Cell (2016)

I honestly didn't see this coming. I actually picked up the book about six years ago because I remember thinking it absolutely needed a movie adaptation. I stumbled upon it quite by accident back in the summer of 2010 while I was hunting for some solid beach reading before heading out on vacation. I spotted it at a local Barnes & Noble; the cover caught my eye immediately—it featured bloody hands gripping an iPhone with the title "Cell." Since it had Stephen King's name right above the title, I knew instantly it was the right choice for me. After finishing it, I found myself feeling pretty conflicted. On one hand, it was a total page-turner with a fast-paced plot that kept me hooked. The premise itself isn't groundbreaking or anything spectacular. However, the ending left me wanting more. It wasn't terrible, per se, but it felt rushed, almost as if the author was racing against a deadline to get the manuscript to the publisher. When time ran out, he just decided to wrap things up in a few quick pages. Even though we're likely looking at another mediocre zombie apocalypse flick, I’m still genuinely excited to see the adaptation hit the big screen.

lonehound2 said:

Another Stephen King novel is heading to the big screen. This one is "Cell," an apocalyptic horror story triggered by cell phones. It all starts on a typical day in America when everyone who answers their cell phone receives a "pulse"—a sudden electrical surge straight to the brain. This pulse turns users into mindless, bloodthirsty monsters. The survivors, those lucky enough to have been away from their devices, have to band together to find a way to survive. The film features heavy hitters Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack. Keaton Rydell (played by John Cusack) is an artist from Maine getting ready to celebrate landing a deal with a new publishing house. But on his way there, a mysterious signal hits the global network, turning phone users into killers. Shaken by the chaos, Keaton begins searching for other survivors, eventually crossing paths with Tom McCourt (Samuel L. Jackson), who seems to have some answers. Filming kicked off back in January.

🤦

What is this?

Is this an US discussion board or what?

There’s actually already a movie based on this concept called Kingsman: The Secret Service.
They basically cooked up a mobile app that drives people absolutely insane, causing them to just start killing everything in sight.

The trailer just dropped:



Isabelle Fuhrman 😍

I don't get why everyone is slamming the trailer with dislikes. It looks pretty decent to me; we'll just have to wait and see how the actual movie turns out.

A zombie movie, minus the actual zombies. 😁

I don't usually post on this sub, but man, an iPhone really can change how people act.
Hands down the worst movie I've ever sat through in a theater. It was a total disaster across the board
—from the script and characters to the directing and some seriously pathetic camera work and CGI.
You might give it a chance for the first ten minutes, but then you start thinking
about just walking out of the theater. Honestly, I ended up just laughing at every single damn scene involving someone on their phone
and waiting for the credits to roll just to see if anything actually happened... But nope, nothing.
I don't know... I honestly have no idea who decided to throw their money at this project...

I couldn't stop staring at John Cusack's face... what on earth did they do to him??!
Honestly, the whole movie gives me major Body Snatchers vibes—lots of screaming and chaos there too.
That final scene where the lead is just sprinting in circles around that tower? Hard to watch. That frozen expression was brutal.🤣Like a hamster in a wheel.

I read the book earlier this year and really thought it would make a great movie. But then John Cusack mentioned they cut both him and Stephen King out of the production, so... I don't know. I guess they think they're happy with how it turned out now. 🤷

And when exactly was one of King's adaptations actually any good? He’s got a handful of solid ones, but most of the rest are just mediocre, like that Cell movie.

This is easily the worst movie I’ve ever sat through... from the cinematography to the script...

Seriously, don't even think about wasting your time on this garbage. I actually felt like walking up to the customer service desk at Target to demand a refund plus damages for the emotional trauma.

The movie was a total flop, but honestly? The book is way better.

Unfortunately, I have to agree! Most of King's adaptations tend to be quite ungrateful to the source material, and this one falls right into that category of mediocre attempts—even if the acting is absolutely top-tier! What a shame!

I honestly found this pretty hilarious... It’s giving me total Sharknado or Two-Headed Shark vibes.
The beginning is actually decent—almost funny because of how ridiculous it is—but once they start walking around, it gets incredibly repetitive. You're basically just counting down the minutes until it ends... but hey, what can you do? Sometimes you just need a little trashy fun in your life. Even a steak gets old if you eat it every single day. ☕

For such a low-budget production—I tried digging around for the official numbers online, but they did a pretty good job of keeping them under wraps—it actually turned out to be a surprisingly decent take on the collapse of civilization triggered by a cell phone signal.
The initial panic, which from the protagonist's point of view happens at an airport here (whereas in the novel, he's just chilling in a park when the mass hysteria kicks off), was captured with a really solid sense of chaos that unfolds in just a few minutes.
From there, the plot follows a somewhat predictable path, though there are these sudden flashes of brilliance—like that Trololo song moment—and I actually really liked the ending (just a heads-up for the book lovers out there: King himself wrote an ending that’s different from what we see on screen).
Don't listen to those trolls who bash the movie with claims like "this is the worst King adaptation ever"—honestly, those losers clearly haven't even sat through 10% of his actual adaptations.
Personally, I'm just glad this movie somehow made its way into our local theaters, because it hasn't been happening much elsewhere—which, if you ask me, points to a real issue with several production houses and major US distributors.

Let's be honest: the movie was a dud, and even the book wasn't anything to write home about.
There isn't a shred of tension in either version. Between the lack of intrigue and the predictable plot, I can only describe it as mediocre and uninspired. If you're a die-hard fan of zombie outbreaks and apocalyptic scenarios, you might find something to enjoy here. As for why the President decided to write this particular book? I can only assume he received his first smartphone and decided to take a single decent idea and stretch it way too far.