CUBE 2: HYPERCUBE

A combination of math lesson and spine tingling thriller, 1997’s Cube reveled in its obvious originality and ability to scare and intrigue whilst only using one fifth of a Hollywood budget. The story of a group of people, unwillingly entered into a strange environment – resembling an intertwined series of cubes – and having to find an exit, went on to become a successful cult favorite.
With the sequel, outsmarting the puzzle is once again the movie’s primary function. Though this time, the stakes are higher, as we’re also dealing with a supernatural element that plays havoc with the Cube inhabitants.
Eight strangers awaken in a strange Cube surrounding unsure of how they got there. They soon discover that they’re actually trapped in a Hypercube – a four dimensional trap where physics don’t apply and alternate realities exist in the rooms they’ve either just left, or about to enter.
Like the first film, the guinea pigs have been fittingly preferred. In this case, they’ve all got something to do with the company behind the Cube construction. One’s a senile old woman who can’t remember much but does remember that she use to work for the shady company in question, another is a psychotic eradicator on the case of finding a missing woman (who just happens to be trapped somewhere in the Cube), another invented the futuristic doors for the Cube, another is a doctor of psychiatry, another is a game developer involved in a legal battle with the company, one more is a worker there and the other is the boss behind the contraption.
Needless to say – and much like the first one – not everyone comes out in one piece, but one will inescapably find the secret to disengage the Cube.
While not as fresh and gripping as the 1997 original, “Cube 2: Hypercube” is still a highly intriguing thriller, coupled with some ingenious plot devices and some lavishly built settings.
Director Andrzej Sekula – also the DOP – has put a lot of detail into the construction of the film’s central piece, and it almost steals the show from the capable actors on screen.
Unfortunately, there are flaws. The acting borderlines on wooden for a while there, and the tension’s not as peaked as one might hope, but all in all, it’s a worthwhile tutorial in quantum physics and slash-dash.