A man wakes up in an endless black maze, with only a few inches of head room, forced to crawl around fruitlessly, all with no idea where he is or how he got there. The only respite from this is the torment he receives from various booby traps and his brief glimpses into chambers in which torture, dismemberment, and various unspeakable acts are committed upon other hapless victims by unseen agents. Yes folks, the word "grim" doesn't really even begin to describe this one.
Tsukamoto brings us a punishing, claustrophobic nightmare on film that defies explanation, including the obvious one that the characters are dead and in hell. While the "person wakes up in room with no idea who he is or how he got there" device is well worn, it remains so effective simply because it can be a metaphor for almost anything. Rarely is it used as well as it is here, despite the absence of easy interpretations.
I've never been great at speculating about the "true" meaning of a film like this, but I will say that it seems to involve the aftermath of an altercation of some kind in which the man and a woman in his life both receive stab wounds to the abdomen. We don't learn much more than that, but the last 5 to 10 minutes completely open the possibilities, and surprisingly, provide something resembling an upbeat conclusion. Well, sort of. Intriguingly, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" is not quite the sign posted here.
Speaking of the afterlife, if that's what this is, this particular vision of damnation is astonishingly similar to the one that has haunted me as long as I can remember. Being forced to crawl around in a dark, extremely tight space for all eternity is apparently the very personal conception of hell that I in fact share with many others, or at least with Tsukamoto. If you're one of us, then consider this a warning or, if you like, an invitation to watch. Suffice it to say, this is not for all tastes or moods. But if you want something that makes Cube seem like a cheerful, feel-good film, this might just be the one for you.
Tsukamoto brings us a punishing, claustrophobic nightmare on film that defies explanation, including the obvious one that the characters are dead and in hell. While the "person wakes up in room with no idea who he is or how he got there" device is well worn, it remains so effective simply because it can be a metaphor for almost anything. Rarely is it used as well as it is here, despite the absence of easy interpretations.
I've never been great at speculating about the "true" meaning of a film like this, but I will say that it seems to involve the aftermath of an altercation of some kind in which the man and a woman in his life both receive stab wounds to the abdomen. We don't learn much more than that, but the last 5 to 10 minutes completely open the possibilities, and surprisingly, provide something resembling an upbeat conclusion. Well, sort of. Intriguingly, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" is not quite the sign posted here.
Speaking of the afterlife, if that's what this is, this particular vision of damnation is astonishingly similar to the one that has haunted me as long as I can remember. Being forced to crawl around in a dark, extremely tight space for all eternity is apparently the very personal conception of hell that I in fact share with many others, or at least with Tsukamoto. If you're one of us, then consider this a warning or, if you like, an invitation to watch. Suffice it to say, this is not for all tastes or moods. But if you want something that makes Cube seem like a cheerful, feel-good film, this might just be the one for you.