Imagine waking up in a strange place, no idea how you got there, no idea how to get out, with five other people, and surrounded by rooms that potentially could kill you in seconds. No, this isn’t high school. It’s the premise behind a late 90s horror movie called simply, Cube.
Six people have awoken to a nightmare. They are all trapped inside of a literal killing machine. None of them have any idea who the others are, or how they all ended up being in this contraption. Seemingly the only choice they have is to find a way out. Each room they pass through could be the last room they ever see, as they are almost all rigged with traps. Some of the victims try to brute force their way out, some try to with reason but none of them really understand why they are being subjected to this.
I can remember seeing commercials for Cube on SciFi (yes, before it was SyFy) back in the late 90s. I never actually sat down and watched it until now. I always thought it was a made for TV thing, but apparently, it was a bit larger than that. I don’t think it ever made a theatrical release, but it wasn’t a SciFi original either.
I like this movie for the simplicity of the setting, cast, and (though somewhat vacant) story. It’s obviously (mainly) a one-room shot. The cast is minimal at best. The acting of most of the cast leaves quite a bit to be desired, but it gets the point across just the same. I wouldn’t be surprised if this played some part in the inspiration behind the Saw series. It’s easy to see the similarities in the two movies. So much so that I had to look up both movies to see which came out first. There was a sequel and a prequel that came out much later than the original. Also, someone was looking at doing a Hollywood reboot of the original as recent as 2015. Should a new one ever actually come out, I’d be interested in seeing how well a Hollywood paid cast/production team would handle this.
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