Cube (1997)

Director:

Vincenzo Natali

Writers:

André Bijelic (written by) &
Vincenzo Natali (written by) ...

Release Date:

11 July 1998 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Fear... Paranoia... Suspicion... Desperation

Plot:

7 complete strangers of widely varying personality characteristics are involuntarily placed in an endless kafkaesque maze containing deadly traps.

Plot Keywords:

Kidnapping | Autistic Savant | Alternative Reality | Survival Horror | Cop

Awards:

13 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Nicole de Boer	...	Joan Leaven - The Math Student
Nicky Guadagni	...	Helen Holloway - The Doctor
David Hewlett	...	David Worth - The Architect
Andrew Miller	...	Kazan - The Autistic Man
Julian Richings	...	Alderson - The First Victim
Wayne Robson	...	Rennes - The Fugitive
Maurice Dean Wint	...	Quentin - The Cop

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong sci-fi violence/gore and language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:B | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Brazil:14 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Wallace Avenue Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Cube Libre

Trivia:

All of the characters are named after prisons: Quentin (San Quentin, California), Holloway (England), Kazan (Russia), Rennes (France), Alderson (Alderson, West Virginia), Leaven and Worth (Leavenworth, Kansas).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Kazam is supposed to be a math genius, something that the plot hinges on, but he makes several mistakes when calculating the number of prime factors to find out whether a room is trapped or not. He says that 462 has three prime factors, when it has four, that 206 has four when it only has two and that 563 has two and 911 has three when both are actually prime numbers.

Quotes:

Quentin: Start with us. We got an escape artist and a cop. There's gotta be a reason for that. You're a doctor, Holloway. That gives you a function, a reason, right?
Holloway: No! It just makes me go, "Why me and not one of the other ten million doctors out there?"

Movie Connections:

Referenced in MediEvil II (2000) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Distorted Reality

Incredibly original

This film is one of the most original films I've ever seen. On top of that, it is absolutely riveting and engaging. It will have you thinking for hours afterward. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes intriguing movies. The acting is good. Other than the girl who plays the student, I've never seen any of the actors before, which makes the movie much harder to predict than most.

The air of mystery prevails throughout. The pace is perfect, which surprised me, given the limited amount the characters could actually do. And the ending doesn't sell out the rest of the movie, which films with this level of mystery often do.