Cell (2016)

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 can I even say? I am genuinely looking forward to 🙂
I’ve already sat through every single movie based on books by King, so this one is definitely on my list...

Cusack is back at it again 🤣

I find myself quite captivated by those films where characters are initially presented as perfectly normal, even beautiful, human beings, only to have some external catalyst—be it a smartphone, a stray meteorite, an annoying neighbor, or even just a random group of civilians from the Middle East—suddenly strip away every ounce of their humanity and transform them into mindless, bloodthirsty monsters🍿

I’m a huge fan of zombie flicks—especially the ones where the gore is flying everywhere!😬

Sounds absolutely killer 😁

I mean, obviously I'm gonna check it out once it hits the screen, especially since it's based on that King book. I actually really dig how they're using mobile phones to trigger all that chaos—it's such a clever way to modernize the whole concept, don't you think?

Grace Edwards said:Cusack is back at it again 🤣

Exactly—that’s the third time I’ve run into it in the same spot where I watched it. 😂

It sounds intriguing enough; I'll definitely give it a look once it drops—I mean, when it comes to King, you don't really pass up an opportunity. 🙏

And Isabelle Fuhrman—the "little" terror from Orphan—I honestly didn't even recognize her at first glance. 😍

Man, I am seriously hyped for this. 👋 I mean, it’s got King attached, so you already know it’s gonna be a must-watch. 👍

The concept is brilliant, but I have to admit, I’m feeling skeptical. My King has let me down before.

All I see when I look at that image above is a textbook example of fake political correctness—as if they need to check off every single box for diversity just to make it look like some United Colors of Benetton ad 😁 featuring those two kids... it just feels sort of meh to me.

I still haven't forgiven Stephen King for begging Rowling to keep Potter alive; honestly, he can go jump in a lake.

Regardless, I'll give it a look. I do like the idea itself.

swiftsurfer27 said:The concept is brilliant, but I have to admit, I’m feeling skeptical. My King has let me down before.

All I see when I look at that image above is a textbook example of fake political correctness—as if they need to check off every single box for diversity just to make it look like some United Colors of Benetton ad 😁 featuring those two kids... it just feels sort of meh to me.

I still haven't forgiven Stephen King for begging Rowling to keep Potter alive; honestly, he can go jump in a lake.

Regardless, I'll give it a look. I do like the idea itself.

Exactly. ☕

Stephen King and John Cusack. Like a fever dream.😉

Honestly, this is one of those weaker entries in King's bibliography, so I’m feeling pretty skeptical about how the movie is going to turn out.

Ugh, here we go again... John Cusack and Jackson teaming up for yet another King adaptation. 😁

To be honest though, the book didn't exactly blow my mind. It felt like your typical zombie slog without any of that signature King magic, so I'm really not expecting much from this movie either...

Isn't this like the third or fourth horror movie featuring some creepy signal or cell phone glitch?

The cell phone is being blamed while the writer takes center stage, though I have to wonder... haven't they exhausted this particular narrative trope by now? 🤦

What a fantastic story! 👍 I am seriously pumped about this adaptation. You’re going to be surprised—well, at least I know I will be. This is going to be incredible. I noticed the cast includes people from 1408, and let me tell you, the 1408 movie was a rock-solid King adaptation. A really great film.

Andrew Roberts3 said:Ugh, here we go again... John Cusack and Jackson teaming up for yet another King adaptation. 😁

To be honest though, the book didn't exactly blow my mind. It felt like your typical zombie slog without any of that signature King magic, so I'm really not expecting much from this movie either...

Actually, this might turn out okay. I wasn't a fan of 1408. Too repetitive. But the cell phone as a book is surprisingly fast-paced for King—not enough descriptions, which might actually make this adaptation work.

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.

I don't know about you guys, but this whole thing just smells like total garbage to me. 🤣
The world’s going to hell in a handbasket because of smartphones. Honestly, what kind of dystopian mess is Hollywood going to cough up next?

We've seen this basic setup played out countless times before, usually involving some sort of zombie apocalypse where the remnants of humanity are forced to bridge their differences just to stay alive while they scramble to uncover what actually triggered the collapse. It remains to be seen whether this story will actually bring something fresh to the table, or if it’s just going to lean heavily on those same tired, predictable tropes we've grown so accustomed to.

According to Wikipedia, the movie is set to hit theaters on February 26, 2016.