A satisfying alternative to more "mainstream" fare.

Rating: 6/10 (7 November 2010)

Cube is original, uses no gimmicks or trickery, and doesn't dumb down anything to please the audience. It is by no means the best film going around or probably even in the top 20 films of 1997, but I thought it was worth a look then and I still do now.
I view Cube as similar to Pi and Primer, two low budget flicks that took a risk and made strangely compelling and interesting films. They might not stack up to your Die Hards, T2s or Alienssss, but they give a bit of much needed variety.
A guy wakes up in a large empty room with metal walls, floor and ceiling, he opens a door which leads into an exact copy of the previous room, walks into the room and is immediately and without warning sliced and diced, Resident Evil style by a booby trap that he triggered.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Cube.
In other rooms more people wake up, each in their own room, it appears that all rooms are interlocking and one by one they meet. No-one knows why they are in the rooms, how they got there or what happens next, but they know this isn't the office Christmas party.
Initially there are 5 "inmates", three guys and two women, as they interact and query their predicament it becomes evident that there is no easy similarity between them all or reason for them being there, there is a doctor, a cop, maths student, an "escape artist" and a person who describes himself simply as an office worker.
They ponder and plan how they might escape from the situation that they are in, theories and plans are hatched and most immediately shelved, but after moving carefully through a couple more rooms using a bait approach to show any booby traps their number is suddenly and graphically reduced to 4. More clues are discovered, more theories are introduced, and they come across another inhabitant in the maze.
The new chum is best described as a more highly strung rain man type, capable of certain logical thought but largely useless for the group's short term goals, and in fact a hindrance in many situations.
As the group don't know each other a certain level of snippiness and resentment is inevitable, though it does feel a little forced on occasion, even when their circumstances are considered. They continue musing why them? why there? and who did this? but no simple answer is provided.
When a breakthrough is had, the group dynamic changes somewhat, as allegiances are formed and dissolved and paranoia rules, ultimately leading to betrayal, treachery and violence, as any good story should.
Without going into who dies first, why they are there and if any manage to escape, I must give credit for the filmmakers efforts to at least try to make things interesting. This is obviously a low budget production but they manage to squeeze as much as they can from the limited sets and what is likely a minimal special effects budget. This is a reasonably smart, if sometimes baffling exercise in building tension and creating uncertainty and unease, and for the large part it succeeds.
There are no explosions, no snappy one liners or gratuitous hotties, and only a few scenes of violence or gore, and so when they arrive they actually have a bit more impact as we are a little less desensitised.
Final Rating 6.5 – 10. I can't unequivocally recommend Cube for everyone, but if you don't mind the odd experimental art-house-y flick, this is more interesting than 20 Transformers movies, despite an absence of Megan Fox's tanktop.
If you liked this review (or even if you didn't) check out oneguyrambling.com