Movies
[BD Review] ‘Cell Count’ Tries To Do Too Many Things At Once
Reviewed by Michael Erb
When I saw the poster for this movie, two things immediately popped into my head:
1. This poster directly affects my desire to see this movie.
2. That guy has an anus where his face should be.
Poster aside, Cell Count is a little hard to get a handle on. Tons of ideas are thrown into the narrative without support or explanation. Most of the characters are barely defined, if defined at all. There’s so very little information given on important plot details that the movie eventually loses itself. Logic is introduced an abandon when convenient for the plot. The movie is a sickly mess.
Cell Count begins with Russell by his wife Sadie’s bedside in a hospital, waiting for her to die a slow and expensive death from an unnamed disease. Sadie’s mad scientist physician Dr. Brandt tells Russell about a study he’s conducting that will cure his wife’s disease for free. Russel agrees and at first the cure appears to work. But, there are two inmates involved with the study that Brandt never told anyone about. The previously disease free participants and the sick ones receive matching surgical scars. And there are also the sudden, bloody body transformations of the cured subjects. As the study progresses, Russell and Sadie come to find that the cure is worse than the disease.
The greatest flaw Cell Count suffers is that it’s bursting with ideas that don’t get developed past their introduction. For example: the disease is kept vague. That might seem inconsequential, but it becomes a persistently annoying feature. The characters never name it and its symptoms aren’t clear outside of people coughing and looking sickly. Without any description of what these people are going through, their plight is hard to empathize with.
Additionally, the cure is kept painfully vague. No name, no description of treatment. The only definition the cure receives comes from the horrific body changes that come later in the film. This could be a creative decision to allow viewers to put their own thoughts on what the illness is, but it just smacks of lazy story telling. This vagueness extends to every other aspect of the story. The study participants and thinly characterized outside of a clairvoyant guy, who has the most defined arc of the whole movie. But, his introduction leads to another issue.
There are too many ideas competing with too little development. The cure being a sentient, parasitic life form fights for relevancy with many more ideas that have taken up entire films. One of the convicts is a child molester/murder who went through the earliest stages of the cure testing process. There’s the prophetic young man who’s trying to avert a disastrous future. And then there’s the ending. In the last twenty minutes the story blows up with entirely new ideas about where this facility is located, the later stages of cure transformation, and just how much the disease has ravaged the world. The ending sets up a sequel which is coming out, but it doesn’t conclude the story in any way. There’s no resolution of the threat of the cure or the disease, nor any resolution for the characters. Everyone just gets in place for the next chapter of the Cell Count saga.
There’s also an issue with the complete abandonment of logic that sporadically occurs. Somehow, people with open surgery scars and gunshot wounds in their stomach are walking around like they just sprained something at T Ball practice. The established timetable for the cure to gestate into Cronenberg terrors is ignored so the viewer won’t expect who’s going to transform next. Characters who decide to die in the explosive climax change their minds seemingly because Daniel Baldwin is outside and he has a bus. There’s no consistency to the reasoning and reality of this movie.
The practical gore work looks appropriately sickly. Diseased flesh, open surgery wounds, and a face enveloping skin-flap are disgustingly well done. The brief instances of CGI usage don’t fare as well. It is clear those shots were done for budgetary reasons; they look extraordinarily cheap and they’re used for mere seconds. Overall though, Cell Count isn’t as bloody as you might think. So much time is spent on exposition and the slow build that the gore is limited to a handful of moments.
The cast is mostly competent with precious few noteworthy performances. Robert McKeehen and Haley Talbot as Russell and Sadie share the best work of the film. Separately, the two actors are just as disconnected and uninterested as everyone else in the cast. But as a couple, the pair shows off a nuanced collaboration. The little looks and slight touches they trade make their screen relationship feel real. Otherwise, the majority of the cast shovels out their lines without any real emotion or direction.
You have to admire the ambition of writer/director/editor Todd E. Freeman. With Cell Count, he wants to do a body horror movie, expand the idea into a sci-fi thriller, and setup the sequel to be an epic with a completely different tone. However, instead of developing these ideas, the movie just keeps ramming new wrinkle after new wrinkle into an already overloaded narrative. Cell Count wanted to do a lot with a little and forgot to tell a story along the way. Also, not nearly enough Anus Face.
Movies
‘The End of Oak Street’ and All-Night ‘Wishmaster’ Wish-a-Thon Invade Popcorn Frights 2026 Second Wave
The 12th annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival returns August 6-16 for 11 days of horror fun in South Florida, and second wave programming announcements suggest it’s going to be even bigger and bloodier this year.
Highlights in this wave include a special screening of The End of Oak Street. Popcorn Frights will immerse audiences in the world of Oak Street with a tricked-out screening, themed games, special photo opportunities, and an open invitation to wear your best bitchin’ ’80s attire for an unforgettable night at the movies.
The fest is also conjuring magic and granting wishes with a special screening of Wishmaster, with FX artist Robert Kurtzman and star Andrew Divoff in attendance.
After this screening, the ultimate overnight horror endurance event hosted by the Wishmaster begins. “Audiences will descend into an all-night cinematic marathon featuring a secret lineup of genre oddities, forgotten gems, and delirious cult favorites, all united by one sinister theme: wishes gone horribly wrong. The only guarantee? You’ll be sitting in a movie theater… and you won’t be sleeping. Even better, the event benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation, with all ticket proceeds helping grant life-changing wishes for children facing critical illnesses.“
Also in attendance this year is actor William Sadler, joining for special screenings of Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey and The Shawshank Redemption. Felissa Rose returns for a live commentary of Sleepaway Camp and the premiere of The Barn Part III.
That’s only the start of wave two programming, but the fest isn’t done yet; expect a third wave soon.
Read on for the packed second wave of Popcorn Frights 2026 programming:
IN-THEATER FEATURE FILM LINEUP
The Barn Part III
Florida Premiere
United States | 2026 | 97 Min. | Dir. Justin M. Seaman
Years after the events of “The Barn Part II”, the group still fears that the three evil ones will return to finish the harvest once and for all.
Breeder
Florida Premiere
United States | 2026 | 97 Min. | Dir. Alex Goyette
An eccentric poodle breeder lures a broke college student to her remote ranch with a promise of research funding. But, as he soon learns, there’s a catch.
Drag
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2026 | 86 Min. | Dirs. Raviv Ullman, Greg Yagolnitzer
Two burglars face disaster during a simple home heist when one suffers a back injury. As the clock ticks and pain sets in, their escape becomes increasingly chaotic before the owner’s return.
The End of Oak Street
Special Presentation
United States | 2026 | 100 Min. | Dir. David Robert Mitchell
The Platt family bands together to navigate their new surroundings after a cosmic event transports their suburban neighborhood to someplace unknown.
Hen
North American Premiere
South Africa | 2025 | 108 Min. | Dir. Nico Scheepers
After a brutal massacre, a childless couple discover a feral boy locked inside a wooden chest on an isolated farm. They take the child in, only to discover that the boy carries an inexplicable affliction: an unseen force that drives those who love him toward madness and despair.
Never After Dark
Florida Premiere
Japan | 2026 | 105 Min. | Dir. Dave Boyle
A traveling psychic who helps lost souls cross over encounters a powerful entity at a remote house. While investigating its origins, she uncovers dark secrets and faces a deadly threat from an unexpected source.
Unholy Night
US Premiere
Canada | 2026 | 91 Min. | Dir. Michael Gabriele
A family’s Christmas Eve dinner becomes a nightmare as Gino must protect his loved ones from his reanimated grandmother who crashes the celebration with murderous intent.
VIRTUAL FEATURE FILM LINEUP
Big City Pizza
Florida Premiere
United States | 2026 | 80 Min. | Dir. Dusty Saunders
As tension rises in the big city for the Omni Ball Championship, Boney, a skeleton pizza delivery man starts his shift.
Break a Leg
Southeast US Premiere
Australia | 2026 | 89 Min. | Dir. Kaitlyn Boyé
An aspiring actor arrives at the audition of his career–only to find himself locked in the theatre alongside fellow auditionee and disgraced former child actress.
Cat Cam
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2026 | 95 Min. | Dir. Sara Werner
When two cat owners decide to put up pet cameras in their new home while they’re away on a trip, they soon make a terrifying discovery as to why their cat has been acting so strange.
The Daughters of the Domino
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2026 | 98 Min. | Dir. Jesse McAnally
A modern noir about a mother who must reunite with her estranged detective sister to find her missing teenage daughter.
Demonetize
East Coast Premiere
United States | 2026 | 96 Min. | Dir. Alexander Watson
Out-of-work television ghost hunters discover the key to getting their jobs back–and proving ghosts are real–is by working with the last group of people anyone would expect: Social Media Stars.
The Fright Stuff
Florida Premiere
United States | 2026 | 72 Min. | Dir. Mike Meyer
A deep dive into the life and times of the haunted attraction industry in the United States–the history, the people, the lasting imprint it’s had on the culture.
Hollow Girls
World Premiere
United States | 2026 | 87 Min. | Dirs. Greg Swinson & Ryan Thiessen
Six teenage girls are lured by a classmate into a deadly trap, unraveling a shocking true-crime nightmare of jealousy, kidnapping, torture, and murder.
Lenore
East Coast Premiere
Australia | 2026 | 88 Min. | Dir. David Ward
When a controversial influencer suddenly disappears, a terminally online sycophant goes hunting for answers, but comes face-to-face with the monstrosity of his own sins.
Life at Sandy’s
East Coast Premiere
United States-Norway | 2026 | 75 Min. | Dir. Aleksandra Hansen
A lonely American stuck in a small Norwegian town is lured in by the characters of a friendly sitcom with increasingly sinister intentions.
Narcisa’s Will
Florida Premiere
Brazil | 2025 | 85 Min. | Dirs. Daniel Dias & Clarissa Appelt
A woman returns to her childhood mansion after her famous mother’s death to sell it and split proceeds with her brother. While clearing the property, she uncovers unexpected family secrets.
Savage Prey
World Premiere
United Kingdom | 2026 | 90 Min. | Dir. David Ryan Keith
A year after her son vanishes without a trace in the remote Scottish Highlands, a grieving mother returns to the wilderness that stole him, refusing to let the mystery die.
The Vanishing Tour
East Coast Premiere
United States | 2026 | 91 Min. | Dir. Patrick Meaney
When a struggling band is carjacked and stranded in the desert, they seek shelter at a mysterious compound that houses a dangerous and otherworldly secret.
IN-THEATER RETRO LINEUP
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey
35th Anniversary, 4K Restoration
United States | 1991 | 93 Min. | Dir. Peter Hewitt
A tyrant from the future creates evil android doubles of Bill and Ted and sends them back to eliminate the originals.
From Dusk Til Dawn
30th Anniversary Presentation
United States | 1996 | 108 Min. | Dir. Robert Rodriguez
*Presented with the original short film From Dusk Till Dawn
Two criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in a truck stop populated by vampires, with chaotic results.
The Shawshank Redemption
Special Event, 4K Restoration
United States | 1994 | 142 Min. | Dir. Frank Darabont
After a banker is sentenced to life in Shawshank Prison, he forms an unlikely friendship with a seasoned inmate and clings to hope amid cruelty and corruption.
Sleepaway Camp
Special Live Commentary Event
United States | 1983 | 84 Min. | Dir. Robert Hiltzik
Bunks and showers are a mad stabber’s beat at a summer camp strictly for teens.
Wishmaster
Special Event
United States | 1997 | 90 Min. | Dir. Robert Kurtzman
A demonic djinn attempts to grant its owner three wishes, which will allow him to summon his brethren to Earth.
Individual tickets and All-Access Badges for the in-theater experience—hosted at Savor Cinema Fort Lauderdale and Classic Gateway Theater—are now available. Virtual All-Access Passes can also be purchased for streaming access to the full digital lineup. To order an In-Theater All-Access VIP Badge, click here, to order a Virtual All-Access Pass, click here.
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