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This low-budget science-fiction drama, winner of a 1997 Toronto Film Festival prize for "Best Canadian First Feature," depicts the plight of a group of people clad in prison-style uniforms and trapped in futuristic cube-like metal cells. Their memories are hazy; no one can recall how they got there. Alderson (Julian Richings) awakens in a cell, seeks an exit, and arrives in an adjacent cube where he's sliced and diced. Former cop Quentin (Maurice Dean-Wint) becomes the group leader, and he's challenged by conspiracy theorist Dr. Holloway (Nicky Guadagni). Government worker Worth (David Hewlett) remembers a past government link to the project. A discovery that the cubes have numerical codes suggests study by math-student Leaven (Nicole deBoer) while former thief Rennes (Wayne Robson) knows some escape tricks. However, the extreme behavior of Kazan (Andrew Miller) becomes a threat to their survival. (official distributor synopsis)

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Reviews (7)

novoten 

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English At first, it's very likable and imaginative, but over time, it becomes more and more nonsensical and exaggerated. The characters often fall into pseudo-analysis of each other against the backdrop of a recent terrifying experience, which stops being believable after the second time and major personality shifts happen almost from minute to minute. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the ignorance of practically all the characters, which is also the audience's ignorance. The sudden surprise that can hide in any room is taken to an absolute peak here, which is slightly ruined by increasingly complicated mathematical play. ()

Othello 

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English Cubegained quite a cult status in both horror circles and among the general public quite soon after its release, which more than anything else speaks to the state of the horror genre in the mid-nineties. While the basic premise, avoiding looking anywhere beyond the titular cube, its creators, and their motivations still work well (however mutilated by the subsequent sequels), the rest of the film's disciplines suffer here like Hus. The whole thing is blighted by terrible editing, scenes separated by blackouts look clueless, the actors aren't guided well, and it's not helped by the terrible drivel that falls out of them when least expected, apparently in an attempt to create a psychological thriller. It probably wouldn't have mattered anyway, and the way the main black guy keeps bulging his eyeballs would earn a knowing nod even from Nicholas "Not the Bees!" Cage. I'd recommend five-star folks remember rather than refresh. ()

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D.Moore 

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English A strange film, but in a good way. I can kind of see why In the Tall Grass was given to Vincenzo Natali. I was only a little annoyed by some of the actors, but otherwise I have to commend the well-developed and original idea and the oppressive direction, which makes the most of the cubic claustrophobia. The ending didn't bother me at all, I like these types of endings. ()

J*A*S*M 

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English I suddenly fancied rewatching a film that I remembered as excellent and original sci-fi horror and I was quite unpleasantly surprised. Cube is undoubtedly original, but the transition of that premise to the screen was not painless. The script tries to work with the psychology of the characters, but without much success. Actually, the bullshit it forces the characters to say is something I hadn’t seen in a long time. And on top of that, the actors are really awful (the black cop is so bad that it was funny). It was a real disappointment the second time around, the points are mostly for the idea and the atmosphere. 7/10 ()

kaylin 

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English "The Cube" is not perfect - it has its weaker moments, but you should not let them discourage you, because what you will experience with the characters, even though some may become very annoying, is more than a strong spectacle. Just immerse yourself a little in their roles, which is not so difficult, and you will realize that this is really something you don't want to miss, something you personally wouldn't let slip away. As a film, however, it is a strong experience that personally showed me that Canadian horror is simply good and sometimes even excellent. ()

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