On the 23rd of November 2010 I uploaded a video to this channel. It’s now 2015 and
this is video 100. In that first video I let out my frustration towards the film Cube 2:
Hypercube, sequel to the film Cube, Cube being one of all time favourite films. It’s really
not a great sequel nor a very good film taken on its own merits and my young and innocent
self referred to it as, the worst film I’ve ever seen in my life. This is honestly not
true despite what I may have felt at the time. There are, and it pains me to say this, things
to like about Cube 2: Hypercube. So in celebration of 100 uploads it’s time to return to where
it all began and share with you my top 5 things to like about Cube 2: Hypercube.
First however, briefest of brief history lessons about Cube and Cube 2: Hypercube. The first
Cube film released in 1997, was the debut feature length directorial and writing effort
for Vincenzo Natali. The film was a cheap yet ingeniously effective psychological horror
thriller with an intelligent screenplay, made using a single set and staring a relatively
unknown ensemble cast. The film developed a cult following despite having a mixed critical
response and 6 years later a sequel was commissioned and made. The film had a completely different
production team behind it and they attempted to go somewhere new with the foundations that
the original film laid but while undeniably ambitious the film missteps at every turn.
Abandoning a lot of what made the first film great while somehow also blatantly copying
other aspects, and I get that sequels can do this and there’s going to be a fair amount
of retread but I’m talking about several of the plot twists and dialogue exchanges
being reused. I could easily make an entire video or even a feature length commentary track discussing
why the film got it so so wrong. But this video is a video of positivity so lets begin
my top 5: Good Things about Cube 2: Hypercube. Spoiler warning from here on out.
Number 5, The brief flashes of the outside world.
This one is a bit of a stretch as the film would still be better off without these but
I was struggling for a 5th positive and this at least is interesting to talk about. Something
that I love about the first Cube film is that we are never shown the characters living their
normal lives. They talk about the last thing they remember before waking up in the Cube
but it’s never shown and doing this helps keep the audience trapped with the characters.
Cube 2: Hypercube has an almost identical scene but we’re given glimpses of the outside
world which works as an effective contrast as all we’ve stared at so far is white cube
interior. More so the reason I kinda like this is the visually striking way the clips
are edited together and the removal of audio adds to a feeling of isolation… I’m clutching
at straws here.
Number 4, The final shot
After the climax if you can call it that the film has well and truly shed any real possibility
of being a worthy followup to Cube. It’s descent into weirdly directed science fiction
gobbledegook and apparent need to bring cannibalism, eye stabbings, chemistry free inappropriately
timed sex and corpse porn into an already floundering narrative just screams of “We
don’t have a plot but look at the weird shit going on!” However, after all that
nonsense wraps up we’re out of the cube and we see a man in a suit receive a phone
call. He says that “phase 2 is terminated” and then we get this wonderful lingering shot
of this massive room and some unknown people gradually walking out. It’s a powerful moment
despite the stupidity that came before because it really makes you realise that there is
more to this story. The credits hit and the music starts and you begin to question whether
it will becomes more clear upon rewatch whats going on and what the resolution to this somewhat
dower cliffhanger will be. Well, nothing becomes clearer upon rewatch, and there is no direct
sequel to Cube 2: Hypercube, the followup, Cube Zero was a prequel to the first Cube
film and had nothing to do with this one. So while the payoff to this moment is nonexistent,
this moment alone taken by itself is the best directed part of the film and somehow leaves
me wanting more from a film I actively dislike.
Number 3, The set design
You can’t beat the creepy and ominous look of the original Cube but I don’t blame this
film for wanting to have its own visually unique Cube that would stand apart from the
previous. It’s bigger, the doors are automatic, it’s done away with the varying colours
and opts for bright white and you can believe that this is a more advanced version of the
Cube we saw in the first film. I think they missed a trick not having the characters costumes
be something different than just regular clothes as the possibilities for striking colour contrast
would be plentiful.
Number 2, Colonel Thomas H. Maguire.
Easily the most interesting character in the entire film, Colonel Thomas H. Maguire played
by Bruce Gray has several pieces of dialogue that hint that he is somehow linked the first
Cube. Saying things like “where are the goddamn numbers” “they’re my numbers”
and “the first one had rules” turns him into an audience mouthpiece as viewers of
the first film are asking the exact same questions of this one. So do we ever find out who is
he, what the extent of his knowledge is, how he came to be in the cube and how he has knowledge
of the first one? Nope. We kill him immediately after introducing him instead… because heaven
forbid the film get interesting.
and Number 1, The opening credits.
I’m not kidding. After an abysmal attempt to replicate the terror of the pre-title sequence
from Cube, we are treated to an opening credits animation that I honestly would put up there
with best credit sequences ever. It starts with a view of an interweaving network of
strands. They gradually turn blue and then as we zoom out its revealed that the network
changing colour was a microscopic view of ink on paper. As we follow the ink line we
see that it’s a part of some kind of architectural drawing which we never really get a great
view of. Then the title appears in 2D, adds 3D and then turns 4 dimensional like a tesseract.
Then it gets even cooler as we see the Cube be rendered in 3D out of 2D drawings. The
paper then transitions to a blueprint implying a change from architectural concept drawing
to plans. All this imagery is being accompanied by an incredible score composed by Norman
Orenstein which you’ve been listening to during this video, and it sounds like a beautiful
expansion of Mark Korven’s score from the original film. The marriage between intriguing
visuals and atmospheric music is perfect. It sets a tone similar to the first film’s
and then the biggest problem is the film never gets this good. The final transition from
animation to live action is gorgeous and the icing on the cake for the title sequence but
it’s a shame that it also symbolises a transition to mediocrity.
And those are my top 5 good things about Cube 2: Hypercube. For my 100th video I wanting
to bring the channel full circle and I think I accomplished that. Let me know down
in the comments below if there’s a film that you passionately dislike but can still
find things to like about it. Also check out the link just there for my top 5 Bad Reviewing
practices video.