Gore, suspense... and degree-level Math (Cube (DVD))

Member Name: StrongSide

Product:	Cube (DVD)
Date:	08/08/09 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The cast work well otgether despite their flaws at times, unique plot, good ending

Disadvantages: It's a cheap movie with little style

Cube has unexpectedly turned into a cult movie. Slightly helped by the fact that the Region 2 DVD is OOP (Out Of Production) so they're harder to find now. Please note, the picture on DooYoo is actually the Region 1 version so if you're looking to buy the rarer one, go for the Region 2 version.

Anyway, the plot is very original and bizarre. It shows a total of seven people waking up in coloured, separate rooms, not knowing how they got there or why. They join up quickly and form a small group (of six) in an attempt to find the exit of this giant cube they are trapped in. Each character has their skill. For example, one is a doctor and another a cop.

The main task is finding out which room has a lethal trap and what activates it in order to pass though. Guesstimate wrong and you die. There is some gore, straight from the start in fact, but what I liked is that Vincenzo Natali knew when to stop. It wasn't a non-stop blood bath for lack of dialogue and sub-plots (Saw series come to mind) but rather a one step forward, two steps back scenario with gore as the set back.

It is a low budget movie which is obvious due to the setting. In fact, there is only one room for the whole movie and the different coloured walls are just removable panels. They didn't shoot in sequence which I never think is a good idea. This is because it took too much time changing panels so all the blue scenes were done, then the red scenes etc. This may of caused some of the dodgey performances in certain scenes and was a mistake in my opinion. However, I can't see it being done too much better on a high budget. Sure better special effects could be used (the room with voice activated spikes looked very fake) but I felt that this is part of what made Cube popular. It's an out of nowhere horror, with unknown actors and an original concept. If a big budget was thrown into the mix I bet we would have seen Nicholas Cage unconvincingly leading a handful of cliché scenes, held together by the only improvement; special effects.

The ending was well thought out and satisfying. It didn't answer too much but gave you a sense of some sort of accomplishment on the journey. You're finding out about this construction at the same time the group are so it has a really immersive and claustrophobic feel to it.

There are flaws that you could criticise such as the inconsistent acting and repetitive scenes but overall, I think Cube is much more of a success than a failure.

Summary: Definitely worth watching