Cube Zero

Director: Ernie Barbarash Ernie Barbarash

Overview

"The sci-fi-flavored suspense of Cube continues as a new group of prisoners navigate the treacherous confines of their futuristic trappings in this prequel from Cube 2 screenwriter and first-time director Ernie Barbarash. Each step is potentially the last as the deadly last traps hidden in the sparse rooms find the numbers of the unwilling prisoners quickly thinning. Only when they can figure out the mysteries of their constantly changing prison will the surviving inmates have any hope for escape, and even then there is no guarantee of freedom -- much less survival. As the cube workers who monitor the prisoners progress bear witness to their increasingly grim bid for survival, a sudden sting of remorse finds one of the employees empathizing with the victims and plotting to assist them in their unlikely escape."

Product Details

Release Date:	02/22/2005
UPC:	0031398166894
Original Release:	2004
Rating:	R
Source:	LIONS GATE
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:37:00
Sales rank:	37,266

Special Features

Closed Caption;Commentary with director Ernie Barbarash; "Inside the Box: The Making of Cube Zero"; Storyboard comparisons; Conceptual art; Music video; Trailers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Zachary Bennett	Eric Wynn
Stephanie Moore	Cassandra Rains
Michael Riley	Jax
Martin Roach	Haskell
David Huband	Dodd
Mike Nahrgang	Meyerhold,Actor
Richard McMillan	Bartok
Terri Hawkes	Jellico
Tony Munch	Owen
Jasmin Geljo	Ryjkin
Diego Klattenhoff	Quigley
Alexia Filippeos	Little Girl
Fernando Cursione	The Doctor
Araxi Arslanian	The Doctor
Joshua Peace	Finn
Zachary	Actor
Norman Orenstein	Composer

Technical Credits

Ernie Barbarash

Ernie Barbarash	Director,Screenwriter
Suzanne Colvin	Producer
Jon P. Goulding	Producer
Michael Paseornek	Executive Producer
Peter Block	Executive Producer
Eric J. Robertson	Special Effects
Lloyd Adams	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

The cult-hit Cube series is an interesting narrative phenomenon. While each installment contains new insight into this world of institutionalized torture, each also functions as kind of a remake of the original -- only guided by the vision of a different director. Cube Zero, a series prequel, continues that trend. This can be kind of frustrating, as it means we're introduced to yet another group of memory-deprived strangers who have no idea how to escape without getting sliced to ribbons. But Ernie Barbarash -- who also scripted Cube 2: Hypercube, adding "director" to his credits this time out -- does deviate from the previous films by finally stepping outside the cube and into its control room. Since these particular human hamsters are kind of duds, it's welcome when Barbarash shifts the action to those who monitor the deathtrap -- who are sort of like hamsters themselves. An interesting dynamic crops up between worker drones Dodd (David Huband) and Wynn (Zachary Bennett), the former refusing to make waves for fear of reprisal, the latter no longer able to stomach his complicity in these under-explained killings. During their one-on-one scenes, the viewer debates the kill-or-be-killed morality alongside them. Unfortunately, that plot gets tainted when Barbarash introduces the single most ridiculous character in the series: Jax (Michael Riley), a higher-level functionary on an emergency visit to their station. In an embarrassing failure of both acting and directing, Riley embodies every over-the-top affectation an effete villain has ever shown, including a tendency to cackle, belittle, quote other languages, and walk with a cane. Shortcomings like these contribute to Cube Zero being the least effective film in the series. But it does make smart additions to the Cube mythology without giving away all the mysteries -- and its revelations cast the other two movies in an even less hopeful light.