Film Review: CUBE (1997)

Director: Vincenzo Natali
Writers: Vincenzo Natali, André Bijelic, Graeme Manson
Running time: 90 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Horror/Mystery/Sci-Fi
UK Release date: 25^th September 1998

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 29^th December 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I first saw this film many years ago and I very much enjoyed it then. Over the years I’ve tried to track it down but sadly failed to snare it. So I was very happy to see it appear in the TV listings this week; needless to say; recording equipment was appropriately set. Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

A collection of seemingly random people wake up inside a mysterious maze made of rooms in the shape of cubes. In each room are six doors, one on each wall, that lead to adjoining cubes. But some of the rooms are booby trapped and it’s up to them to figure their own way out. The main characters; Quentin (Maurice Dean Wint), a cop; Worth (David Hewlett), an office worker; Leaven (Nicole de Boer), a student; Holloway (Nicky Guadagni), a doctor and Kazan (Andrew Miller), who is mentally ill are all being affected by the cube in various ways. Who will figure it out before they all succumb to the psychological pressures posed by The Cube?

I love the ideas behind this film; a mystery combined with some sci-fi and more than a touch of horror is right up my street. Unfortunately the execution just fails to pay off sufficiently for me to call it brilliant. I think the dialogue comes over as a little dated and that does let it down somewhat. Also the twist at the end was a tad predictable. Even so, I can’t help but like this film; I think it appeals to the mathematician in me (don’t let that put you off by the way). You’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen it. Over all; a decent enough film that’s maybe becoming slightly dated, but still has the edge over many a high budget blockbuster or two.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.8/10

IMDb Score: 7.4/10 (based on 92,460 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0123755/

MetaScore: 61/100: (Based on 12 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 59/100 (based on 34 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 74/100 ‘Liked it’ (based on 85,853 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cube/

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FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Quentin: Listen, we can't go climbing around in here.
Holloway: Why not?
Quentin: There's traps.
Holloway: What do you mean traps?
Quentin: Booby traps. I looked in the room down there, and something almost cut my head off.

Quentin: For Christ's sake, Worth, what do you live for? Do you have a wife, or a girlfriend, or something?
Worth: Nope. I've gotta pretty fine collection of pornography.

Worth: What do ya think?
Leaven: You don't have a lot of lives left.

Worth: There is no conspiracy. Nobody is in charge. It's a headless blunder operating under the illusion of a master plan.

[Quentin and Holloway are discussing who could have made the cube]
Quentin: This place is... remember Scaramanga? The bad guy in "The Man With The Golden Gun?" It's some rich psycho's entertainment
Holloway: [laughs] Is that what you think?

Kazan: This room is... green. I wanna go back to the blue room.

LINKS:
(NOTE: All links were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer: (Beware: A major plot point is given away in this trailer)