Starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, the film adaptation of Stephen King's Cell has been en route to the big screen for quite some time, but now that the movie has been acquired for US distribution, it looks like viewers will finally get to see the story's murderous cell phone users on-screen.

Variety reports that Saban Films—the same company that recently picked up Rob Zombie's 31—has acquired the US distribution rights to Cell.

Based on King's unflinchingly violent 2006 novel of the same name, Cell was directed by Paranormal Activity 2’s Tod Williams from an adapted screenplay by Stephen King and Adam Alleca (2009's The Last House on the Left). The film re-teams Cusack and Jackson, who co-starred in another King adaptation, 1408. The cast also includes Isabelle Fuhrman, Owen Teague, and Stacy Keach. A release date has not yet been revealed.

Benaroya Pictures and the Genre Company produced Cell, along with complete financial backing by Benaroya Pictures.

Stephen King had nice things to say about the adaptation:

“I enjoyed working on ‘Cell’ and love the way it turned out. Kip Williams has made a scary and thoroughly entertaining movie. But you may want to put your cell phone in the freezer after seeing it.”

Here's the film's synopsis, which sounds very much like its source material:

"The story follows a mysterious cell phone signal that’s broadcast across the network and turns the population into mindless animals. Cusack plays a struggling graphic artist who bands together with a small group of fellow survivors to trek across a decimated New England to seek answers and reunite with his son."

Stay tuned to Daily Dead for more details. In the meantime, are you looking forward to seeing an adaptation of Cell? Do you think the phoners will be just as frightening on-screen as they are on the page? Let us know in the comments section below.

Source: Variety
  • Derek Anderson
    About the Author - Derek Anderson

    Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.

    When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.