During the filming of the 2000 film The Cell, director Tarsem Singh made judicious use of juxtaposition, the pairing of unlikely visual elements for a striking or unsettling effect. Singh comments that this particular combination of an underwear-clad Jennifer Lopez offering her cat some milk, followed by a corpse emerging from what is ostensibly a milk bath was designed to create a sense of “sexual terror” in the viewer.

Jennifer is a sex symbol, and milk is traditionally wholesome, so I wanted to counteract this traditionally sexy image with something horrifying. It unsettles the viewer, and hopefully will scare a few people off of milk.

Singh is noted to be outspoken about his particular strain of lactose intolerance.