When a strange signal pulsates through all cell phone networks worldwide, it starts a murderous epidemic of epic proportions when users become bloodthirsty creatures, and a group of people in New England are among the survivors to deal with the ensuing chaos after. Written by

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carlcasso from Ireland
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I remember reading this book and thinking what an amazing Movie it would make. With the right cast and script I knew this could be a winner. I waited for someone to make it and finally they did.

We were getting John Cusack and Samuel L Jackson. How could they not make an amazing movie.

I waited eagerly to view this long anticipated adventure and thought the day would never arrive when I could get the chance to see it.

Then I did.

Firstly it has very little in common with the book I read. the book is very clever and draws you into the story. The movie is not clever and the story is thrown at us.

In The book we care about all the characters. In the movie we don't.

I have to admit I walked out before the end. I just couldn't take anymore.

Why oh why did they not just stick to the books narrative.

I know you have to cut corners but they didn't cut corners, they invented new corners that had nothing to do with the story.

I love Stephen King and have read all of his books but I'm tired of seeing them butchered by Movie makers who just don't understand the story.

Save your money. Don't even bother renting this movie.

Watch TV instead.

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Joshua Kyte from Texas
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First... I did not know anything about this awesome, and I can't say that enough, awesome book becoming a movie. I have had to read this book at least 10 times over the last few years and some of my most favorite life quotes came from this book. So when I saw this as a movie and John as the main role I knew it was going to be amazing. I mean if I could cast the main character myself it would be John.

BUT... Well, if the director had made a movie out of the book, it would have been amazing. If the movie had any of the most notable and required pieces of the plot it would have been amazing. If the director had even read anything to do with the book, even the dust jacket, it would have been amazing. But he didn't, he didn't, he didn't.

SO... The movie sucked. I don't like to use that type of "language" when reviewing anything, but there is no other choices here. Everything about the movie was wrong and I gave it a lot of room, a lot of space to make errors and not flow the same. Because ultimately you want to be surprised by the movie. You ultimately want the director to make it his own just a little bit, put his spin on something and have it shine even more. And I did, I watched the movie to the very end. Checked behind the credits and everything. And now I wish I would have gone on for the rest of my life without knowing this movie existed.

IF... Now one might think by my review that had you not read the book, you might have liked it but sadly that is not true. This is not only the worst adaptation of a book ever, but it is also just poorly put together, scripted, acted, and there is no redeemable quality anywhere.

Such as... The sound effects were horrible, the video tried to be dark and creepy, but it was just bland. There was very little action or scare factor other than some BOO moments from the "zombies type people." If you didn't see something coming from a mile away it is because it made no sense. The ending was a little baffling on how horrible it was. I mean I am actually trying to think of one thing. Just one that I can say and would take this movie from a 1 star to at least a 1.5 star. But I can't. I can't think of a single thing that I can look back on and say that was cool/nice/awesome/not terrible.

Lastly... So I will leave you with this. I am actually praying that I reach you before you watched this movie. I am hoping one of your not nice friends didn't play a prank on you and made you pay for this movie. It is my desire that this review has reached you before you have wasted one single heartbeat within the vicinity of this horrible, horrible film mistake. And I thank you for reading my review and I am sorry to those that I did not reach in time.

Joshua Kyte

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Voyou Nobodysbusiness from Turkey
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This variation of the zombie apocalypse borrows from films like 28 Weeks Later or Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers. That is to say, it relies more on psychological tension than on graphic violence (but still contains some graphic violence.) The first act is pretty good, intense, sharp, adopting a fast pace that dispenses us of the genre's clichés. That won't last as it will turn into standard fare. Finally, in the 3rd act, the writer completely drops the ball and doesn't even bother ending his story properly. He just takes the easiest way out and deserves some boos for it.

Bad storytelling is enough to make a movie bad and a rating low. Here however, I balance it with the impressive beginning and the excellent visuals. Also worth mentioning is Samuel L. Jackson who, for the first time in 20 years, portrays a human being instead of his perpetual annoying caricature.

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singhpoojadec from Boston
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There is nothing that has not be seen before including poor camera work ,irritating sound effects and aimless story telling. I could not go past 40 minutes of this movie and I have seen all earlier Cusack movies. The cell phone triggering some sort of RF wave induced madness is a novice idea and the execution is amateurish as best. What sucks is the fact that it appears as if Cusack was intentionally directed to ham all the way and Jackson was made to overact. A B movies by any standards. A bad attempt at making a modern zombie movie. Better pass on this or wait for the time when a Day is 25.38 hours with margin to just waste on this movie.

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David J Blackie
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When I first read Cell many years ago, I instantly thought it could be transferred to an amazing movie. (And funnily enough, even cast the same actors in my eyes for both Clay and Tom.)

However, the final product for the big screen was such a let down.. Though the scenes they took from the book were fairly accurate, they cut out at least 40% of the content. (Most of which is integral to the story telling and explaining what has actually happened.. The Raggedy Man / Red Hoodie Guy being one major oversight.)

I feel like if you hadn't read the book to begin with, you'll probably find yourself getting lost too easily.. There was a severe lack of pacing simply jumping from scene to scene and some changes which in my opinion were for the worst.

Overall I did still enjoy the movie, has a fairly unique concept and some very disturbing imagery, but had I have not read the book prior I don't think it'd be getting anywhere near 6/10 from me.

SUMMARY: GO READ THE BOOK INSTEAD, AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING READ.

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Ari Mengel from Near by the river
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Even though the movie is not completely accurate to the Book, it's still delivers the same basic message.

And the message is this - Modern "Smart-phone" culture turns people into mindless zombies, who are fed through their mobile-phones with information. This information completely overtakes any personal reasoning abilities and turns people into a hive-minded flock who obey.

This is not a horror movie. It's not really a thriller.

This movie is a philosophical reflection of our modern culture.

There is not a lot of action in this movie.

The movie is quite straight forward. No mystery or anything like that.

Its a bit too long for it's purpose but the actors did fine.

The movie is not a sci-fi either. And it's not really a drama.

I'd recommend people watch this movie since it might give you something to think about. About how people submerge themselves in their cell-phones, facebooks, and general online feed of informational stream that is being transferred into their brain 24\7

It's kind of ironic how this story reflects the already present reality. We already have a bunch of "phoners" on the street.

We are all one of them in one way or another.

So this movie is a reflection of what is, not of what is to come. As I said - this is not sci-fi, not horror, not thriller and not a drama. It's a philosophical reflection of reality

"You may drive a truck through them and they will not even notice"

I give it 7 out of 10 since its way too long for such an obvious message. But i'd say, its one of the few King's screen adaptations that are nicely done. It's not boring to watch at all.

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tin-borgman
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First off, this is NOT a zombie movie. I don't know what the book was like, but the movie is not zombies, it is people who are being manipulated by a cellphone signal to be violent, and nothing but violent. We get a glimpse at the end as to what is really going through their minds while being controlled.

This was an excellent movie but for one thing, it doesn't actually explain why it all happened. So, with a few other clues scattered around, I am pretty sure it is a psychological breakdown of one person. In either case, the ride is fun and with good performances. If you must have all questions answered, and don't like the idea of one person having a breakdown, it will not work for you.

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odwyerlmsg from Ireland
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I have never been so happy to finish a movie. I kept waiting for this to end. Even at 98 minutes, my patience was running out. This was not only the worst movie of 2016 but possibly the worst movie ever made. I hated nearly everything about it. The characters were so unlikeable and the acting was so wooden.

The plot is so unoriginal. It's basically The Walking Dead except The Walking Dead is a character-driven thrill ride whereas Cell is a low budget borefest. It begins with a father at an airport and he is talking to his son on his phone, he puts his phone away and all of a sudden, everyone around him starts foaming at the mouth and turn into zombies. He escapes and meets Tom mccourt, a very annoying and cliché'd character. Together, the both of them form a strong friendship.

I lost interest in this film about 20 minutes in, because i knew exactly how it was going to turn out. I wont give away any spoilers but it's exactly what you think will happen. The script was so predictable. It tries so hard at character development but it ends up cliché'd and annoying. There is no plot twists or any level of shock that would make you care enough to actually be shocked.

I am a fan of Stephen King's work, but i have not read Cell. I would imagine the book is a lot better than the movie. 95% of the time, that is the case with most book to movie adaptations.

Overall, this was a sad attempt at the low budget zombie flick as the special effects were poor and the make up on the "zombies" was pathetic. The ending was okay and it was for this reason i gave it a 3 out of 10. I would not recommend this movie to anyone, even if you are a fan of Stephen king, do not go and see this movie but instead, spend your money on something more worth your time.

3/10

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Azuria-Vita from Germany
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I must say I don't really understand the negative reviews. I've read and loved the book, but I was always aware that the movie was not going to be an exact copy of it. Yes, people who expected it to be will be disappointed, but don't spoil the fun for others who just want to see a good movie - because it is still a good movie in itself. Giving a movie a bad rating just because it didn't meet your personal expectations is kind of stupid. You should always try to see the movie and book separately. Some scenes, when translated to a movie screen, just don't come out the same way. What sounds amazing in a novel doesn't need to look fantastic in theaters. And that's coming from a writer.

Of course, it is a lot harder to make you feel for the characters on a screen than when you read about them in detail. I still felt for the characters. I like that the movie changed a couple of things, but still kept stuff that will remind you of the book (Alice's white dress, the ice cream truck etc....) Some of those book references were used in a different way, but it made me smile. The new ideas were pretty unique and I don't want to spoil the experience. I think the most important parts were still well performed and - last but not least - it was entertaining, interesting, different, suspenseful. 8 Stars - I take two stars away, because some improvements could have been made.

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nixon carmichael from United States
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I am not a purist when it comes to adaptations, and I didn't hate this, at the same time I didn't love it.

It almost would've worked better as a miniseries.

Cell is a quasi zombie story by Stephen King, circa 2005, it's basically the thing Kirkman ripped off while developing The Walking Dead. The novel is a lumbering, melancholy at and times humorous take on the zombie genre and the mass market emergence of mobile communication devices.

The filmmakers do their damnedest at placing it into a modern timeframe, but it's almost too well adapted. While I'm not against changes and remakes, they almost would've been better off just sticking to the material and going all in.

Either way, I don't hate, it's just that the noncommittal to either the source material or the new take left the movie in a sort of state of limbo.

Overall, I'm glad I saw the film, I just wish it was willing to pick a side and just run with it.

cell phone|one word title|based on the works of stephen king|based on novel|

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Certifications:
Argentina:16 / Australia:MA15+ / Chile:14 / Philippines:R-16 / Singapore:NC16 / South Korea:18 / UK:15 / USA:R (certificate #50384)