Parents' Guide to

The Cell

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

A movie with no plot, no logic, no meaning.

Movie R 2000 107 minutes
The Cell Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 17+

Based on 2 parent reviews

A M.
A M. Adult
October 31, 2017
age 18+

Excellent plot! This is not for the faint of heart though...

This movie is a depiction of society if soicety were to discover telepathy by mehcanics. Also if society were to move foward with psychology as a primary tool for remedy in regards to society's flaws. The plot gets mixed up in the demented mind of a serial killer and his haunting past. The appropriation for the disturbing nature of this film is that the movie...takes place inside of a human mind / serial killers mind. We all have thoughts that are distorted, if not every thought. The purpose for this is to unlock a memory of where he put his next victim, and to find the next victim before they die.
Mr. Boxbox
Mr. Boxbox Parent of 14-year-old
February 18, 2010
age 15+
An extremely surreal and disturbing film. I have never seen anything quite like it. It captures the mood and atmosphere of a nightmare so perfectly. If you have not watched it yet, you must. One of my all time favorites. As for content, it is VERY disturbing and creepy overall and has some violent and gory scenes.

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

A serial killer is in some sort of irreversible catatonia, and the police need to find where he has hidden his last victim, who may still be alive. So they turn to Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez), who has developed a means to communicate with comatose patients by entering their dreams. The police decide to allow her to see if she can make any progress with the serial killer.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2):
Kids say: Not yet rated

I think the idea here was to cross The Silence of the Lambs with The Matrix. THE CELL's so-called plot seems to be just an excuse for lots and lots of stunning but often gruesome surreal visual effects that fall somewhere between the hyper-clarity of a nightmare and the claustrophobic grotesquery of a bad acid trip.

The movie is all sensation, no plot, no logic, no meaning, no effort to explore or illuminate. It is filled with juxtapositions that seem more meaningful than they are, creating an illusion of profundity that dissolves before your eyes.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what it would be like to enter someone else's mind and about the differences in the ways individuals think. They may also want to talk about mental illness, its causes and treatments.

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