Cube Zero

Cube Zero
Theatricial release poster
Directed by	Ernie Barbarash
Produced by	Suzanne Colvin Goulding Jon Goulding
Written by	Ernie Barbarash
Starring	Zachary Bennett Stephanie Moore Michael Riley Martin Roach
Music by	Norman Orenstein
Cinematography	François Dagenais
Editing by	Mitchell Lackie Mark Sanders
Distributed by	Lions Gate Entertainment
Release date(s)	October 15, 2004
Running time	97 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English French

Cube Zero is a 2004 Canadian psychological thriller/horror film, written and directed by Ernie Barbarash. It is the third film in the Cube film series, but is a prequel to the first film. Even though the first two films take place almost entirely within the maze, Cube Zero takes place in both the interior and exterior of the cube, making significant use of outdoor scenes.

Plot

Unlike the other films in the trilogy, Cube and Cube 2: Hypercube, the story of Cube Zero is observed from both the interior and the exterior of the cube.

The film focuses on a Cube technician, Eric Wynn, and Cassandra Rains, a woman placed in the Cube. The film starts with a man, Ryjkin, trying to escape from the Cube. He is sprayed with liquid in one of the cubes, but he believes it is only water. However, when he rubs the back of his hand he realizes that his body is disintegrating. Eric is watching this in an observation room with his co-worker Dodd. Afterwards, Eric is shown to be sketching a portrait of Dodd (in the form of a superhero called Chessman), whilst playing chess with Dodd, who has a chess board in front of him, which Eric is not looking at. After Eric wins, he asks Dodd questions about their missing colleagues, but Dodd tells him not to ask too many questions or get involved with the occupants of the Cube.

Both Eric and Dodd get an order from "upstairs", which asks them to record the dream of a subject, Cassandra Rains. In her dream, Eric sees that she was captured, while walking in a pleasant forest with her daughter Anna. After waking, Cassandra meets the other occupants of the Cube. One of the males placed in the cube, Robert Haskell, has a tattoo on his forehead like the soldier who captured Cassandra. However, Haskell, like everyone else, has no recollection of his former life. According to what Eric knows, everyone in the cube was facing a death sentence and was presented a choice: go in the Cube with their memory wiped or be put to death. Only if a person signs the consent form will he or she then be placed in the cube. Eric finds out that Cassandra has no consent form and argues with Dodd that they should inform the people "upstairs."

Just when he is about to make a call to the superiors, the phone rings. They are instructed to perform the "exit procedure" for a subject who has reached the exit of the Cube and is facing his final challenge. They see that it is one of their former colleagues, Owen. During the exit procedure, Owen is asked if he believes in God, and when he answers no, is immediately incinerated. Eric argues with Dodd over the fate of Owen. Eric realizes that the Cube is inhumane and decides to enter the cube to help Cassandra escape. Jax, one of the Cube's supervisors, and two of his analysts come to stop Eric from helping Cassandra. Despite their efforts to stop them, Eric and Cassandra make it to the exit room with the help of Dodd, who sabotages the control panels servicing the cube and pays for it with his life at the hands of Jax. The sabotage causes the cube to go into "reset mode", which vaporizes any living body inside the Cube after a limited period of time.

Once Eric reaches an "exit room", they escape using a secret auxiliary exit. However, soldiers searching for them have already arrived. Cassandra manages to escape, but Eric is shot by a dart and passes out. Eric wakes up in a surgery room and confronts Jax, who reveals that Cassandra may have gotten away, but Eric had been found guilty of "high treason" and "sabotage" against "country and God." He has been sentenced to "two lifetimes" and will be implanted with a brain microchip. Jax claims Eric has already been convicted in a trial. Jax shows him his consent form and says he had been put in the Cube as an observer. Eric dreams about Cassandra reuniting with her daughter and praising Eric as "a superhero." Eric is then given a lobotomy, to eliminate his intelligence and is put back in the Cube.

Cast

• Zachary Bennett as Eric Wynn, a Cube technician.
• David Huband as Dodd, a Cube technician.
• Stephanie Moore as Cassandra Rains, a political demonstrator trapped in the cube.
• Martin Roach as Robert P. Haskell, a soldier employed to take people to the Cube.
• Michael Riley as Jax, a higher ranking supervisor.
• Mike "Nug" Nahrgang as Meyerhold, a man trapped in the cube.
• Terri Hawkes as Jellico, a woman trapped in the cube.
• Richard McMillan as Bartok, a man trapped in the cube.
• Tony Munch as Owen, a cube technician placed in the cube.
• Jasmin Geljo as Ryjkin, a man trapped in the cube.
• Joshua Peace as Finn.
• Diego Klattenhoff as Quigley.
• Alexia Filippeos as Anna.
• Sandy Ross as Chandler.
• Dino Bellisario as Smith.
• Ashley James as McCaw.
• Fernando Cursione as Doctor.
• Araxi Arslanian as Female Doctor.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from fans and critics. The prequel was praised as being an improvement over the sequel, returning to the roots of the first film with decent acting and an interesting plot.

External links

• Cube Zero at the Internet Movie Database
• Cube Zero at Rotten Tomatoes
• Cube Zero at AllRovi