“The only thing that’s better than torturing a woman’s body, is tormenting a woman’s mind.” The Cell 2 releases on Blu-Ray June 16th.
In the time-honored tradition of sequels created by people who had nothing to do with the original, The Cell 2 explores the mind of the Cusp, a serial killer that gets off on last words. For the sake of fans of The Cell and Tarsem Singh’s beautiful original vision, I have decided to review The Cell 2 as an independent release that has nothing to do with the original.
Cult followers of the original movie need not apply. Please open your mind to the well known fact that every individual’s psyche is different, and that is the only way that one is able to accept the bland industrial look of the Cusp’s inner world. The Cell had revealed to viewers the inner most thoughts, feelings and desires of it’s killer with a tour through his entire being, including a shy tormented inner-child, and the memorable spliced horse with real working heart. Please, do not go into viewing The Cell 2 with any expectations of the first film.
With the exception of the opening sequence, which is spliced from the original with a ghastly voice-over that explains within about five seconds the premise of the first, The Cell 2 has no reference to it’s forbearer. Go into this movie believing that it is it’s own being, an individual film sentient that takes place in a world much like our own, with a medium who can read into the past, but not the future or present. Gone is the color. Gone is the beauty. Gone is the feeling of insanity. Maya is able to explore the killer’s memories, but not the current state of the mind, with the exception of what the killer allows her to see.
Maya does not have any memories of her own before her near death experiences with the Cusp. The Cusp is a serial killer who focuses on and collects last words. He kills his victims in ways that he is able to bring them back to life within a matter of moments, so that he can get a whole new set of last words then kill them again, and again, and again. Maya was his first victim, one he had dumped for dead. She was not dead, but had such a weak heartbeat that he had thought he killed her. Since then, he has resorted to tearing out the hearts of his more recent victims, always after the seventh death, just to be sure. Thanks to Maya’s near death experiences, endorphins in her brain were aroused and activated a part of her that within most people lies dormant. With the assistance of an item that the individual was close to, Maya is able to enter a “Way Station” space of their memories. The memories are glowing windows with the images playing on them, that she can pick up then wander around in. If she’s wearing a head device thingy it makes here experience real, but she could die there if she is not careful.
One of the most entertaining characters in the film is the Coroner, who is like the comic relief. Briefly. This guy is super set on writing a book if and when they are able to catch the Cusp. He really has his heart set on an Oprah interview. It would have been ideal if they had put a shot of him in the credits doing an interview. Speaking of the credits, they are extended by rotating scenes of mountains around the Salt Lake City (SLC) area, and include a couple of stunt splices towards the end.
The Cell 2 Blu-Ray has one bonus feature: The Cell 2: Behind the Scenes. Most of the interviewees in the Behind the Scenes have one topic in common: The low budget and super short shooting schedule. The entire movie was shot in 18 days in SLC, with what appeared to be about the same budget as an episode of Days of Our Lives. Ok, maybe two episodes with a wedding scene, but I might be pushing it there. All in all the entire team was under a lot of pressure to get a really good idea off the ground without any time or money to do it in. The entire “sequel” felt more like the writers had a script they were pushing around that had been it’s own entity. Then the glory happened when someone at New Line Cinema compared apples and elephants and made the small connection that someone has the ability to walk around in the mind of a serial killer. This whole movie and script would have done better as “SAW 23: And Then…” as the look and feel of the film coincides better with that genre.
BTW… there are boobs about ten minuets into the flick.
ComicsOnline gives The Cell 2 a 1 out of 5 kills (then resurrected to kill again… and again… and again)… but gives The Cusp a 2 out of 5 for being a low budget straight to DVD thriller flick shot in 18 days in SLC.
