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Parents' Guide to

Cell

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Lifeless zombie horror based on Stephen King novel.

Movie R 2016 98 minutes
Cell Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Pasticca
Pasticca Adult
September 21, 2022
age 14+

Not Really Entertaining

Okay, the entire premise is ridiculous. Plus, if they are mindless and so violent, why would they flock together? The ending is ambiguous. There was no clear plot: overall, rather disappointed.
L.elkins
L.elkins Adult
July 9, 2018
age 15+

Just my opinion

My overall opinion was that this is a really great movie. Very interesting and something sort of different. Kinda sorta like zombies but not really.
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In CELL, graphic novel artist Clay Riddell (John Cusack) arrives at the airport in Boston, having just landed a book deal. He calls his estranged wife and son and decides he wants to see them. Unexpectedly, a strange signal starts emitting from all cell phones, turning their users into ravenous zombies. Clay manages to escape with subway train driver Tom (Samuel L. Jackson) and finds a distraught neighbor in his building, Alice (Isabelle Fuhrman). The trio hits the road for Maine in hopes of finding Clay's family still alive. Along the way, they discover that the zombies (or "phoners") are exhibiting strange behavior, flocking together and somehow signaling each other, which makes the journey far more dangerous than expected.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (5 ):

This aggravating, confusing zombie thriller now has the dishonor of being arguably the worst movie ever made based on a Stephen King novel. Others have nominated Maximum Overdrive, Graveyard Shift, and The Mangler for that "honor," but those three movies are at least ridiculous and fun; Cell reaches a new low, feeling somehow displaced from anything resembling humanity. In trying to send a message about people spending too much time on their technological devices, the movie itself winds up feeling impersonal and awkward.

Interestingly, stars Cusack and Jackson previously appeared together in a superior King adaptation, 1408 (2007), but they don't build on any kind of shared chemistry here; they almost seem like they're in separate movies. King himself co-wrote the screenplay, and Tod Williams directs with a shaky-cam technique that's both lifeless and annoying. It's as if the movie were made by cell-phone zombies rather than actual people who've experienced social interaction.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Cell's violence. How does it make you feel? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • Is the movie scary? What's the difference between scary and gory? What's the appeal of horror movies?

  • What does the movie have to say about cell phones and other technology and the way we interact with them?

  • If you've read the book Cell is based on, how does it compare? How does it compare to other movies based on Stephen King books?

  • According to the headmaster character, a world of zombies would be better in some ways. Do you agree?

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