Synopsis Film The Cell 2000 tells of an FBI agent who is handling a criminal case of a psychopath named Carl Rudolph Strager.

The Cell is a 2000 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Tarsem Singh in his directorial debut, and starring Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, and Vincent D’Onofrio. The film follows scientists as they use experimental technology to enter the mind of a comatose serial killer in order to locate where he has hidden his latest kidnap victim.

The film received mixed reviews upon its release, with critics praising the visuals, direction, make-up, costumes and D’Onofrio’s performance, while criticizing the plot, an emphasis on style rather than substance, and masochistic creation. Despite the critical reception, the film was a box office success, grossing over $104 million against a $33 million budget, and it earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Makeup.

THE CELL film tells about a psychopathic killer named Carl Rudolph Strager. Many victims have fallen because of the heinous acts carried out by Carl over and over again. Where in the act of killing, Carl first kidnaps the victim he is after. After successfully kidnapping the victim, Strager will also store the victim in a mysterious room.

Where the victim who is tied to a chair will also find himself in a room full of glass. If the victim screams for help, all he can hear is his own voice. Then in forty hours the empty space will slowly be filled with water. When the water filled the room, it was certain that the victim would also be found dead drowned.

Synopsis Film The Cell (2000)

This is what made the FBI so aggressive in being able to catch Strager who was considered a psychopathic killer who was very dangerous. Until then the FBI received news about the disappearance of a woman. Accusations soon surfaced that the woman was a victim of Strager again.

Novak (Vince Vaughn) and his friends at the FBI are having a hard time dealing with the murder case of Carl Rudolph Stargher (Vincent D’Onofrio). This serial killer has a unique motive, kidnapping and then locking his victims in an unknown place for 40 hours. In a mirrored room, the victim couldn’t go anywhere but could only scream without anyone hearing. How Stargher kills is even more terrifying, every time the giant aquarium-like room will be filled with water. Until finally filled with water and drowned the victim to death. Stragher was found at his house unconscious, after previously members of the police and SWAT surrounded his house and broke into his residence. The situation was further complicated when it was discovered later that Stargher was suffering from a rare form of acute schizophrenia. This severe mental illness causes Stargher to be “stuck” in his own world. This has an impact on making it more difficult for the killer to be questioned about the case, exacerbated by the situation where other victims are waiting to die out there. The limited time, which is less than 40 hours, makes Agent Novak hunt for time to be able to save the victim who is believed to be still alive.

Luckily there is a technology that makes it possible to “see” the contents of Stargher’s head who is in a coma, Agent Novak and his team immediately take him to Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez). Deane is a child psychologist who owns a device that connects him to the minds of comatose patients. A virtual technology that allows Deane to enter other people’s “worlds”. Finally Novak and Deane agreed, this method would be applied to Stargher to find out where the location of the victim who was currently being held captive. Through a series of procedures and preparations, Deane finally enters the world of the killer. In this extraordinary magical world, Deane sees two sides of Stargher’s psychology. One side shows a soul full of innocence, which is represented through the figure of a small child. The other side is a monster that represents an evil soul and thirst to kill. Deane can see Stargher’s past, when he was little he was always abused by his biological father. Deane is lucky to be able to “run” from the evil side of Stargher who is depicted as a “freak” man complete with strange attributes. Feeling he could, Deane tried once again to be able to meet little Stargher and ask about the victims being held captive. Will Deane be able to persuade Stargher to open his mouth and “save the day”? Or will Stargher’s evil side stop him?

“The Cell” not only takes us to an unknown world full of weirdness, but also introduces us to Tarsem Singh’s character for the first time in this debut film. The director who later made “The Fall” invites us to enter the realm of his imagination, which is extraordinarily courageous in expression and creative in executing forms of beauty that blend with the film. Even with a basic plot that isn’t too special, Singh can in fact package the story to be so interesting. The director, whose full name is Tarsem Dhandwar Singh, carefully and brilliantly brings a thriller-wrapped crime drama to a new dimension. A serial killer story packaged differently with the addition of a surreal package that is surprising, horrifying, and beautiful at the same time. Singh does not offer phenomenal twists, but that is enough when we are offered something more extraordinary. The surreal visualizations of his creations have become a guarantee in itself that later our minds will also be twisted.

Because it’s still not even forty hours so the FBI still believes that the victim is still alive. In the end the FBI was able to catch Strager who was in his residence. But the problem is that Strager was found in a coma. Until the FBI did not ask the whereabouts of the missing woman. Moreover, the FBI then found out that Strager suffered from schizophrenia which was so unique. Where Strager until now lives in a world of his own creation.

To be able to solve this problem, the FBI asked Catherine Deane for help. Catherine is a psychologist who has a tool to get into someone’s mind. Because he had no other alternative, in the end, Catherine Dean had to enter Strager’s mind. Where he had to look for the place where Strager had hidden his last victim before forty hours had passed.

arna if it’s too late then it has been confirmed that the victim will also be found in a lifeless state. When Catherine is in Stranger’s mind, various terrible things actually reside in that mind and Catherine must be able to deal with it.

Cast and Crew Details for The Cell (2000)

• Director: Tarsem Singh
• Screenwriter : Mark Protosevich
• Movie Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Colton James, Dylan Baker, Marianne Jean-Baptiste
• Genre : Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
• Time : 107 min
• Broadcast Date: 18 August 2000 (USA)
• Country : Germany, USA
• English