Movie Review: Cube Hypercube

Cube Hypercube (2003)

Directed by Andrzej Sekula 

Written by Sean Hood, Ernie Barbarash 

Starring Garant Wyn Davies, Kari Matchett, Grace Lynn Kung, Matthew Ferguson 

Release Date April 15th, 2003 

Published April 29th, 2003 

In 1998, a pair of mathematically themed films gained cult followings in multiple festival showings. One was Darren Aronofsky's first masterpiece Pi. The other was a uniquely constructed, low budget sci-fi movie called Cube. The inventively low budget Cube was a series of interconnected rooms that make up a seemingly inescapable maze that can only be properly traveled through a mathematical equation. Using minimalist sets and unknown actors, Cube became a cult favorite.

No one was surprised then when Lions Gate announced a sequel. In fact there was little surprise involved at all in the making of Cube 2, a joyless exercise in low budget sci-fi. Building on the same conceit of the original, Cube 2 begins with a group of strangers awakening inside a giant cube. Tiny doors lead them through a maze of varying realities and the only escape is a mathematical equation that leads to the end of the maze.

This time, there are 8 contestants including a psychopath played by B-movie star Geraint Wyn Davies from American Psycho 2. Well, he wasn't always crazy but watching yourself die a couple of times and killing the same person a few times will drive a man a little nutty. The hero of the film is a plucky blonde therapist named Kate (Kari Matchett). Kate, along with a blind genius played by Grace Lin Kung, wander through the various realities followed by Davies’ psycho killer.

Of course Cube 2 isn't about it's story or characters but rather it's special effects which get all the attention in the DVD features. Some of the effects are quite attention grabbing, while others are a little cheesy. The opening credits sequence is eye catching and impressive.

If your watching for the gore that was present in the original you will be disappointed, though there are plenty of dead bodies there is surprisingly little gore. That is likely because Director Adrzej Sekula spent most of the film’s budget on his computer effects and surprisingly polished look, leaving little left over for the buckets of fake blood you might expect from a low budget sci-fi sequel.

What's not impressive about Cube 2 is the characters and dialogue which are maddeningly lame. As is the ending which devolves from sci-fi to cheesy thriller and sets up Cube 3, though that is not official. Based on the cult following of the original Cube, Cube 2 should do quite well in the straight-to-video market. It's not as bad as most straight-to-video trash but another sequel is not justified by this lame reworking of the original.

Movie Review: Halloween Resurrection

Halloween Resurrection (2002) 

Directed by Rick Rosenthal 

Written by Sean Hood, Larry Brand 

Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Busta Rhymes, Tyra Banks, Sean Patrick Thomas, Thomas Ian Nicholas 

Release Date July 12th, 2002 

Published July 12th, 2002 

Earlier this year horror fans were pummeled by the horrendous Jason X, the 10th film in the Friday the 13th franchise. Now another horror franchise returns to the big screen, the 8th installment of the Michael Myers lead Halloween franchise. Halloween Resurrection is everything Jason X wasn't, funny, exciting and hopelessly inept…in a good way.

Rapper Busta Rhymes is perfectly cast as Freddie, a fast talking Internet producer who on Halloween arranges a webcast from the home of legendary mass murderer Michael Myers. The reality show webcast features cute college kids attempting to survive a night in the house where Myers' killing spree began over 30 years ago. Amongst our group of Internet victims are a couple of familiar faces, Sean Patrick Thomas from Save The Last Dance and Thomas Ian Nicholas from the American Pie movies. 

The casting of these two semi well-known actors, rising stars, is exactly what might have spiced up Jason X instead of the community theatre troupe they went with. Also in the cast of Halloween Resurrection is a girl named Sara played by Bianca Kajtich. Sara is our heroine, the one with the most screen time, and the one most likely to return for the next sequel. The film also features the return of Jamie Lee Curtis in what looks to be her final installment of the series her lungs made famous.

This film is the exact opposite of Jason X, it's exciting and funny-ironic without trying to be clever. There is no winking at the audience, no “look how self aware we are.” Just straight ahead classic gore. Michael Myers is in fine form cutting off heads, nailing people to walls, and murdering the overly sexed. For a serial killer, he's quite a prude. The film is at times outright hysterical; Busta Rhymes especially tears into his role with multiple well-timed one-liners, and not to mention his karate skills.

I admit I have a twisted sense of humor. Watching someone stuck to a wall by a pair of kitchen knives, or watching a girl's head roll down steps like some messed up slinky makes me laugh. It's funny because it's cartoonishly surreal, much like the Itchy and Scratchy cartoons on The Simpsons. Director Rick Rosenthal, who also directed the first Halloween sequel, knows he's not filming Shakespeare. His special effects and makeup are cheesy and he doesn't care. If the effects weren't cheesy and he tried to make it more realistic, the film wouldn't work.

It's interesting that this film opens the same weekend as Road To Perdition. The two films have nothing in common but are a counterpoint to each other. Perdition portrays realistic violence with consequence. Resurrection portrays obviously fake violence to shock and desensitize the audience and does so effectively. Violence in Halloween is of no consequence, thus realism never enters into the equation.

The fact of the matter is that Halloween Resurrection, much like it's predecessor H20, is an exciting, funny, campy riot that’s definitely worth the price of admission.