Cube (1997) Review

We watched Cube from 1997 and it held my attention from start to finish with an interesting premise and very little in terms of budget.

Synopsis

Cube has a simple premise, an assortment of individuals wake up and find themselves trapped in a maze of cubes. Each side and the ceiling and floor of each room they enter has a door on it. 

Some cubes are booby trapped, and others are safe. Each individual brings a unique perspective and talent to the party, and they all must work together to escape the Cube. 

In the end everyone gets more cube than they bargained for.

Review

Cube is an interesting low budget, sci-fi horror from the 90’s. While that low-budget feel is present in Cube, director Vincenzo Natali does a great job of masking it with a variety of clever choices.

Saw, which came out in 2004, feels as if it were modeled after Cube, or maybe a loving tribute to the Cube. But it’s interesting to see what feels like the start of the puzzle gore genre.

The setting and premise of Cube are compelling and force the audience to imagine the setting that they aren’t allowed to see. Whenever a movie makes me imagine the larger scale universes or sets that they hint at, it works quite well for me.

The primary focus of this movie is on a handful of Cube dwellers and their attempt to escaped the Cube. 

These are very highly exaggerated stereotypical 90’s protagonists that can fit into their own little boxes. These protagonist tropes range in the following ways:

• Nerdy student who wears glasses and can do math
• Disaffected office worker 
• Overly aggressive cop
• Empathetic doctor
• Autist
• Escape artist

The puzzle aspects of Cube are often explained through confusing dialog with questionable logic, but I never found myself hung up on these problems. Instead I just had a little chuckle to myself about “simpler times” and let the movie unravel.

At the end I found myself engaged and interested in the story and the reason for the Cube and I will be watching Cube 2: Hypercube.

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Score

6/10

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