Cube

Fear...paranoia...suspicion...desperation

Genres:
Sci-Fi, Thriller, Arthouse

Starring:
Nicole DeBoer, David Hewlett, Andrew Miller, Maurice Den Wint

Summary:
A handful of people wake up in a strange building filled with nothing but different colored interconnected rooms. They have no memory of how they got there and no idea why they are imprisoned in the maze. They find slight consolation with each other as they gradually group together to find a way out of their mysterious prison.

Each one of them has knowledge that can help them solve the cube's puzzle. Leaven (DeBoer) is a gifted mathematican. Quentin (Den Wint) is a tough ex-cop. Worth (Hewlett) holds the only substantial knowledge about the cube's purpose or lack thereof. Kazan is an autistic young man who seems a huge burden to the group until they discover his special skill. Together with a zealously moral doctor and an escape artist, the group tries to dodge deadly traps in certain rooms while moving across, up, and down to find the exterior of the giant cube.

As time passes, some people die, some find strength, and some go completely mad. As the tagline says, the cube is fear, paranoia, suspicion, desperation.

Response:
Hmmm, arthouse sci-fi. Not something that sounds too good. It conjures up images of Plan Nine from Outer Space (if you have no idea what movie I'm referring to, you're lucky). However, this flick ranks among the most memorable sci-fi movies I have ever seen. Forget that, Cube is the most memorable sci-fi film I've seen. Now this doesn't mean it's the most entertaining, or the most fun, or the one with the most impressive fx, but it will definitely grab your attention

I've been scared by movies before, but this one was just dowright creepy. I kept thinking about it for days after I watched it. It's not just the creatively deadly traps in the rooms (although the tensile wires that cubed that guy and the face-burning liquid were impressively gross). It's not just the increasingly claustrophobic feeling you get by watching the same scenario over and over. And it's not just the fact that there is absolutely no reason given for the cube's existence in the first place. It's a combination of all of these elements as well as the increasingly desperate and maddening interplay between characters.

Cube reminded me a bit of Sartre's play No Exit in that one of the worst parts of hell is being stuck with people with whom you are incompatible. Quentin's slide from calm control to berserk madness was shocking yet utterly believable. Similarly, Leaven's contrasting transformation from meek desperation to determined purpose was beautifully portrayed.

I still can't put my finger on why this movie was so disturbing, but I can definitely say that it was a flick that has permanently stuck itself in my memory. If you need your movies to have Hollywood-esque closure with all the answers wrapped up by the end, don't watch Cube. You'll be screaming with exasperation by the end. If you like completely unique, thought-provoking and disturbing sci-fi, this is your ideal movie.

Point Blank:This is one of the most memorable, frustrating, and disturbing sci-fi movies I've seen.