Cube 2: Hypercube

Vincenzo Natali’s 1997 movie “Cube” failed at the box office, but became a cult film on home video. Five years later a sequel followed which copied the basic structure of the original, but did add some original twists. This week’s movie was “Cube 2: Hypercube” from Lions Gate in 2002, filmed in Toronto, Canada. Polish-born Andrzej Sekula directed the film from a script by Sean Hood, Ernie Barbarash, and Lauren McLaughlin. Once again an odd assortment of characters awaken inside a vast structure composed of interlocking cube-shaped rooms. But this time most of the prisoners have at least some knowledge of the structure and its nature. The first Cube was a prototype. This is the finished version. It is a “tesseract” in which time and space are warped, and alternate realities and timelines exist within its labyrinthine chambers. It was built by the evil “Izon Corporation,” and serves their mysterious unknown goals. As in the original film many of the inmates are as dangerous as the trap itself. The main character is “Kate Filmore,” (Kari Matchett), a sympathetic psychotherapist. She comes to realize that the hypercube will soon collapse in upon itself, and that there will only be one opportunity to escape!

In spite of some interesting variations this movie is really just a remake of the original. As such it is largely successful, and the cast is good. There are moments where director Sekula gets a bit self-indulgent with camera and editing trickery, but these distractions don’t subtract much from the tension. As sequels go, this isn’t really bad. But it just doesn’t feel necessary. It is the cinematic equivalent of a cover band.

Having done a sequel, the next step was a prequel, and two years later Lion’s Gate delivered “Cube Zero.”