of zombie cliches."[21] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 38 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[22] Bob Grimm of CV Independent wrote that the movie "is easily one of the worst adaptations ever of a King story."[23] Arts BHAM's Corey Craft called the film "dull", "a trial to get through" and gave it 1​1⁄2 stars out of 5.[24] Nico Lang of Consequence of Sound wrote that Cell wasted an intriguing premise and called the film "unnecessarily glum and grim," as well as "pretty dumb."[25] Patrick Cooper of Bloody Disgusting called it a "forgettable adaptation" and further stated that "the story packs absolutely no punch and the solid stable of actors look bored for most of the film."[26]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Evry, Max (April 26, 2016). "Cell Trailer and Poster: John Cusack & Samuel L. Jackson & Zombies". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline Media. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "CELL (15)". British Board of Film Classification. November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Cell (2016)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  4. ↑ Miska, Brad (April 26, 2016). "The 'CELL' Trailer Rings in a Zombie-esque Apocalypse!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  5. ↑ Hall, Jacob (April 26, 2016). "John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson Battle the Talking Dead". /Film. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  6. ↑ Freligh, Tai (July 5, 2016). "Movie Review – Cell (2016)". Flickering Myth. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  7. ↑ Fleming, Michael (March 7, 2006). "Dimension hits speed dial". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  8. ↑ Douglas, Edward. "Eli Roth Not Involved with Hostel III". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline Media. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  9. 1 2 Vieira, Anthony. "Stephen King 'Zombie' Film 'Cell' To Be Directed by 'Paranormal Activity 2' Helmer". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  10. ↑ Brunton, Richard (November 13, 2009). "Stephen King wrote Cell screenplay". Filmstalker. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  11. ↑ Kay, Jeremy (October 31, 2012). "John Cusack to star in Cargo's Stephen King adaptation Cell". Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  12. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (November 4, 2013). "AFM: Samuel L. Jackson Joins Cast of 'Cell'". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  13. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 5, 2014). "Isabelle Fuhrman Joins Stephen King's 'The Cell'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  14. ↑ McNary, Dave (February 6, 2014). "Berlin: Isabelle Fuhrman, Stacy Keach Join Stephen King Adaptation 'Cell'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  15. ↑ Fletcher, Rosie (February 18, 2016). "Cell is set to give a signal boost to a new kind of zombie movie". GamesRadar+. Future Publishing. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  16. ↑ Logan, Elizabeth (February 5, 2015). "Clarius Entertainment Acquires 'Cell,' Starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson". IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Stephen King's Cell No Longer Has US Distribution". Box Office Flops. December 10, 2015. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Cell (2016)". Film Ratings. Classification & Ratings Administration. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  19. ↑ Unsworth, Martin (January 22, 2016). "PANDEMIC Added to Film4 FrightFest Glasgow". Starburst. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  20. ↑ Calvario, Liz (June 14, 2014). "'Cell' Review Roundup: Critics Agree That The Stephen King Adaptation Is Unimpressive". IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Cell (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Cell Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  23. ↑ Grimm, Bob (June 14, 2014). "'Cell' Wastes Stephen King's Plot While Illustrating the Decline of John Cusack's Career". Coachella Valley Independent. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  24. ↑ Craft, Corey (June 11, 2014). "FILM REVIEW: 'Cell'". artsBHAM. Archived from the original on June 13, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  25. ↑ Lang, Nico (June 13, 2014). "A Stephen King adaptation that starts promising and devolves into nonsense". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  26. ↑ Cooper, Patrick (June 13, 2014). "Stephen King's 'Cell' Is Another Forgettable Adaptation". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
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