At the Boston airport, Clay (John Cusack) witnesses a scene of chaotic mayhem when an electronic signal turns hundreds of cell phone users into rabid killers. Desperate to find his estranged wife and his son, Clay teams with a train driver (Samuel L Jackson) to battle the horde of murderous “phoners” as the city descends into apocalyptic madness.

Why we’re looking forward to this: There can never be enough quality zombie films in our humble opinion, the emphasis being on quality, and while Cell may be similar to 28 Days Later in that it’s not really a zombie film as such, the fact that it comes from the pen of Stephen King who has rarely written about zombies—though his short story Home Delivery covered this topic to great effect—has us hoping that this could be worth devouring.

The fact that John Cusack is on board, no stranger to King adaptations himself having starred in 1408 and appeared in Stand By Me, along with the legend that is Samuel L Jackson, who needs no introduction, instils a certain confidence that Cell could be something special. The trailer seems to back this up, too, promising much post-apocalyptic action and adventure and the creepiest bunch of pseudo zombies since 1978’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Stephen King’s Cell is ringing onto Ultra VOD on 10 June, with a limited theatrical run from 8 July.

RICHARD COSGROVE