This is the nightmare world imagined in stephen king s cell. Clayton riddell, a struggling artist from maine who is estranged from his wife, sharon, and his young son, johnny, has landed a graphic novel deal in boston. Stephen kings novel cell was published in 2006 and its taken 10 years to get it out on film. Suspenseful and sentimental, unbridled in its ability to disturb and disgust, cell stands as a writers manifesto to the postaccident part of stephen king s career. The novel is a lumbering, melancholy at and times humorous take on the zombie genre and the mass market emergence of mobile communication devices. Though despite the small mistakes, cell is another example that stephen king film adaptations that were released during the 2010s are more entertaining than any king stories that made it from. Cell a stephen king adaptation that starts promising and devolves into nonsense. The stephen king had so much promise when it came out. Stephen king s debut novel carrie was originally published 46 years. As a movie, cell looks like a mehlevel stephen king adaptation. John cusack, samuel l jackson and author stephen king reunite after the hugely successful 1408. The pulse is depicted as an electrical signal that transmitted globally through cellular telephones in roughly 2006.
Cell was written by stephen king and published in 2006. As any stephen king fan knows, his coy expository chapters often take up. Cell 2016 financial information where data and the movie business meet. Jackson and john cusack star in stephen king movie. Cell on showtime clay looks for his wife and son after cell phones turn people into killers. This isnt so much a criticism of the movie s source material stephen king s paranoid and prophetic 2006 novel with the same title as of a barebones screenplay by mr. Stephen king is quoted as saying that cell phones are 21stcentury slave bracelets, and frankly i guessed this might be so while watching cell, based on his novel. It was going to be made into a movie, but after wallowing in development hell possibly because of the bomb that was one missed call, and almost taking the form of a tv miniseries starring john cusack and samuel l. Can someone explain to me the ending to stephen kings cell. The mist 2007 frank darabont finally makes a stephen king movie that isnt set at a prison, and its one of the meanest and most frightening adaptations yet. Thats what happens on page six of king s latest, a glib, technophobic but compelling look at the end of civilizationor at what may turn into a new, extreme, telepathically. After cell introduces some questionable plane crash effects and ticks off its postdisaster. What if a pulse sent out through cell phones turned every person using one of them into a zombielike killing machine.
If you like anything that hints of a zombie apocalypse then you might regard the film as passably ok. The prolific writer, who has 58 novels to his name has had many of them adapted into movies or tv series. After his father left them when stephen was two, he and his older brother, david, were raised by his mother. Jackson, both of whom had previously worked together on the adaptation. Parents need to know that cell is a horrorzombie movie based on a stephen king novel. A trailer has been released for the stephen king novel adaptation cell, a zombie horrorstyle film starring john cusack and samuel l. Stephen king movie adaptations are mostly hit or miss for most horror fans. This ending is confusing, so join me as i try to figure.
Check out this video breaking down the movie scenes leading up to the movie ending. It was a little tough screening it when the folks watching with you end up laughing at the first 10 minutes of the movie. There was talk for a while of eli roth making a movie out of cell, stephen kings technophobic spin on the zombieapocalypse thriller. See first image from stephen kings cell, starring john. Based on the bestselling apocalyptic novel by stephen king, the screenplay for cell was written by king, with revisions by adam alleca last house on the left and mark leyner war inc. Cell is an ambitious novel with a bmovie sensitivity that calls back to the classic george a. Expect shootings, stabbings, dead bodies, explosions, and tons of blood.
Although it is based on horror master stephen king s bestselling cell, this has not attracted much attention so far, probably for the reason of its longpending status. Cell based on stephen kings novel trailer cinecelluloid. The story anyone using a cell phone err almost everyone goes crazy and picks up a deadly rage virus. Stephen kings bestselling novel is brought to terrifying life in this mindblowing thriller starring john cusack and samuel l. Cell is by far king s king writes his novels like a seduction, the story unfolding delicately and deliberately. Jun 24, 2016 on this ending explained, i tackle the stephen king apocalyptic zombie thriller cell 2016, starring john cusack and samuel l. Im a huge fan of stephen king, but cell is not one of my favorite novels hes written. Although the premise of the story is quite ridiculous, examining how these characters respond and adapt to their changing environment keeps the reader locked into the story. Acting allows you to live other peoples lives without having to pay the price. From best to worst a list of 27 titles created 25 aug 2017 challenge60in30.
I think a movie is a great introduction to a novel. Mar 02, 2019 stephen king is the king of the horror writers. The film is directed by tod williams, produced by john cusack, with a screenplay by king and adam alleca. Jun 10, 2016 today marks the vod release of the film adaptation of stephen kings cell, a book that stands out as the writers first and only novellength zombie story to date. When a mysterious cell phone signal causes apocalyptic chaos, an artist is determined to reunite with his young son in new england. Jul 06, 2016 use your intelligence guysstephen king is a genius. The cell movie ending, however, made many viewers question what. At first glance the movie seems horrible, and cheesybut dont take it for its surface value.
All 44 stephen king movies, ranked worst to best photos. The actress will play alice, part of a trio trying to get out of boston alive when a deadly cell phone pulse turns humans into zombies. I guess i should stop thinking that about now the stephen king had so much promise when it came out. Cell is a 2016 american science fiction horror film based on the 2006 novel of the same name by stephen king. The pulse was an international cellular signal that began armageddon. Besides, theres mild amusement to be had watching people shuffle around like violent zombies as a result of cell phone usage. Cell is a quasi zombie story by stephen king, circa 2005, its basically the thing kirkman ripped off while developing the walking dead. On this ending explained, i tackle the stephen king apocalyptic zombie thriller cell 2016, starring john cusack and samuel l. Based on stephen king s bestselling novel of the same name, cell follows a desperate new england artist john cusack as he searches for his son following the broadcast of a mysterious cellphone signal that transforms people into rampaging maniacs. I discovered that reading stephen king, after an extended abscence, is akin to running into an old friend you have not seen for long time. Stephen king wrote his first short story at seven, and was first published in a comic fanzine at 18. Cell vs cell stephen kings book vs stephen kings film. It stands to reason, i guess, that the movie version of cell isnt one of my favorite stephen king movies. Jackson, john cusack movie hd based on stephen kings bestselling novel of the same name, the cell follows the quest of a desperate new england father to locate.
As a movie, cell looks like a mehlevel stephen king. Stephen kings cell movie gets a trailer starring john. I missed the beginning, but finished it, and loved it. Based on stephen kings bestselling novel of the same name, the cell follows the quest of a desperate new england father to locate his son following the broadcast of a mysterious signal that. Its been a long road to get stephen king s 2006 novel cell to the screen. Maybe stephen king wanted his readers to think about what would happen next on their own. Heres every single stephen king movie and tv series currently on netflix across the world. Can someone explain to me the ending to stephen king s cell. Yes the ending was left open as in there may be a possible continuation with another novel.
The book was released by scribner on 24 january 2006. As he prepares to celebrate, somebody, somewhere, triggers the pulse, a. I didnt interpret the book as decrying the evils of cell phones technology, but rather an interesting allegory for anything thats ubiquitous. Everyone using a cellphone at the time of the pulse experienced a kind of psychological reboot, with the following initial effects. I didnt like cell i didnt like desperation i hated dreamcatcher.
The carnivalfairground workers had installed an illegal cell phone transmitter at the top of the parachute jump ride, so that they would be able to communicate with each other while setting up the fair and rides. Just the thought of that genre guttersnipe going all hostel on the authors haunted new england was enough to send the wrong kind of chills down king fans spines. While a king fan, its been years since ive read one of his books. Stephen king and adam alleca based on the novel by stephen king directed by. Stephen king s cell 2016 was a film i was thrilled to watch and enjoyed it because i watched the film fresh. Financial analysis of cell 2016 including budget, domestic and international box office gross, dvd and bluray sales reports, total earnings and profitability. Parts of his childhood were spent in fort wayne, indiana, where his fathers family was at the time, and in stratford, connecticut. After attending the university of maine, he worked as a sportswriter for his local newspaper and labored away for a while in an industrial. This message was timely back in 2006, when the stephen king bestseller this film is based on hit bookstores, but it bears some repeating.
There are several shockinghorrifying, cringeworthy moments as people turn into zombies, then lots more zombie violence. Shortly after it was published, the book was optioned by dimension films with eli roth attached to direct. As a novel, cell was mehlevel stephen king, an amusing if inconsequential read that cribbed a bit too much from his better works. I always thought that john cusack chose really good projects. Like all good stephen king books, the combination of strong storytelling and intriguing characters are the main ingredients that make cell a must readlisten. There was talk for a while of eli roth making a movie out of cell, stephen king s technophobic spin on the zombieapocalypse thriller. A list of stephen king s movies, organized alphabetically. Cell is a 2006 apocalyptic horror novel by american author stephen king. John cusack and samuel l jackson are phoning it in as survivors of a crisis that turns mobile users into. The cell movie ending, however, made many viewers question what happened. More a leisurely paced, characterdriven drama with horror elements than an outright thriller, cell wants to warn viewers that they have become too attached to their mobile devices. Having read the book twice now once a few years ago and again last week, i have mixed feelings about the film. Ive never read cell, so im not sure if this is an accurate adaptation of a bad stephen king book, or just another inaccurate adaptation of a stephen king book.
What darwin was too polite to say, my friends, is that we came to rule the earth not because we were the smartest, or even the meanest, but because we have always been the craziest, most murderous motherfuckers in the jungle. I learned about cell when i was flipping channels one day and came across the movie. Apr 26, 2016 as a novel, cell was mehlevel stephen king, an amusing if inconsequential read that cribbed a bit too much from his better works. His proposed version would have taken a global survey of the. Now, clay is able to see that the cell phone he was given has 3 bars. All of stephen kings movies and series on netflix whats. The story follows a new england artist struggling to reunite with his young son after a mysterious signal broadcast over the global cell phone network turns the majority of his fellow humans into mindless vicious animals. Cell is an underrated stephen king adaptation by zach dionne may 15, 2018 cell is one of the more underrated adaptations from the stephen king canon. Its not one of his better works, but is considered pretty decent by.
After attending the university of maine, he worked as a sportswriter for his local newspaper and labored away for. Based on stephen king s bestselling novel of the same name, cell follows a desperate new england artist john cusack as he searches for his son following the broadcast of a mysterious cell phone signal that transforms people into rampaging maniacs. Isabelle fuhrman joins stephen king s cell feb 5, 2014. Romero zombie films the two are good friends in its gore, violence, and philosophical message. At bottom, you see, we are not homo sapiens as all. The book more of a novella than a standard kinglength novel was a decent sort of thriller. Stephen king is a funny one, his first 10 books or so, and all his early short stories, were amazing then he kind of went through a weird dip then he wrote a few which were to me top notch then he dipped again. Stephen kings cell 2016 was a film i was thrilled to watch and enjoyed it because i watched the film fresh. Cell 2016 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. The best stephen king movies, ranked from worst to best. At the boston airport, clay cusack witnesses a scene of chaotic mayhem when an electronic signal turns hundreds of cell phone users into rabid killers.
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