Several people wake up to find they�re in a cube, and they�ve no idea how they got there. In the middle of each wall is a square doorway which leads, surprisingly, to more cubes. Unfortunately, every other cube is rigged with an invisible but imaginatively fatal trap, making progress through the network of cubes rather difficult.
The people we first meet are completely unrelated. I couldn�t work out whether it was a bad script or dodgy acting that made the first few scenes a little unconvincing � certainly lines like �I�m gonna get us out of here. Believe me,� from the calm-but-strong male lead whilst cradling the kooky female teenager�s head seemed a little hackneyed, but soon the Hollywood stereotypes get washed away. In blood.
This film can survive a few cranky starts and some pretty nasty gore scenes though thanks to the sheer openness of the concept and psychological possibilities it involves. Slowly the workings of this seemingly endless network of deadly rooms get figured out and they create a plan to get out of there. The psychological effect of being in an impossible, claustrophobic and totally unknown space are what is fascinating about this film. This is not your ordinary disaster film where you know the bad guys will die and the search and rescue fellows will come and fish you out eventually. (Especially if you are blonde, young or a cute toddler.)
I won�t tell you anything more about this film, because it�ll be spoilt. The mystery of it � and what you make of it � is the real treat. It kept me completely hooked from beginning to end and although lacking in a traditional narrative form it has stuck in my head ever since as a completely original and philosophical piece of cinema. |
