'Never Seen It' - Episode 13 - Getting trapped in 'The Cell'

Remember the serial killer genre? It had a real heyday in 1990s and early 2000s.

I think it, for the lack of a better phrase, died a slow death in part because they found an audience during a relatively peaceful time in American life, so we could invent fantastical killers to be way of. In the post-9/11 era, where real life terrorists and mass shooters are an unavoidable fact of life, these gory thrillers feel like they would rarely, if ever, fly now.

The Cell, a 2000 vehicle for Jennifer Lopez and Vince Vaughn, represents, to my mind, the beginning of the end of a certain kind of R-rated thriller aimed at adults.

My wife Liz and I had both never seen it -- in my case because I presumed it wasn't any good -- and so we've selected it for the most recent episode of our podcast, "Never Seen It," which is in the YouTube below:


Again, for the "Never Seen It" virgins these are our first impressions after having watched the movie separately for the first time. If you liked what you heard, check out takes on other genre films like Fear, Rising Sun, and Spy Kids.