Bang-up indie sci-fi thriller winner

Rating: 9/10 (26 February 2010)

Six complete strangers with nothing in common find themselves trapped in an intricate hi-tech maze of interconnected cubes armed with lethal booby traps. This motley group is forced to work together in order to figure a way out before they starve to death in a few days. As their situation becomes increasingly dire and desperate, the group starts to turn on each other and prove to be their own greatest enemies. Director Vincenzo Natali, who also co-wrote the ingenious, intriguing, and unpredictable script with Graeme Manson and Andre Bijelic, adroitly crafts a strong, gripping, and suspenseful shocker that's brimming with oodles of nerve-jangling claustrophobic tension, a sharp sense of amusingly cynical humor, a few nicely gross moments of nasty gore, an extremely edgy and paranoid atmosphere, and plenty of astute insights into how a crisis situation brings out both the best and the worst in human beings. Moreover, the filmmakers keep things pleasingly ambiguous throughout: We never learn who built the cube and exactly why these six people have been dumped inside it. This refreshing respect for the audience's intelligence gives this picture an extra potent and provocative edge. Kudos are also in order for the fine acting from the able ensemble cast: Nicole de Boer as perky college student mathematics whiz Leaven, Nicky Guadagni as bitter, high-strung doctor Holloway, David Hewlett as sarcastic office worker designer Worth, Andrew Miller as mentally handicapped idiot savant Kazan, Wayne Robson as wily escape artist Rennes, and, in an especially stand-out turn, Maurice Dean Wint as tough take-charge cop Quentin. Derek Rogers' agile and vertiginous cinematography makes the most out of the cramped and confined spaces. Mark Korven's shuddery score likewise does the shivery trick. Highly recommended.