CUBE ZERO, the third and final instalment of the CUBE trilogy, is a prequel to the first movie that attempts to explain more of the background behind the cube installation in an interesting and entertaining way.

The writers achieve this by presenting another round of participants battling against the various traps and tribulations, which are the goriest yet; the opening death sequence is grisly in the extreme and like something out of WISHMASTER. Running concurrently with this plotting is a behind-the-scenes scenario which shows something of the men who control the cube and their reasons for doing so.

CUBE ZERO is a resolutely low-budget B-movie that gets by on genre goodwill, enthusiastic performances from a game cast and some effective special effects. Michael Riley's robo-eyed baddie is by far the most fun, but the rest of the characters work too - and, as ever, watching their interactions is a whole lot of fun.

The twist ending is particularly worthwhile as it ties into the first CUBE in a neat and surprising way. This series may not be one to set your world on fire, but as ever, CUBE is a whole lot of fun.

Eric Wynn and Dodd are workers mindlessly monitoring the deadly cubic maze. They are ordered to record the dreams of Cassandra Rains, one of the new subjects. In it, she was kidnapped while walking in the woods with her daughter. The other subjects are Robert Haskell, Meyerhold, Jellico, and Bartok who all have lost their memories. The plan is to work their way to the edge while avoiding the traps. Wynn searches through the files and finds Rains' consent form missing. It's an illegal imprisonment and Wynn fears that all the files are lies.

I've only seen the original. It's a great premise for an indie splatter horror. I don't know anything about the sequel. This one adds a dystopian file clerk nightmare of an office. It's a little like Brazil. It's a nice expansion of the cube universe. The original didn't really explain itself which is perfectly fine. This backstage story has good potential although the execution is less than perfect. It needs more paranoia. Michael Riley's look is too campy and detracts from the darker tones. The outside should be as dark as inside the cube. The movie does degenerate over time into a muddle.

In 1997, lovers of sci-fi were surprised by "Cube", one of the most original films I have ever seen. It was hard to label a genre for this cult-movie: drama, fantasy, horror, mystery, sci-fi and thriller are listed in IMDb for this Kafkaesque unforgettable tale. Later the opportunists released the completely unnecessary "Cube 2: Hypercube". In the present fashionable procedure in the cinema industry, "Cube Zero" tries to explain the beginning of the saga. The story is very weird, and the explanation is based on a totalitarian society, a kind of George Orwell's vision in "1984". Unfortunately, the screenplay has lots of holes; further, the caricaturist character of the crazy and sadistic scientist spoils any attempt of making a serious movie. In the end, "Cube Zero" is only a very forgettable entertainment. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil) "Cubo Zero" ("Cube Zero")