Revisited is a series that loops back to reexamine some of our cult staples and favorites with a particular focus on 1980 to 2010. One review is good, sure, but have you tried second review?
Justin: This month we’re revisiting 1997’s Cube — a little indie flick that kicked off a series and inspired a lot of other deathtrap room-like flicks.
The reason I picked this one is that it was a frequently recommended movie in the late ’90s, especially among us cult enthusiasts. It’s a creative little Canadian production that mixes scifi, horror, and mystery together into a fun “locked room” tale with a twist or two.
Even today when I see lists of underrated ’90s scifi, this comes up alongside other titles such as Screamers, Nemesis, and Ghost in the Shell. I think it helped to spin up some inspiration for the escape room subgenre and even the Saw franchise.
Drake: OK, I did watch Cube for the first time. It’s… an interesting concept, let down by bouts of mediocre acting and gaping plot holes. I can see why it had an audience, but at the same time its low-budget origins are so apparent as to be distracting. It really felt like the script needed at least one more run-through, with better explanations for the mathematics involved. And a better answer to the equations than the savant who was able to magically solve everything in his head. Although I did think Andrew Miller did well with the part of Kazan.
I just could not buy the ridiculousness of the rage-filled Quentin somehow following the other three through the cube, without Kazan’s instant math powers, to jump them at the end. It was an obvious “Uh-oh!” moment, but it took me right out of the movie.
Justin: It doesn’t have to be for everyone, but I feel that Cube really typified the types of movies we were attracted to right from the start of Mutant Reviewers history (which began this same year, 1997). It was creative and out-of-the-norm, a cool little story that stuck in the head long after the film ended. We loved — and still love — to find these types of movies and give them a promotional push. Of course, this was before cheaper CGI and video-making equipment made it easy for anyone to slap together a piece of genre slop.
It’s just too bad that the sequel, prequel, and remake were all forgettable trash. Maybe this didn’t need to be a franchise at all. Some mysteries are best left partially obscured.
Drake: I can see why Cube gets recommended, honestly. They did quite a bit with a tiny budget, and showed some real originality.
