#13 - Cube (1997)

Cube (1997)

(dir. Vincenzo Natali)

A group of strangers wake up in a strange maze-like structure with no memory of how they got there. Each room is shaped like a cube, with hatches on all 6 sides that lead to other nearly identical rooms. The group quickly finds out that some are rigged with traps, and there isn't any clear way to figure out which rooms are safe and which are deadly. They must work together to figure out how to survive and escape, but that becomes difficult when suspicion and paranoia start to set in. It's a simple and intriguing premise, like the classic Twilight Zone episode "Five Characters in Search of an Exit" but with more gore. In some ways it is a precursor to films like Saw and Escape Room, but it still feels fresh and unique over 20 years later.

The concept is great, and figuring out the way the system works along with the characters is interesting and fun (it gets into some advanced math I don't understand but is apparently all accurate). Some of the traps are very memorable, especially the one in the opening scene, and the effects look mostly decent. There are a couple moments of bad late-'90s CGI but they are very brief. Visually there isn't much to write home about (it's a handful of actors on a single set for 90 minutes) but it looks nice for what it is. The dialogue is sometimes not great and the characters are shallow - nothing truly awful, but they are the biggest flaws in an otherwise really solid movie.

This is a cult classic for a reason - it's smart, fun, and original.