SummarySix people wake up from their daily lives and find they are imprisoned in a deadly maze. Slowly they discover that each holds a key to unlocking this diabolical puzzle. But as a mathematical formula for escape begins to reveal itself, the enemy rises from within themselves and survival is threatened by the same human weaknesses that crea...
SummarySix people wake up from their daily lives and find they are imprisoned in a deadly maze. Slowly they discover that each holds a key to unlocking this diabolical puzzle. But as a mathematical formula for escape begins to reveal itself, the enemy rises from within themselves and survival is threatened by the same human weaknesses that crea...
Even though there are tedious stretches with less-than-riveting characters, the film gradually pulls you into its claustrophobic spell and becomes acutely suspenseful in its final half-hour.
Natali's film has a fabulous look, a nerve-wracking, claustrophobic mood, a number of genuinely suspenseful set-pieces and some sublimely stomach-churning special effects.
With basically a single set and a limited cast, the producers get the most of their limited budget, particular with a couple of spectacular death scenes.
With its confined setting and its existential predicament, the picture owes an ostensible debt to the likes of Pinter and Kafka and Pirandello -- you know, Six Characters in Search of an Author, or, failing that, just getting the hell out of this weird place.
The characters are stereotypes and the psychology is simplistic, but the movie builds an effective sense of claustrophobic menace that thriller fans may enjoy.
It's an existential, Kafka-esque nightmare with no real resolution, although if you've been biding your time waiting to see some high-strung, ham-handed bickering on-screen, this is your A-ticket.
In this film, you can detect a lot of good work with images, great directing and an intriguing promise but it faces serious problems with mediocre performances and a poor-made script, that gets to be really disappointing. However, it gets to build enough tension to keep viewers satisfied by its absorbing plot and despite its big flaws, "Cube" proves to be a pretty decent film that's become one of the creepiest ones.
Boring, but well done.
I confess I expected more from this film. The script is very simple, typical in low-budget films: a group of people who do not know each other wake up, without noticing the reason, inside a windowless room in the shape of a cube. There are exit hatches in the center of each wall, as well as in the ceiling and floor. None of them know why they got there, where they are or what might happen ... but soon they realize that each room can hide deadly traps, and there is almost no way to find out which rooms are trapped, since they are virtually identical, although they are numbered.
The movie is an attempt to make soft terror effective with few features and a minimal budget. To a large extent, the film does what it promises and gives the public a pleasant tension and a few moments of carnage. Here, however, the greatest danger comes from the tense relationship between characters, as the film plunges into a kind of "cabin syndrome" and relations between all are degrading. In this context, the good construction of all these characters (with a very rich and profound psychology, in a healthy coexistence since none of them is given prominence) is something to highlight and praise in this film. The cast is fairly decent, considering that I did not know anyone involved and everyone seemed to comply with the minimum that was asked of them and not make gross mistakes.
The most unpleasant part of this film is precisely the fact that it is so simple: in fact, nothing happens here. Although the film flows reasonably, it is tasteless and has little to offer. There is no story, and that makes the movie boring.
Despite the interesting idea, nice scenery and initially curious, the film has a script that does not develop and lousy performances you will never forget.
Production Company
Cube Libre,
Odeon Films,
Ontario Film Development Corporation,
The Feature Film Project,
The Harold Greenberg Fund,
Téléfilm Canada,
Viacom Canada