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After a limited release in theaters in 1998, this independent sci-fi film from Canada has garnered cult status since arriving on video. Using one set, director Vincenzo Natali creates both a claustrophobic mental torture chamber, as well as a mind-bending labyrinth. This sci-fi horror flick has gory bits for sure, but the mystery of the plot and what it means to the characters makes this film more exciting than all the slicing and dicing.

A man wakes up in a cube-shaped room with doors on all six surfaces. He moves to the next room and we learn quickly what happens when one ventures into the wrong room. Five other captives wake up in one of a series of interlocking cubes. Joan Leaven (Nicole de Boer, TV’s THE DEAD ZONE) is a Math student, who will be called upon to try and decipher the numbers engraved on the many doorways. Helen Holloway (Nicky Guadagni, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL) is a doctor with a big conspiracy theory involving the military industrial complex. Quentin (Maurice Dean Wint, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH) is a cop with a superiority complex and a nasty temper. Rennes (Wayne Robson, AFFLICTION) is a fugitive escape artist who devises a way to check for booby-trapped rooms. David Worth (David Hewlett, TV’s STARGATE: ATLANTIS) is a young cynical man who doesn’t believe they’ll ever get out of the cube. Later the group will encounter Kazan (Andrew Miller, TRAPPED IN PARADISE), a severely autistic man with a secret gift.

Natali, along with screenwriters Andre Bijelic and Graeme Manson, crafts a twisting mystery that pits the wits and personalities of its characters against each other. Trapped without water or food, the captives move from fear to paranoia as they try to discover an escape route. Some will be consumed with discovering the reasons for their predicament and others will not be able to handle the possibility that there is no reason for them being there at all. Natali is dealing with a bleak idea for the ills of the world, which is so painfully truthful. The sci-fi elements are original and smart. The captives make mistakes in their reasoning because they do not see the bigger picture. However, when more pieces fall into place, the solution becomes more apparent, but by then, is it too late?

The only downside is that the acting can be stiff and overly dramatic at times. Not that the performances are bad, but they’re stagy instead of filmic. Hewlett gives the best performance of the core cast, provided with an interesting character arch. While he comes off as insanely intense right from the start, Quentin’s interaction with Joan and Helen reveals interesting details about his personality and past.

Building nice tension, the first-time feature director Natali is in control of the film’s tempo like a veteran conductor. The plot skillfully adds new elements and dimensions as it moves along, never stretching credibility. With patience, he constructs nail-biting sequences as good as any thriller you might see. In production and in spirit, this is truly an independent production, attempting to leave us with something to think about instead of the traditional happy, nicely tied-up ending.

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