Cube (film series)

Cube
Directed by	Vincenzo Natali Andrzej Sekuła Ernie Barbarash Yasuhiko Shimizu
Written by	André Bijelic Graeme Manson Vincenzo Natali Sean Hood Ernie Barbarash Koji Tokuo
Distributed by	Cineplex Odeon Films & Trimark Pictures (1997) Lions Gate Films (2002, 2004) Shochiku (2021)
Release dates	Cube (1997) Cube 2: Hypercube (2002) Cube Zero (2004) Cube (2021)
Countries	Canada (1997–2004) Japan (2021)
Languages	English (1997–2004) Japanese (2021)

Cube is a Canadian science fiction horror film series. The films were directed by Vincenzo Natali, Andrzej Sekuła, Ernie Barbarash and Yasuhiko Shimizu respectively.

The films are centered, with slight variations, on the same science-fictional setting: a gigantic, mechanized cubical structure of unknown purpose and origin, made up of numerous smaller cubical rooms, in which most or all of the principal characters inexplicably awaken in the opening scenes. Each of these rooms has six heavy vault doors, one on each face of the cube, which lead into adjacent, largely identical rooms, differing occasionally by colour of lighting. 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.

An American remake, currently on hold, is in development at Lionsgate, and a Japanese produced remake was released in 2021.

Setting

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 film's writer, Vincenzo Natali, apparently wrote a script detailing the world outside the Cube, but destroyed it after deciding not to create a film about it. The plot devices used in Hypercube and Cube Zero (IZON and the government) are likely not (or only very loosely) related to Natali's original idea.

The first film is especially most ominous about the outside world; there is no indication of where or when the Cube was built, nor the timeline of it (although it is generally assumed to be present day). Although the main characters are presumably North American due to their speaking English with typical North American accents, there is no evidence of the Cube being built in the U.S. However, in the second film, a U.S. Colonel displays knowledge of the first Cube's existence and layout. The Colonel is referring to the Cube in the first film and not the prequel because he mentions a feature specific to that Cube.

The second film reveals that a company named IZON is responsible for the Cube. Several exterior shots indicate that it is set in present time. The Cube's disturbing nature and the sheer impossibility of it being a physical construct (since it is technically an endless tesseract) make the location ambiguous. Furthermore, IZON is a private company, but the presence of the aforementioned Colonel and his knowledge of the Cube suggests that the U.S government is involved, or are perhaps trying to take it down.

The third Cube film shows its personnel, consisting of management (known as "people upstairs") and technicians who operate the Cube and oversee the people placed inside. All people trapped in the Cube are death row inmates with their memories deleted and who willingly signed in to be placed inside instead of being executed. The Cube appears to be operated by a repressive, totalitarian government. At one point, when one technician finds no consent form of a woman trapped inside, it shows that the government also imprisons political opponents inside against their will (the technician finds her picture in a newspaper showing her at a political protest). It is also implied in this film that a character from the first film, Kazan, may not actually be autistic and is possibly a victim of the same treatment Eric Wynn received: Having his brain surgically altered so his behavior resembles that of a stereotypical autistic savant).

Films

Cube (1997)

Main article: Cube (1997 film)

Cube, 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 an attempt to escape, but one of the prisoners then begins to turn insane and threatens the group's escape. 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)

Main article: Cube 2: Hypercube

Cube 2: Hypercube 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)

Main article: Cube Zero

Cube Zero 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.

Cube (2021)

Main article: Cube (2021 film)

A Japanese remake, also called Cube, was released in October 2021.

Future

In March 2011, it was reported that Lionsgate Films had filmed an additional direct-to-video film in the series, tentatively titled Cube 3D. While filmed, it is considered lost media.

In April 2015, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Lionsgate Films was planning to remake the film, under the title Cubed, with Saman Kesh directing, Roy Lee and Jon Spaihts producing and a screenplay by Philip Gawthorne, based on Kesh's original take. Development on the film stalled the following year, leaving its future uncertain.

Cast and crew

Principal cast

Character	Original series			Remake
	Cube	Cube 2: Hypercube	Cube Zero	Cube
	1997	2002	2004	2021
Kazan	Andrew Miller		Zachary Bennett (as Eric Wynn)	Hikaru Tashiro (as Chio Uno)
Quentin McNeil	Maurice Dean Wint			Takumi Saito (as Hiroshi Ide)
Joan Leaven	Nicole de Boer			Anne Watanabe (as Asako Kai)
David Worth	David Hewlett			Masaki Suda (as Yuichi Goto)
Dr. Helen Holloway	Nicky Guadagni			Masaki Okada (as Shinji Ochi)
Rennes	Wayne Robson			Kōtarō Yoshida (as Kazumasa Ando)
Alderson	Julian Richings			Tokio Emoto (as First Man)
Kate Filmore		Kari Matchett
Simon Grady		Geraint Wyn Davies
Sasha / Alex Trusk		Grace Lynn Kung
Jerry Whitehall		Neil Crone
Max Riesler		Matthew Ferguson
Colonel Thomas H. Maguire		Bruce Gray
Mrs. Paley		Barbara Gordon
The General		Philip Akin
Julia Sewell		Lindsey Connell
Becky Young		Greer Kent
Dr. Phil Rosenzweig		Andrew Scorer
Tracton		Paul Robbins
Dodd			David Huband
Cassandra Rains			Stephanie Moore
Jax			Michael Riley
Meyerhold			Mike "Nug" Nahrgang
Jellico			Terri Hawkes
Ryjkin			Jasmin Geljo
Quigley			Diego Klattenhoff
Robert P. Haskell			Martin Roach
Bartok			Richard McMillan
Owen			Tony Munch
Finn			Joshua Peace
Anna			Alexia Filippeos
Male Doctor			Fernando Cursione
Female Doctor			Araxi Arslanian

Prisoners details in each film

Cube (1997)

Name	Occupation	Gender	Prison connection	Played by
Kazan	Unknown, possibly former cube technician	Male	Kazan prison in Russia	Andrew Miller
David Worth	Architect	Male	Leavenworth Prison in the U.S.A.	David Hewlett
Quentin McNeil	Police officer	Male	San Quentin State Prison in the U.S.A.	Maurice Dean Wint
Joan Leaven	Mathematics student	Female	Leavenworth Prison in the U.S.A.	Nicole de Boer
Dr. Helen Holloway	Free clinic doctor	Female	Holloway Women's Prison in the U.K.	Nicky Guadagni
Rennes	Prison escapist	Male	Centre pénitentiaire de Rennes in France	Wayne Robson
Alderson	Unknown	Male	Alderson Federal Prison Camp in the U.S.A.	Julian Richings

Cube 2: Hypercube

Name	Occupation	Gender	Played by
Kate Filmore	Psychotherapist / Soldier	Female	Kari Matchett
Simon Grady	Private detective	Male	Geraint Wyn Davies
Alexandra "Sasha" Trusk	Computer hacker	Female	Grace Lynn Kung
Rebecca "Becky" Young	IZON technician	Female	Greer Kent
Julia Sewell	Attorney	Female	Lindsey Connell
Max Reisler	Computer game designer	Male	Matthew Ferguson
Mrs. Paley	Retired theoretical mathematician	Female	Barbara Gordon
Jerry Whitehall	Engineer	Male	Neil Crone
Colonel Thomas H. Maguire	Colonel	Male	Bruce Gray
Dr. Phil Rosenzweig	Scientist / Author / Nobel Prize nominee	Male	Andrew Scorer

Cube Zero

Name	Occupation	Gender	Played by
Eric Wynn	Junior cube technician	Male	Zachary Bennett
Dodd	Senior cube technician	Male	David Huband
Owen	Senior cube technician	Male	Tony Munch
Chickliss	Junior cube technician	Male	N/A
Cassandra Rains	Political protester	Female	Stephanie Moore
Jax	Senior cube supervisor	Male	Michael Riley
Robert P. Haskell	Cube soldier	Male	Martin Roach
Meyerhold	Unknown	Male	Mike "Nug" Nahrgang
Jellico	Unknown	Female	Terri Hawkes
Bartok	Unknown	Male	Richard McMillan
Ryjkin	Unknown	Male	Jasmin Geljo
Chandler	Unknown, possibly doctor	Female	Sandi Ross
Smith	Unknown	Male	Dino Bellisario
McCaw	Unknown	Female	Ashley James

Cube (2021)

Name	Occupation	Gender	Age	Played by
Yuichi Goto	Engineer	Male	29	Masaki Suda
Asako Kai	Staff employee	Female	37	Anne Watanabe
Shinji Ochi	Freeter	Male	31	Masaki Okada
Chio Uno	Middle school student	Male	13	Hikaru Tashiro
First Man	Prisoner	Male	Unknown	Tokio Emoto
Hiroshi Ide	Mechanic	Male	41	Takumi Saito
Kazumasa Ando	Company executive	Male	62	Kōtarō Yoshida

See also

• Cinema of Canada
• The Cube

External links

• Cube at IMDb
• Cube 2: Hypercube at IMDb
• Cube Zero at IMDb
• Cube (2021 film) at IMDb