The Cell is a 2000 science fiction psychological horror film directed by Tarsem Singh in his directorial debut, and starring Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, and Vincent D'Onofrio.

The film follows a team of scientists as they use experimental technology to help a social worker enter the mind of a comatose serial killer in order to locate where he has hidden his latest kidnap victim.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Jake Weber, Dylan Baker, Tara Subkoff, and Pruitt Taylor Vince appear in supporting roles.

Screenwriter Mark Protosevich began developing the film in the mid-1990s, and sold the screenplay to New Line Cinema in 1998, at which point Singh became attached as director.

Child psychologist Catherine Deane is hired to conduct an experimental virtual reality treatment for coma patients: a "Neurological Cartography and Synaptic Transfer System" device managed by doctors Henry West and Miriam Kent that allows her to enter a comatose mind and attempt to coax them into consciousness.

The technology is funded by the parents of her patient, Edward Baines, a young boy left comatose by a viral infection that causes an unusual form of schizophrenia.

Serial killer Carl Rudolph Stargher traps his victims in a cell-like glass enclosure that slowly fills with water by means of an automatic timer, then uses a hoist in his basement to suspend himself above their bodies while watching the recorded video of their deaths.

He succumbs to the same schizophrenic illness and falls into a coma just as the FBI identifies him, leaving them without any leads as to the location of his latest victim, Julia Hickson.

After learning of this experimental technology, Agent Peter Novak persuades Deane to enter Stargher's mind and discover Hickson's location.

Novak reminds Deane of a painful memory of her younger brother who died after a six-month coma due to a car accident during her college years to reawaken her awareness that she is in Stargher's mind.

Novak's team discovers that after the hoist's previous owner went bankrupt, the government hired Stargher to seal up his property in rural Bakersfield.

He shifts to Adult Stargher to relate a childhood story of when he drowned an injured bird as a mercy killing to prevent its torture at his father's hands.

[11] Singh cast actor Pruitt Taylor Vince in a small role as a physician in the film after having been impressed by his performance in Jacob's Ladder (1990).

[6] In an audio commentary for the film's DVD release, Singh commented that the water-filled tank sequences involving actress Tara Subkoff were marred by difficulties, which he attributed to her struggling with the elements of the scene, specifically being able to hold her breath for extended periods.

The scene where Peter Novak first enters the mind of Carl Stargher, and is confronted by three women with open mouths to the sky, is based on the painting Dawn by Norwegian painter Odd Nerdrum.

"[18] Singh did concede that the sequence in which Agent Peter Novak has his intestines wound out of his abdomen was inspired by torture methods used during the Catholic Spanish Inquisition.

The website's consensus reads: "The Cell offers disturbing, stunning eye candy, but its visual pleasures are no match for a confused storyline that undermines the movie's inventive aesthetic.

"[4] James Berardinelli gave the film three stars out of four, writing: "The Cell becomes the first serial killer feature in a long time to take the genre in a new direction.

"[30] Peter Travers from Rolling Stone wrote that "Tarsem uses the dramatically shallow plot to create a dream world densely packed with images of beauty and terror that cling to the memory even if you don't want them to."

[31] Slate's David Edelstein panned the film as well, writing: "When I go to a serial-killer flick, I don't want to see the serial killer (or even his inner child) coddled and empathized with and forgiven.

"[32] Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader remarked, "There's almost no plot here and even less character—just a lot of pretexts for S&M imagery, Catholic decor, gobs of gore, and the usual designer schizophrenia.

"[33] William Thomas of Empire gave the film two stars out of five, stating that "at times beautiful and always disturbing, this is strangely devoid of meaning.