Cube review

Driven beat cop Quentin (Maurice Dean Wint) awakens in an symmetrical, cell-like room, with six closed hatchways on the walls, ceiling and floor. Some small expedition reveals that others are also here, wherever here is.

These 'others' are a diverse bunch, including: introverted maths student Leaven (Nicole deBoer), feminist doctor Holloway (Nicky Guadagni), wily criminal Rennes (Wayne Robson) and cynical architect Worth (David Hewlett). All find they have been plucked from everyday lives and none can remember how. And then they discover that to find their way out of this baffling and sinister prison, they must also avoid a series of diabolically lethal booby traps, littered at random through the cube.

Cube is a masterful suspense horror from young Canadian director Vincenzo Natali which sears through the chaff of remakes, sequels and formula-fixated genre with a bolt of blinding novelty.

Claustrophobic, pressure-cooking and frequently hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck frightening, this is a fascinating nail-biter; a rare, supremely effective slice of scare entertainment unfettered by star names or flashy effects work, which will stay with you long after you've tried to laugh it off.

If you want to experience a largely undiscovered gem get this film out on video.