Cube

1997 was an amazing movie year. There were so many really good films released this year that i could tell you a whole list of titles. But let´s just mention a few that should be mentioned. Let us start with The Devil´s Advocate from director Taylor Hackford. A horror thriller that managed to combine a great story with really good acting, especially from legendary actor Al Pacino. Another reason why i really enjoy this film, is because of the characters. This film has the right type of characters to match with the horror influences, that will be revealed later on in the film. I suggest you pick up The Devil´s Advocate on Blu Ray and see a quality film from the late 90´s. The next film released in 1997 is David Fincher´s really original thriller The Game with actors Michael Douglas and Sean Penn. I honestly feel that this is one of my personal favourite films with Michael Douglas, and he did a really good performance here as the investment banker Nicholas Van Orton. What made The Game one of the best thrillers of 1997, was that this film was much more original and intelligent than most thrillers in a long time. You have to figure out, is it all a game or is there some truth on what´s going on ? If you love intelligent thrillers that are not predictable, you have to see The Game. It is one of director David Fincher´s classic films that should be respected more. I suggest you pick this film up on Blu Ray, and actually buy it. This is in my personal opinion one of the best thrillers of the 90´s. Moving on to another really good film from legendary director David Lynch ( who made so many classics such as Eraserhead, The Elephant Man and of course the sci fi cult film Dune. His film Lost Highway from 1997, is a very interesting neo-noir film, with really good cinematography by Peter Deming ( who worked with director Sam Raimi on his both films Evil Dead 2 and Drag Me To Hell ). Why i really enjoyed Last Highway so much, was because of David Lynch unique style of this film, and the great choice of the cast including Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Robert Loggia, Robert Blake and Gary Busey. But there was one film released in 1997 that really stood out of the crowd, that was very different from most releases that year. I am of course talking about the movie known as Cube, directed by Vincenzo Natali. A film that tells the story of 6 people, trapped inside an enormous cube, where they have to try and find a way out. This may not sound very original to you right now, but the film have a very clever plot hidden within the story. One of my readers named Dennis Magnusson requested me to write reviews on all three Cube films, so i will start with the first one.  Is the first Cube still a good cult film, or has the magic been lost so many years later ?

6 strangers find themselves stuck inside an enormous cube, where different rooms have traps. They must learn how to find the right way out, using different number combinations on every door. But that´s not all, every room is moving inside the cube. Is someone controlling the cube, or is there something else going on ?

Even if 21 years have passed since Cube came out, i have to say that this film still feels original. I was thinking about if i have seen anything like this film in recent years, and i can´t come up with one title. That has to be a good sign, right ? I think what made Cube such an original film, is that the film uses a very intelligent plot. To figure out how to find a way out of a cube that keeps moving every room around ? Not the easiest thing to solve. The characters are all good at different things, so the story cleverly uses them all for different purposes. Where some are not good with solving number combinations, they find other ways to help. My favourite characters in this film is actress Nicky Guadagni as Holloway. She is clearly the right female character to be stuck inside a cube, and she does a great performance. I also enjoy actor David Hewlett ( been in great films such as Splice and Rise Of The Planet of The Apes ) as the character Worth. Cube does not follow the typical Hollywood pattern and make everything predictable. I think this is one of the reasons why this film still works well, even if 21 years have passed. I will say this, i may have loved this film even more back then, but there is no doubt that i still feel that Cube still deliver on a film quality level. Director Vincenzo Natali ( who also directed Splice and worked together again with actor David Hewlett in that film also ) clearly set out to do something different with a film like Cube, and i think he managed to do this well. Something tells me that he must have been influenced by science fiction and perhaps math as well ( i could be wrong, but maybe i am right ? ) Cube may not be a film for the large audience, especially if you don´t like numbers¨. But if you happen to like intelligent films that actually have a good plot, i think you should see Cube. This is still a cult film that will live on among fans, and will probably find new fans as well. I heard that there is a remake coming, something i am not excited about. We don´t need a remake of Cube, simple as that. If you are tired of watching predictable Hollywood films that have nothing to offer, look for Cube on DVD. I promise, you won´t find many titles out there that looks like Cube, and that is why you should experience this film.

Rating: DDD