Great concept, poor execution

Rating: 7/10 (18 November 2001)

The concept of this movie is brilliant -- for no particular reason, people are imprisoned inside an enormous puzzle box littered with deadly booby traps. They have no food or water and will die in a few days unless they find their way out, using clues left for them to figure out which rooms are death traps and which are safe. The film taps into common human fears: claustrophobia and starvation; faceless, malevolent industry and government; and killer technology. The sets are creepy and industrial -- the characters seem to be getting chewed up inside a giant machine.
Unfortunately, the movie has deep flaws. The acting is mostly uninspired and the dialogue is uninteresting. The second half failed to deliver on the promise of the first half, and the ending is a throwaway. Still, I thought about this film for days after I saw it; it is that disturbing. I hope someday someone with some money will remake this movie.