Cube 2: Hybercube

Sequels to great movies can be tricky to make. You either pay respect to the original film, or you move into a different direction with a solid story. In most sequels you either get some surprises, or you know exactly what to expect. I prefer to enjoy sequels that surprise me, and there are a couple of titles worth mentioning here. But let´s just mention two for now. Let´s start off with Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom. This sequel was released in 1984. Even if this sequel was not as good as the original film Raiders Of The Lost Ark, i still think that director Steven Spielberg did a really good job, by telling a much more darker story than before. The cult rituals, the human sacrifices and the secret society inside the dark mines of India gave this film a very strong impact. Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom is one of those sequels that actually managed to continue the legacy of Indiana Jones in a powerful way. The next sequel i would like to mention, is perhaps a film most of you remember from legendary director Sam Raimi. His film Spider-Man 2, released in 2004, was even better than the first Spider-Man movie that director Sam Raimi also directed. What made this sequel better ? First of all the characters were more interesting in the sequel, and the bad guy Dr. Otto Octavius, played really well by actor Alfred Molina. Another thing that also worked really well with this sequel was the action scenes. More majestic and good looking CGI effects. Since we are talking about sequels, i remember thinking back in 1997 that it would be impossible to do a sequel to a cult film called Cube. This film turned out to be very intelligent, and had a much more original concept than many films during this time period. I remember when i first saw that Cube was getting a sequel released on DVD. I just was not sure that a sequel would be a good idea, since the original film managed to be a film that looked like nothing else at that time. Of course i had to see if they could manage to continue the story of Cube in a respectful way. Is this a sequel that actually manage to get things right, or is this another proof of why you should leave certain films alone ?

8 strangers find themselves inside an enormous cube. Some rooms looks exactly the same, while some rooms could have traps or another purpose. No one really knows why they were chosen to be here, but they must find their way out. 


I have not seen this film ever since the film was first released on DVD, and that is many years ago. I barely remembered anything, so i wanted to see if i might appreciate this film in present day. Watching this sequel now, i can honestly say that there was no need to make a sequel. Why not ? Simply because the original film should have been left alone. To make a sequel on a solid film, does not mean that you have to do one. And in the case of Cube 2: Hybercube you can tell that they can´t get this sequel to the same quality level as the original film. The story may be similar, but this film can´t move the franchise of Cube in a solid direction. There are a few positive things i could mention. Actor Barbara Gordon as the very confused Mrs. Paley is a character that saves this film from falling apart, since some the actors don´t act with any emotions. Kari Matchett as Kate Filmore is also one of the few characters that works for the most part. The ending is actually not bad, with a surprise twist that i was not expecting. Now let´s get into the negative. Since the first Cube film managed to be both intelligent and original, this sequel basically borrows the concept of the first film but don´t do anything original about it. The group of people try to figure out why they are there, and this is one of the things i think this film fails with also, not telling an interesting story. Without a stronger group of characters, and nothing original to tell, it becomes clear that Cube 2 falls pretty flat. I will say this though, i do like the constructed rooms, within the cube. They are designed pretty cool. Director Andrej Sekula ( who have worked as a Cinematographer in films such as Quentin Tarantinos films Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction ) must have enjoyed the first film to direct a sequel to a cult movie. Unfortunately, he does not try very hard enough to make a worthy sequel, so this basically becomes a sequel you won´t remember. I would not call this an awful film, but to be honest this should have been so much better. Cube 2: Hybercube should only be seen if you loved the first film, but don´t expect to enjoy this film as much as the first one. Lesson learned directors, always make sure to make a sequel worthy to the first film, or even make it better. Sometimes it is better to leave some original films left alone.

Rating: DD