Film review: Cell (3 out of 5)

But what if the phone signal was used to scramble people’s brains, turning them into murdering savages?

That’s the basic plot of Cell.

In a cracking start to the movie, John Cusack plays Clay Riddell, an artist who is trying to contact his son and estranged wife while waiting at an airport.

All of a sudden everyone using a mobile phone hears a high pitched sound that turns them into homicidal maniacs; luckily Riddell’s battery has packed up.

Although not dead, these people act like all the zombies you’ve ever seen in movies, running around until someone actually does kill them.

Riddell manages to escape and teams up with a motley crew of people including Tom McCourt (Samuel L. Jackson) and Alice Maxwell (Isabelle Fuhrman).

Director Tod Williams serves up plenty of action, raising the tension, adding a few jump shocks and generally keeping the audience on the edge of its seat.