Cell

There are many great horror authors out there, who have written some really good novels over the years. Depending on what kind of horror novels you enjoy, you will most likely find an author who tell a story in their own unique way. One of the most famous, and still very popular horror authors, is of course Stephen King. His classic novels are still read by millions of people, in all ages. I have some of his books, and i have to say that he knows how to tell stories. No matter if it is supernatural, black magic, psychological, he have explored many different areas where the horror genre fits in perfectly. I will say that i have not read all of his books, just a few, so i have a lot of reading to do if i want to be updated on his latest work. One of the novels i still love, is his novel called It. Some of you may have seen the classic film adaptation, made in 1990 with Tim Curry. It is one of those classics that worked really well, considering it it based on a Stephen King novel. Of course we have plenty of films that worked out really well, made from his books. Carrie, The Shining, Salem´s Lot, Cujo, Pet Sematary, Misery, The Green Mile, the list goes on and on. Oh i almost forgot Creepshow, where Stephen King wrote the screenplay for the movie. He also had a role in one of the short stories, as a hillbilly boy. Now here is something that some of you may not remember. Stephen King actually directed and wrote a horror film called Maximum Overdrive, released in 1986. This film is nowhere near as good as his books, or the film adaptations based on his books, it is just a funny silly 80´s horror film with awful dialogue and bad acting. As years passed by, Stephen King novels got more film adaptations, and we finally hit the jackpot with a really good release called The Mist. This film looked great, had great acting, and from what i understand, this film managed to get some of the details from the book correctly. In more recent years we have had some smaller films, based on Stephen King books, and stories. One of them is called Bag Of Bones, but i have not seen it, simply because people told me not to. During summertime this year, i read that a new film, called Cell was coming out. It is supposed to be based on the book by Stephen King. When i read the cast, i noticed that Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack is back together. They actually did really well with their performances in the horror film 1408. This film was based on a short story of Stephen King, and i love how director Mikael Håfström managed to make this film so frightening. So with 2 big lead roles, and another film based on the work of Stephen King, do we have another winner this time around, or is this going down by a knockout, into the drain ?

Clayton Riddell ( John Cusack ) is at the airport, waiting for his flight. Suddenly an electric signal is broadcast across mobile networks. People who are on their cellphones, suddenly begin to go completely insane, turning into some kid of rabid killers. Clayton manage to escape down to the subway. He meets Thomas McCourt ( Samuel L. Jackson ) inside the subway train. They make the decision to escape, and find a way out. No one knows why this have happened, or where this started. In an attempt to find answers, Clayton and Thomas go on foot, picking up other survivors, on their way through a nightmare. Where did this electric signal come from ? Is there a reason to why humans are being controlled ?

There are so many horror films coming out, inspired by zombie outbreaks, or they borrow influences from classic films. Cell is in some way a typical zombie film, but still looks different. How many times have you seen people turning into zombies, from a cellphone? To be honest, the idea looks pretty silly at first. Then i got to understand more of why this is happening, and it makes a little bit more sense. Eventually, you try and understand the plot, but realise that it is not really interesting. The main reason why you watch the film Cell, is to see Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack. Without them in the cast, i doubt we would have watched the whole film. You can tell that most of the other actors are not on the same professional level as these two are. The biggest problem for me with this film, is that it does not really make any sense. Ok, you can understand what the film is trying to say, but the final result is not done correctly. If you want to make a different type of zombie film, you better make sure it works with the plot. One positive surprise is to see legendary actor Stacy Keach show up in the film. Who can forget his classic 80´s thriller Road Games with Jamie Lee Curtis ? Even if his character is not very strong, he still gives a performance better than most actors in here. Too bad he is only in the film for a short time. Cell tries to be some kind of apocalyptic survivor horror movie, with a touch of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. Once you get into the film, you realise that director Tod Williams have problems getting it all together. If he only have worked harder, fixing details in the plot, and executed the combination of science fiction and horror, we might have had a different film. As it stands now, you are most likely to forget that you saw this film, and that is not a good sign. Knowing that this film is based on a story from Stephen King, you have to wonder why director Tod Williams did not put more effort into production. If you are doing a story from such a legendary author, make sure to please the fans. Cell is not the worst film i have seen based on a story by Stephen King, i can tell you that Dreamcatcher from 2003 is even more awful. Still, with such a cast and a messy plot, there is much left undone here. Good to see Samuel and John though, they should return again, hopefully in a better film.

Rating: DD