This time around we have a decently interesting horror/thriller from our neighbors to the north. It plays out a classic “group of characters trapped in a place they don’t know” concept mostly well, with a cool setting and scenario, easily identifiable characters, and a good amount of tension. However, the acting can get rather over-the-top and come across rather silly, and you can definitely tell that this is a late 90s film what with its “dark yet clean” industrial look as well as some of the trap effects. Still, though, in the end, it’s not a bad watch overall, even if you’re laughing at it sometimes, and kind of serves as a transitional point between the older Twilight Zone and the newer Saw films. I’ll elaborate on that later, but first, here’s the story.
We follow a group of characters who are trapped in a never-ending maze of cubic rooms, some of which are safe and some of which contain lethal traps. At first, they don’t know how they got into this mess or even if there’s truly a way out, but with the goading of the determined yet aggressive de facto leader Quentin, the group resolves to try. They try different methods in order to determine which rooms are safe or not. Renne, an older escaped convict, throws his shoes into each room, as he notices that the trap rooms rely on motion sensors. This works up until he receives a face full of acid from a camera sensor. After this, Leaven, a younger math whiz, figures that the numbers written on each of the rooms might be another way to determine their path. She concludes that prime numbered rooms are trapped, so the group sets out towards any room that’s not prime-numbered. Along the way, the group comes across a young man named Kazan who seems to have some sort of disorder (which seems to be some form of autism). Quentin is reluctant to take him along, but the older motherly doctor Holloway manages to convince him. The prime number method works until Quentin gets trapped within a non-prime number room, though he escapes with only an injured foot. This causes friction between the group and results in the negative and defeatist Worth telling the group that he worked on designing this cube structure. Granted, he only designed the outer shell for a contracting job and has no idea about how many rooms there are or if reaching the supposed “one door” he was told to put on it is even possible to reach. He also figures that this whole thing was just some big public works project that no one even remembers the purpose of, but because they’ve sunk so much money into it, they have to kidnap and put people in it to show that its being used. He feels as though there’s really no hope for them, but Leaven asks him what the dimensions of the cube he was told to make were. When he says, she is able to determine just how many rooms must exist within these dimensions, and also that the numbers might actually be axis coordinates that tell you where you are relative to the center. With this new method in mind, the group continues onward, but the tension and conflict between them, as well as the confounding nature of their situation, is nowhere near over.
So, first things first, I want to talk about the production design in this film, as it is definitely eye-catching and notable. Each cubic room is covered in smaller square patterns all over the walls and ceilings, each square containing odd lines and shapes, looking like some sort of futuristic-cage-modern-art-interior-design type deal. Plus, each room has a distinct color lighting to it, ranging from blue to red to green to white and so on. I felt that this look added to the strange and tense nature of the film, with the design giving off a feel of otherworldliness and claustrophobia, as the characters have no idea where they are, any concept of what their location is, and if they can even successfully escape it or not, while the color not only being somewhat disorienting, as we’re not often used to rooms being lit that way, but also adds to the horror/sci-fi feel, giving off a dark semi-cyberpunk sort of vibe. I must admit, though, that while I did enjoy the look of this film, it did very much come across as “of its time” overall. The look and coloration feel like something you might’ve seen in a music video from around that time, like something that an alternative rock/metal band would use. I could very easily see Jonathan Davis and Co. jumping around in these box-like rooms while other characters get caught in the various traps. Still, though, I think they do a good enough job with it that it doesn’t come across as too cheesily dated. The bigger contention point for me comes more through the acting and writing. The story itself is rather basic premise-wise and I can’t say that audiences would be entirely unable to guess some of the events that happen as the film goes on. It’s not too unlike an old Twilight Zone episode I remember seeing called Five Characters in Search of an Exit. That episode revolved around a group of characters in different outfits trapped in a cylindrical room, which has an open ceiling, but is too tall to reach. The characters ponder their situation, some wondering if they’re in some sort of afterlife, while the one dressed as an army major tries to figure out how to escape (and motivate the others to help) and the one dressed as a clown ribs at the major’s attempts. There are differences, of course, as the characters don’t line up with each other exactly, there’s more of a concreted effort to try and get out from the start, there are a lot more locations to play with in Cube (even if most of them intentionally look the same), and it never quite goes into the existential realm that the Twilight Zone episode does. However, I definitely noticed the similarities, which goes to show that this was not a new idea, and that would be fine in most cases, but I often felt as though Cube got a bit too overplayed with its acting. The actors are clearly trying to get across the high-running emotions and tension that the characters are feeling throughout the story, but a lot of the time they play it a hair too over the top, complete with bulging eyes and the like, to the point where you start to find yourself laughing at moments that are obviously meant to be serious. Thankfully, this isn’t quite a constant enough problem to completely send it into the “so bad its good” realm, but it’s there enough that the more serious intention might not come across well to some folks. On the whole, though, I did find it to be an enjoyable enough experience, and probably enjoyed it more than a later, more famous film that also dealt with people trapped in trap-laden scenarios. Of course, I’m referring to Saw, and I want to clarify that I didn’t find Saw terrible, more so just okay, and it definitely had a different concept and vibe overall than Cube (with Saw also being a mystery detective thriller and having a much more grisly presentation as opposed to Cube’s more sleek-industrial look), but for whatever reason I just found Saw to be a less engaging experience on the whole, whereas Cube almost kind of worked, even with its faults, to at least create a decently enjoyable experience for me. I’m not trying to start any wars between Cube, Twilight Zone, and Saw or anything like that. Each story should be taken in its own way, ultimately. I’m just giving you my impression of things, and my ultimate impression here is that Cube isn’t a bad film at all, just somewhat held back by its delivery.
I’d recommend Cube for fans of horror and sci-fi that want to see a neat little story about characters escaping an enclosed, hostile environment, with a little bit of social commentary thrown in there for good measure. I’m not sure if it quite makes for a good Halloween movie, since we are in October currently, but I think it would make for a cool little night of suspenseful film. Plus, I’m sure torture horror fans will get a kick out of some of the traps in here, or just fans of technical effects and such (the opening scene before we meet the characters will probably be a fun moment for the former folks as well). Cube is a neat film that doesn’t offer too much new and falls into silliness at times when it’s trying to be legit, but the story is done well enough that you’ll still want to follow it and the cool production design will be a treat for the eyes (as long as you don’t think about music videos). Spend some time in the Cube, but make sure that you can get out afterwards.