‘Cell’ is disappointing

METAPHOR is as subtle as a blow to the head in ‘Cell’ (2016). A science fiction horror film based on a Stephen King book of the same name.

Reuniting Samuel L Jackson and John Cusack in a king of horror vehicle not nearly as convincing as ‘1408’ (2007), the film sees technology take a terrifying turn as cell phones render everyone using them a kind of homicidal zombie.

Obvious and absurd, ‘Cell’ doesn’t just disappoint because its core idea is dated but because it comes at a time when the zombie genre is as prolific as, well, cell phones.

Naming its blood thirsty, hive-minded horrors ‘phoners’ rather than zombies, the film does attempt to distance itself from the genre but still manages to feel derivative of so much we have seen since the book was first published in 2006.

Drearily, this coupled with the whole ‘devil’s intercom’ treatment of cellular technology just makes for an eye roll of an affair saddled further with dead average performances from everybody involved.

A waste of Jackson, Cusack and more dollars than seems worth the trouble, ‘Cell’ is low budget horror at its most lacklustre.

See this if you’re into subpar zombie films, plots and production.

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