Cell Count – 2012

What is Cell Count? well… If you get the disease you’re as good as dead. Russell’s wife Sarah’s got it and she has no chance of surviving whatsoever… except for the chance Dr. Brandt offers Russell. He has the choice of seeing his wife suffocate by her own blood and vomit and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the hospital costs or joining in with his wife in a little experiment. Dr. Brandt is very convincing and promises that Sarah will be free of the disease within weeks. However, Dr. Brandt fails to inform them of the side effects. Maybe the decease itself isn’t so bad after all, maybe the curse is worse?

I get the feeling that Cell Count is set somewhere in the near future but it could very well be told as a present time story as well. It’s not really important just as long as you don’t expect space traveling and serious futuristic technology. All in all, it seems pretty realistic. Apart from a few details such as the disease for instance. The cure is kind of out of this world as well but that’s not very important. What is important is the suspense and the experiment itself! What’s it all for and what results and conclusions are Dr. Brandt hoping to find?

Cell Count doesn’t give you too much information, which is a good thing; just enough to keep it interesting. The pace might be a bit slow to begin with but after half the movie or so that’s no problem anymore. The suspense takes over and the questions that the movie has accumulated begin to really take over your mind!

Some Answers

We get some answers of course, otherwise, it would not have been such a great movie I think, but there is still unanswered stuff at the end. That bothers me a bit since I feel like the missing bits and pieces are very important! They might very well turn the whole purpose of the film upside down depending on the truth. The entire timeline might get different if the answer is told in a different way. Maybe this is an intentional move but the director makes us think about it after the film has ended. After all, some of the most interesting films I’ve seen leave something for the viewer to think about.

If we were to talk about the acting and makeup effects for a while, I wouldn’t have much to say. I have absolutely nothing to complain about. I think all of the actors portray their roles in a trustworthy manner. And the makeup effects are done the same way. It might not be pretty but it’s always realistic!

It is a love story about a man who gives everything up for the woman he loves. But it’s also a story about a sadistic doctor who seeks a cure for an incurable disease. Why he does this is one of the remaining questions. I don’t think it’s money, possible fame but not probable. I wish that the ending scenes would have given one more clue. But it’s still a great movie and it will be graded as one!