Institute History

  • 1998 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Making an intellectual/horror/sci-fi thriller as an independent film would have seemed impossible until recently. However, thanks to the immense vision and talent of Vincenzo Natali, that combination is here for you to enjoy.

Natali plummets six unwilling strangers into a horrifying maze where they are forced frantically to search for the path that leads them to safety. In this realm, the physical traps, starvation, and exhaustion are equally as lethal as the mental perils of paranoia, bigotry, and selfishness. Each of the involuntary players in this sick game has a talent that he or she must harness to escape from the mind-boggling assemblage of almost-identical rooms. Distinguished only by differences in color and random numbers in passageways, the rooms feature various morbidly original booby traps. Trying to rationalize the irrational compounds the characters’ frustration as they attempt to decipher the rules that will allow them to escape alive.

Inspired art direction and cinematography masterfully shape this macabre world and provide an environment for succinct performances. Because of the complete lack of expository background or information, the viewer feels like a seventh pawn in a fatal game. Natali meshes sensational special effects and dialogue to produce a multidimensional work with few peers. Cube traps you in a terrifying labyrinth, probing the darkest recesses of the human psyche. See whether you can survive its deadly secrets.


Vincenzo Natali, Director
Vincenzo Natali is a
Toronto-based filmmaker and storyboard artist. As a resident of the Canadian Film Centre, he wrote and directed several short films, including Elevated (1996). Cube is his first feature film.

— Trevor Groth

Screening Details

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