Cube (film series)

Cube (film series)
Directed by	Vincenzo Natali Andrzej Sekuła Ernie Barbarash
Written by	Vincenzo Natali Sean Hood Ernie Barbarash
Release dates	1997 2002 2004
Country	Canada
Language	English

Cube is a Canadian psychological thriller horror film series. The three films were directed by Vincenzo Natali, Andrzej Sekuła, and Ernie Barbarash respectively.

All three films are based on the same premise: there is a gigantic, mechanical, cubical structure of unknown purpose and origin, made up of lots of smaller cubical rooms. Each of these rooms has six doors, one on each face of the cube, which lead into adjacent, identically decorated rooms, only differing by colour. Some of these rooms are "safe", while others are equipped with deadly booby traps such as flamethrowers and razorwire. In some cases it is possible to detect a trap by throwing an object into the room first, although this method is not always reliable due to the trigger mechanism of certain traps.

In each case, a group of strangers awakens in this mysterious structure, without any knowledge of how or why they are there. In order to escape from the prison, they must band together and use their combined skills and talents to avoid the traps and navigate out of the maze, while also trying to solve the mystery of what the cube is and why they are in it. However, the pressure of being in the cube generally turns one of the prisoners into a homicidal maniac who preys on the others.

Cube Zero was slightly different from the first two films in that it also dealt with the people on the outside of the cube whose job it was to control the cube and oversee those within.

In March 2011, Lionsgate announced it was considering an additional film in the series, tentatively titled Cube 3D.

Films

• Cube (1997), the first film in the series, follows a group of seven frightened strangers who find themselves trapped in a bizarre maze of cubical rooms, with no memory of how they arrived there. Searching for a way out, they soon discover that many rooms contain lethal booby traps, while others are safe. Initially the prisoners band together in attempt to escape, however as their stay becomes longer the prisoners begin to fight each other because of the stress of their imprisonment. Despite the film's low budget, it achieved moderate commercial success and has developed a cult following due to its surreal, Kafkaesque setting.

• Cube 2: Hypercube (2002) is a sequel to the film Cube. The dusky, dingy rooms of the first film are replaced with high-tech, brightly lit rooms, and the conventional technology of the original traps are replaced with threats based on abstract mathematics. A new group of prisoners quickly discovers that, unlike the original Cube, the rooms in their prison appear to shift instantaneously. They realize they are inside a hypercube in which gravity, space, and time are distorted. This time the prisoners each have a connection to the cube's suggested creator.

• Cube Zero (2004) is a prequel to the film Cube. Unlike the first two films, which were limited to the prisoners' point of view, the film concerns two characters, Eric Wynn and Dodd, who are technicians observing the prisoners. Wynn finds himself caring about the fate of Cassandra Rains, a woman in the Cube, and decides to risk his job and even his life to help her try to escape. The rooms are similar to the original film, except that the colors are not as bright as in the first film.

Prisoners details in each film

Cube

Name	Occupation	Gender	Prison Connection	Played by	Status
Kazan	Autistic Savant	Male	Kazan Prison (Russia)	Andrew Miller	Alive after exiting the Cube
David Worth	Architect	Male	Leavenworth Prison (U.S.A.)	David Hewlett	Dead
Quentin	Police officer	Male	San Quentin State Prison (U.S.A.)	Maurice Dean Wint	Dead
Joan Leaven	Mathematics Student	Female	Leavenworth Prison (U.S.A.)	Nicole de Boer	Dead
Dr. Helen Holloway	Free Clinic Doctor	Female	Holloway Women's Prison (U.K.)	Nicky Guadagni	Dead
Rennes	Prison escapist	Male	Centre pénitentiaire de Rennes (France)	Wayne Robson	Dead
Alderson	Unknown	Male	Alderson Federal Prison Camp (U.S.A.)	Julian Richings	Dead

Cube 2: Hypercube

Name	Occupation	Gender	Played by	Status
Kate Filmore	Psychotherapist/Soldier	Female	Kari Matchett	Dead after exiting the Cube
Simon Grady	Private Detective	Male	Geraint Wyn Davies	Dead
Alexandra "Sasha" Trusk	Computer Hacker	Female	Grace Lynn Kung	Dead
Rebecca "Becky" Young	IZON Technician	Female	Greer Kent	Dead
Julia	Attorney	Female	Lindsey Connell	Dead
Max Reisler	Computer Game Designer	Male	Matthew Ferguson	Dead
Mrs. Paley	Retired Theoretical Mathematician	Female	Barbara Gordon	Dead
Jerry Whitehall	Engineer	Male	Neil Crone	Dead
Col. Thomas H. Maguire	Colonel	Male	Bruce Gray	Dead
Dr. Phil Rosenzweig	Scientist/Author (Nobel Prize Nominee)	Male	Andrew Scorer	Dead

Cube Zero

Name	Occupation	Gender	Played by	Status
Eric Wynn	Junior Cube Technician	Male	Zachary Bennett	Alive after exiting the Cube and being placed again
Dodd	Senior Cube Technician	Male	David Huband	Dead
Owen	Senior Cube Technician	Male	Tony Munch	Dead
Chickliss	Junior Cube Technician	Male	N/A	Dead
Cassandra Rains	Political Protester	Female	Stephanie Moore	Alive after exiting the Cube
Jax	Senior Cube Supervisor	Male	Michael Riley	Alive; is a supervisor of the Cube
Robert P. Haskell	Soldier	Male	Martin Roach	Dead
Meyerhold	Unknown	Male	Mike "Nug" Nahrgang	Dead
Jellico	Unknown	Female	Terri Hawkes	Dead
Bartok	Unknown	Male	Richard McMillan	Dead
Ryjkin	Unknown	Male	Jasmin Geljo	Dead
Chandler	Unknown	Female	Sandi Ross	Unknown
Smith	Unknown	Male	Dino Bellisario	Unknown
McCaw	Unknown	Female	Ashley James	Unknown

Mythology

The world in which the Cube series is set is kept secret from the viewer of the films throughout. The first Cube, in particular, portrays nothing of the world in which the film is set, who is responsible for the Cube, or why the prisoners are there. Hints are, however, given throughout the second and third films.

The second film reveals that a company named "IZON" (/aɪzɑːn/ as in "eyes on") is responsible for the development of the Cubes, and the third film indicates that their construction and operation has either been ordered or directly carried out by an unidentified government.

Similarly themed works

Each of the following films begins with a group of strangers awakening captive somewhere—though not a place quite as high-tech and obviously otherworldly as the cube complex—after having been abducted, and being faced with a structure of deadly challenges.

• Breathing Room — featuring fourteen participants
• Die — featuring six participants (one for each face of a traditional die)
• House of 9 — featuring nine participants (as the title suggests)
• Nine Dead — likewise featuring nine participants
• Persons Unknown (13-episode TV series) (2010) — featuring seven primary participants

The 2006 film Unknown involves a group of five men with temporary amnesia, locked inside of a remote, abandoned factory, but not faced with a challenge structure. The film Predators involves a group of seven largely martial or hardened, armed strangers awakening in an unfamiliar preserve.

The theme has no a designation as a film genre even as a niche, in any parlance. The common attribute of storyline is that of a group of people awakening stuck in unfamiliar surroundings or unknown location, without complete understanding of how or why they are there and of who is responsible for them being there, which is merely the beginning of the matter.

See also

• Cinema of Canada
• The Cube