The Cell (2000)

Directed by Tarsem Singh, "The Cell" is a serial killer/science fiction thriller with a fascinating twist -- the action takes place inside the disturbed mind of the killer.

Jennifer Lopez ("Out of Sight") stars as Catherine Deane, a young psychiatrist working with an experimental technology that allows a doctor to "enter" the mind of a comatized patient to help awaken him. Meanwhile, the seriously ill and depraved Carl Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio) is murdering women before turning their bodies into doll-like figurines. Just as two FBI agents (Vince Vaughn and Jake Weber) close in for an arrest, Stargher suffers a seizure and lapses into a coma. The problem: The latest victim is alive -- for now -- and only Stargher knows her whereabouts. Enter Deane and her sci-fi technology.

The film takes off in wild directions once we sink into Carl's baked noodle, where the killer is alternately an androgynous god and an animal-like beast. And a FUBAR little boy. The art direction, costumes and makeup seem sent straight from hell, and I mean that as a compliment: Dozens of scenes are horrific, dreamy and stick with you, especially a horse sliced to living pieces and a scary muscle-bound hermaphrodite. Umm, you gotta see that. Can't explain it.

But the film is saddled by a miscast Vaughn. He's a good comedic actor, but he has no dramatic depth or authority. Frankly, he's embarrassing. To all police. Some dopey dialogue doesn't help Vaughn's cause. It's a huge fault in a film that could have been a cult hit. D'Onofrio commands the screen as a psycho off his mental leash, while Lopez sparks with a keen intelligence and curiosity. B-