The original Cube was the brainstorm of Vincenzo Natali who’s gone on to make equally mind bending, head scratching films in the wake of Cube, one of his early features. Following Cube, was Cube 2: Hypercube, and extended and rather contrived US sequel to the Canadian original in which it chose to try to explain everything, where the ambiguity of the original added atmosphere.

So in 2004 we had the franchise move back to Canadian hands and tries to bridge the gap between the two first films by working as a sort of prequel, but including elements of both films. The back to basics approach to the simple cube traps returns in this film, but also included is yet a further explanation and outside world view of the activities taking place within the cube.

Cube Zero, like Cube 2: Hypercube, suggests that the cube was invented for the purposes of military use, with those who are in the cube having provided consent under duress and drugging. Thus, the idea is that only criminals and those that perpetuate treason will be thrown into the cube. Most of the story centres around two friends who control and observe the activities that take place in the cube. These two work colleagues reach loggerheads when one of them discovers that a cube entrant did no voluntarily agree to take part in the program.

There are some really terrible problems with Cube Zero. It comes from the writer of Cube 2: Hypercube, which means the same need to explain everything occurs here, with even an explanation as to the autistic nature of the character from the first film. Many of the characters here are killed off far more rapidly, and we really don’t see much character development here, as most of the focus is on the two observers. It’s a very different film, and has neither the atmosphere, nor tension that the original had. Writers turned directors don’t always work well, and in this case, it’s a toss up as to which is worse: Cube Zero or Cube 2: Hypercube. Still, the gore is pretty excellent for the most part, and perhaps one of the only limited redeeming features of this film.

There are some really terrible problems with Cube Zero. It comes from the writer of Cube 2: Hypercube, which means the same need to explain everything occurs here

The acting is woeful at best, and perhaps even worse than the second film. As I said, it’s hard to say which is worse, but neither touches the intelligence nor direction of the first film by Natali, and are mere shadows of the original. This obsession of tying all the loose ends up, and trying to explain every nook and cranny of the original film simply destroys the mysticism and cleverness of Cube. In many ways, the sequel and prequel have almost no connection to the original in terms of what takes place. They take the basic idea and wrap something else around it, turning them into far more accessible and dull experiences.

I can’t say I was wholly joyed by the experience of watching Cube Zero. It was, admittedly, a more gratifying experience than Cube 2: Hypercube, but the gap between liking either is so thin that it’s almost irrelevant. Cube Zero also contains elements that are just not consistent with the original, nor the sequel, so in many ways the writer of the sequel has simply contradicted his own idiotic self which begs the question as to why we don’t see similar occurrences in the original. This is where things get confusing, as it completely messes up the time line and structure of the original as well as the poor sequel making a mess of everything. It’s possible Cube will become the new Hellraiser of horror films, where the same thing happens over and over for an annual sequel until people start petitioning its demise.

If you haven’t watched either Cube 2: Hypercube or Cube Zero, then you are not missing much. Without doubt, whether you love it or hate it, the first film is worthy of a watch, and you can simply ignore the follow ups to it, as they have little in common and fail to really add either anything new, or anything significant to the plot or structure of the story; instead they seem to ruin and damage the the wall of ambiguity that the original managed to create, allowing viewers to make their own minds up.

Verdict: Second worst of the Cube trilogy, second best, and overall as big a disappointment as Cube 2: Hypercube. Stick with Cube and pretend the others didn’t happen