Back when music videos became a big deal in the 1980s, some directors tried to leap from that format to movies. This didn’t go too smoothly for the first generation of filmmakers, but for those who created videos in the late 1980s/early 1990s, the transition worked.

Folks like Michael Bay and David Fincher came from music videos and turned into major players in Hollywood. In 1991, Tarsem Singh created a sensation with his video for REM’s “Losing My Religion”, and he got his first shot at a feature via 2000’s The Cell.

Psychologist Catherine Deane (Jennifer Lopez) uses an experimental virtual reality set-up to attempt to reach/treat coma patients. This demonstrates promise but remains an unproven method that shows no concrete results just yet.

Catherine gets a major challenge when serial killer Carl Rudolph Stargher (Vincent D'Onofrio) lapses into a coma. Authorities want to find his final subject (Tara Subkoff), one who may remain alive.

At the urging of FBI Agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn), Catherine uses her skills to literally enter Stargher’s mind. We see how she attempts to navigate this dark environment and help save Stargher’s victim.

Going into The Cell, I thought I’d like it. I find serial killer stories to be fascinating, so I figured this one would be up my alley.

Unfortunately, the movie veers so firmly into “silly” territory that it never becomes more than a goofy flop. It doesn’t help that Cell wears its influences on its sleeve.

Cell ofren feels like a mix of elements from Se7en, Silence of the Lambs and The Matrix. It melds these components together in an uneasy manner that fails to coalesce.

As much as Cell wants us to think it’s daring and novel, in truth it offers a pretty traditional serial killer story jazzed up with trippy visuals and a circa 1994 “virtual reality” gimmick. I still recall how obsessed Hollywood became with the early days of the Internet, as that period produced a mix of movies that seemed dated about 20 seconds after they hit theaters.

Cell probably seemed out of touch with technology in 2000, and it didn’t age well over the last 25 years. The dream sequences feel like they belong in a Nightmare on Elm Street sequel.

Singh does bring his unusual visual style to Cell, and that means it can be interesting in that manner. However, the “nightmare scenes” seem laughable more than scary.

That tends to negatively impact the whole movie. Cell needs to be much darker than it is.

A different cast would help as well. Lopez and Vaughn fare best in lighter fare, and they feel mismatched for Cell.

This becomes more of a problem with Lopez, who seems feeble and insubstantial as our main character. She’s badly out of her element.

Somewhere down deep, there’s a good movie to be made of this material. Unfortunately, The Cell isn’t that movie. It’s a goofy hodgepodge.

The Cell appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Due to the limitations of the source, the image didn’t knock it out of the park, but it usually satisfied.

Overall sharpness seemed acceptable to good, though I saw more softness than anticipated. That reflected the issues with the original prints I mentioned, though, and the majority of the flick provided reasonably positive delineation.

I noticed no issues with jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes remained absent. Grain appeared natural and print flaws failed to become a concern.

In terms of palette, the movie showed a somewhat sandy-orange sensibility, with a fair amount of chilly blues as well. The “dream sequences” expanded matters somewhat, but those tones dominated.

Colors appeared pretty solid. Although I couldn’t claim the hues dazzled, they displayed fairly positive vivacity.

Blacks displayed reasonably strong depth, and shadows offered good visibility. Though never the visual showcase I expected, the image held up acceptably well.

In addition, the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack proved satisfying. With all the trippy material on display, the mix opened up to give us a lot of active, involving audio.

More traditional “cop movie” elements like helicopters and cars moved around the room well, but the dream scenes fared the best. Those managed to use all five speakers in a dynamic way to place us in the action.

Audio quality also satisfied. Speech was distinctive and concise, while music appeared full and rich.

Effects came across as accurate and dynamic, without distortion or other concerns. This became a strong soundtrack.

How did this 2025 Arrow Blu-ray compare to the original BD from 2015? Both came with seemingly identical 5.1 audio.

The image got a nice boost over the drab and dull Blu-ray, however, as it boasted superior delineation, colors and blacks. Even with the picture’s limitations, it still marked a considerable upgrade over the disappointing 2015 BD.

This 2025 Arrow package mixes old and new extras, and we find two separate versions of the film. In addition to the theatrical edition (1:47:19), we get a Director’s Cut (1:49:18).

The longer version adds some shots of Stargher as he pleasures himself along with some additional graphic content. These make the movie a bit darker but they don’t alter the film in a major manner.

Note that while DVD versions of Cell featured the theatrical version, the prior Blu-ray only included the Director’s Cut. This Arrow release marks the first appearance of the theatrical take since the DVD days.

Also note that a glitch impacts the Director’s Cut. At 15:15, we are supposed to see Catherine as she watches TV and falls asleep before we “enter” her dream.

This occurs at 13:49 of the theatrical version, and then at 14:24, we move into her subconscious. However, the DC omits the “real world” scene and shows the zoom into Catherine within her dream twice.

Obviously not a choice made for the alternate cut, this exists as a mistake for the movie’s longer version. Arrow knows of the issue and I suspect they will issue replacement discs. The theatrical presentation retains the “falling asleep” scene, so only the Director’s Cut suffers from the error.

All played alongside the Director’s Cut, we find four separate audio commentaries. In the first, we hear from director Tarsem Singh, as he delivers a running, screen-specific look at sets, locations and design choices, music and audio, editing, cast and performances, story/character areas and related topics.

Given the dark, moody nature of his films, I figured Singh would offer a subdued, sluggish commentary. To my pleasant surprise, Singh displays a witty, bubbly personality and he digs into his movie with relish.

Singh gives us a ton of good insights about his work and doesn’t hesitate to relate criticisms/disappointments. Singh makes this a very good chat.

For the second commentary, we find director of photography Paul Laufer, production designer Tom Foden, makeup supervisor Michele Burke, costume designer April Napier, visual effects supervisor Kevin Haug and composer Howard Shore.

All were recorded separately for this edited compilation that looks at sets/locations and production design, music, photography, costumes and make-up, effects and working with Singh.

Though it sags at times, this usually becomes a pretty solid piece. We get a good view of the technical areas and learn a fair amount about the production, though the track lacks balance. For instance, we hear a ton from Laufer and barely anything from Shore.

Still, the track holds together and gives us useful info about the film. In particular, Haug offers cool insights, such as when he discusses directors who are “dreamers” and those who are “shoppers”.

New to the Arrow release, we get a track with screenwriter Mark Protosevich and Salem Horror Festival founder Kay Lynch. Both sit together for a running, screen-specific view of the script and its slow path to the screen, cast and crew, story/characters/themes, collaborating with Singh, and connected domains.

While the commentary doesn’t offer a lot about nuts and bolts related to the movie’s creation, it gives us a fairly positive examination of different topics. This turns into a reasonably engaging and introspective chat.

Also exclusive to the Arrow set, the final commentary features film scholars Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson. Both sit together for a running take on the career and approach of Singh, genre and artistic influences/connections, reactions to the film and their thoughts about it.

Though we get some good thoughts at times, too much of this track focuses on the animosity Heller-Nicholas and Nelson feel toward critics who didn’t like the movie. They spend so much time in a defensive posture that the discussion becomes tiresome too much of the time.

Expect more - much more – from Singh via Projection of the Mind’s Eye. Created for this release, it offers a circa 2024 interview with the director that runs a whopping one hour, 29 minutes, 39 seconds.

Here Singh looks at aspects of his career and influences as well as notes and anecdotes about Cell. Despite some inevitable repetition with his commentary, Singh remains engaging and lively, so this turns into a good chat.

Note that although we occasionally get some other visuals, the interview mainly shows either Singh or movie clips. If you want to listen to the conversation without watching, you won’t miss much.

Also shot in 2024, Between Two World lasts 43 minutes, 16 seconds. It gives us an interview with director of photography Paul Laufer.

We find info about Laufer’s entrance into the movie business, his early partnership with Singh, and his work on The Cell. This gets a bit technical but Laufer still offers a good mix of notes.

A second disc offers a Blu-ray with additional features. Of particular note, we get an Alternate Version of The Cell (1:47:09).

This rendition differs from the original in that it uses a 1.78:1 ratio instead of 2.40:1. It also comes with different color grading.

Generated from an HD master Laufer created for potential home video but never used back in 2000. It comes from a lower generation version of the film than what the released prints enjoyed.

This makes the alternate Cell significantly better defined than the versions on the 4K disc. Scenes that look a little soft there become tighter here.

The alterations of framing create potential concerns, though the fact the cinematographer created the presentation should allay most of those. The alternate also comes with a few print flaws absent on the 4K disc.

Still, the alternate Cell nonetheless offers a much more attractive rendition of the film. While I suspect the 4K looks about as good as it can given the issues with the source, this alternate delivers a clear upgrade visually.

A featurette called Style As Substance: Reflections on Tarsem runs 11 minutes, 50 seconds and offers notes from Singh, Laufer, Haug, Burke, Napier, digital animator Richard “Dr.” Baily, and actors Jennifer Lopez, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Vince Vaughn.

Basically a discussion of the director’s talents, some of this degenerates into general praise for Singh. Nonetheless, the inclusion of quality footage from the shoot makes it watchable.

Eight Deleted Scenes come next. We see “Trapped in the Cell” (1:00), “Despair in the Cell” (0:39), “Extended Raid” (3:26), “Early Exit” (1:52), “Novak and Ramsey” (1:29). “Stargher’s Room” (3:20), “Extended Confrontation with Carl” (4:14) and “Extended Carl with Victim” (3:32).

These tend to offer fairly minor additions. I don’t think any of them add to the experience in a notable manner.

We can watch the scenes with or without commentary from Singh, as he tells us a little about the sequences as well as why he cut them. Singh delivers some useful notes.

In addition to two trailers, the disc provides six Special Effects Multi-Angle Vignettes. These cover “The Hoist” (9:44), “First Entry” (17:01), “Second Entry” (18:48), “Novak’s Entry” (11:26), “Catherine’s World” (9:57) and “Edward’s World” (1:58).

Those running times are deceptive, as they include various snippets repeatedly. This means we first see interview footage for Haug, Burke and Baily on the left side of the screen while behind the scenes shots appear in the top right and storyboards show up in the bottom right.

After that segment ends, we view the behind the stage material fullscreen and then the storyboards fullscreen; the comments from Haug, Burke and Baily still accompany these segments.

The visual quality of the footage isn’t very good, but the material itself boasts useful information. Haug heavily dominates, and as was the case during the commentary, he proves to be engaging and clear. The “Vignettes” become a good addition to the set.

Note that although “Edward’s World” ran 3:54 on the old BD, it goes almost two minutes shorter here. Because I no longer possess the prior release, I can’t comment on the specific changes.

Another circa 2024 chat, Paul Laufer Illuminates spans 10 minutes, 47 seconds. As expected, we hear more from the director of photography here.

“Illuminates” focuses on this disc’s alternate version of the film. Laufer explains photographic topics and the compromises in the original product that the “new” edition corrects.

Art Is Where You Find It provides a 12-minute, 32-second “visual essay”. New to the Arrow set, it features more from Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.

The film scholar examines art references in The Cell. Expect an illuminating overview.

One more 2024 discussion appears via The Costuming Auteur. It runs 10 minutes, 37 seconds and features film critic Abbey Bender.

“Auteur” gives us a look at the costumes created by Eiko Eshoka and other aspects of her career. Bender covers the work well.

Finally, we get am Image Gallery with 346 stills. Almost all of these simply show shots from the film, as only the final few display movie ads. The shots become less than enthrallingand some behind the scenes photos would’ve added value.

Despite creative visuals, The Cell seems too derivative to take flight. The movie combines elements from superior films and never quite gains a personality of its own. The Blu-ray provides erratic but generally positive visuals with good audio and a terrific set of supplements. I like this kind of movie but The Cell leaves me cold.

To rate this film visit the original review of THE CELL