Cube (1997)

Director:

Vincenzo Natali

Writers:

André Bijelic (written by) &
Vincenzo Natali (written by) ...

Release Date:

11 July 1998 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Fear... Paranoia... Suspicion... Desperation

Plot:

7 complete strangers of widely varying personality characteristics are involuntarily placed in an endless kafkaesque maze containing deadly traps.

Plot Keywords:

Kidnapping | Room | Blood On Shirt | Autistic Savant | Bleeding To Death

Awards:

13 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Nicole de Boer	...	Joan Leaven - The Math Student
Nicky Guadagni	...	Helen Holloway - The Doctor
David Hewlett	...	David Worth - The Architect
Andrew Miller	...	Kazan - The Autistic Man
Julian Richings	...	Alderson - The First Victim
Wayne Robson	...	Rennes - The Fugitive
Maurice Dean Wint	...	Quentin - The Cop

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong sci-fi violence/gore and language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:B | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Brazil:14 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Wallace Avenue Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Cube Libre

Trivia:

Not only are the characters named after prisons but they reflect the prisons themselves. Example: Kazan (the mentally challenged character), in Russia is a disorganized prison. Rennes (the "mentor") was a jail that pioneered many of today's prison policies. Quentin (the detective) is known for its brutality. Holloway is a women's prison, and Alderson is a prison where isolation is a common punishment. Leavenworth runs to a rigid set of rules (Leaven's mathematics), and the new prison is corporately owned and built (Worth, hired as an architect).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Leaven claims that the problem of finding factors or primes is astronomical. This is ridiculous. It is very easy to determine if a 3-digit number is prime. The largest factor you have to check is 31, and 2, 3, 5, 7 and 11 are all very easy to check, leaving only 6 factors to check. In addition, powers of primes for 3-digit numbers are MUCH easier to check: there are only 11 primes that have squares, only 4 that have cubes, and higher than this there are only powers of 2 and 3, and those are trivial. In short, the calculations should be simple. Not astronomical.

Quotes:

Quentin: But why put people in it?
Worth: Because it's here. You have to use it, or you admit that it's pointless.
Quentin: But it *is* pointless.
Worth: Quentin... that's my point.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Weird Sex & Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Distorted Reality

Cult Classic Sci-Fi!!

Vincenzo Natali. Funny sounding name right? Well just a little funny. Keep that name in your mind though over the next few years. After this film the Cube, Natali's follow up was the superb Cypher. He seems to be a master of a difficult genre, Sci-Fi. In a genre that is primarily known for having a high pap ratio, the fact that Natali's first two features have been cult classic science fiction movies then bodes well for Sci-fi fanatics who will eagerly anticipate his next movie. The Cube is a superbly crafted low budget film. On a shoestring budget and a dangerously basic premise full of intrigue, the film succeeds because of imaginative effects and taut directions as well as a superbly written script, delving into the human psyche in such an extreme situation. The plot is basically thus: A group of strangers wake in a cube room. They don't know where they are or how they got there but they know they must find a way out. It also transpires that when they leave each room the enter another room that is virtually identical in look. There will perhaps be a different colour in the lighting. The must find their way out before they starve tp death or go nuts, but to add to their woes, it seems that some of the rooms are booby trapped, ranging from sound activated, to pressure activated traps. They soon discover that each of them has a specific gift that can perhaps hold the key to their escape. There is a maths genius who may hold the key to discovering a way out. The rooms are numbered and the numbers could signify the type of room but also a map. The film is excellent and just when they think they have figured it out the Cube bites them in the behind. The dynamic of the characters is excellent as inevitably some go crazy. I do think that for a film shot for less than 300,000 dollars this is amazing looking. It works well for a film that is set in the same environment for the 90 minutes of the film. I have to say this film is one of those pleasant surprises that comes from nowhere and when word of mouth finally gets to you, please listen! ****