Editing Cube Zero

{{Short description|2004 film by Ernie Barbarash}}
{{Infobox film
| image          = CUBEZEROPOSTER.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Ernie Barbarash]]
| producer       = {{plainlist|
* Suzanne Colvin Goulding
* Jon Goulding 
}}
| writer         = Ernie Barbarash
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Zachary Bennett]]
* David Huband
* [[Stephanie Moore]]
* [[Michael Riley]]
* [[Martin Roach]]
* Mike "Nug" Nahrgang
* [[Terri Hawkes]] 
* Richard McMillan
* Tony Munch 
* [[Jasmin Geljo]]
}}
| music          = [[Norman Orenstein]]
| cinematography = François Dagenais
| editing        = {{Unbulleted list | Mitchell Lackie | Mark Sanders}}
| distributor    = [[Lions Gate Films]]
| released       = {{Film date|df=yes|2004|10|15|[[Screamfest Horror Film Festival|Screamfest]]|2005|02|22|United States}}
| runtime        = 97 minutes<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/cube-zero-2005-2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020052804/https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/cube-zero-2005-2|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 20, 2019|title=''Cube Zero'' (15)|publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|date=1 February 2005|accessdate=20 October 2019}} The BBFC classification is for video, meaning it includes 4% PAL speed-up. The film's true runtime is 97:21.</ref>
| country        = Canada
| language       = English
| budget         = 
}}

'''''Cube Zero''''' is a 2004 Canadian [[science fiction film|science fiction]] [[psychological horror]] film written and directed by [[Ernie Barbarash]], in his directorial debut. It is the third installment in the [[Cube (film series)|''Cube'' series]] and a [[prequel]] to the [[Cube (1997 film)|first film]].

The first two films take place almost entirely within the Cube maze, and ''Cube Zero'' is set in both its interior and exterior. It reverts to the industrial-designed, colored rooms of the first ''Cube'', but with a refreshed and redesigned set.

== Plot ==
Ryjkin is a man trying to escape from the Cube. He is sprayed with a liquid that he fears is acid only to find it sweet tasting. He discovers to his horror it is a base that melts his body after a few minutes.

The rooms in the Cube are being monitored from a room by two technicians who are unaware of who their employers are. The pair play [[chess]] during work, whereupon Wynn demonstrates abilities which he uses to predict moves.

Wynn and Dodd are ordered to record the dream of a subject. Wynn sees Rains captured while walking in a forest with her daughter. Rains wakes up in the Cube and meets the other occupants. Haskell has the same tattoo on his forehead as the soldier who captured Rains. Haskell only knows his name and has no recollection of his life or how he got there. Everyone in the Cube faced a sentence and volunteered to partake in experiments instead. Rains' form is not found in her file. The captives venture through the Cube. Bartok and Meyerhold are all killed by traps.

A call from their superiors instructs Wynn and Dodd to perform a procedure for Owen who has reached one of the exits of the Cube. The procedure fails after Owen answers no to a question ("Do you believe in God?") prompting Dodd to push a button which causes Owen to be incinerated. No one has ever answered positively. Wynn concludes that the Cube is inhumane and people are being placed in it against their will.

Dodd is joined in the room by his supervisor Jax and two of his analysts, who have learned of the incident. Jax has the occupants trapped in one room, then electrifies the walls to electrocute them. Dodd relents and sabotages the panels servicing the Cube. This shuts down every trap and initiates a mode, which gives the prisoners ten minutes to escape the Cube as its rooms return to their positions, before a procedure vaporizes everything inside. Jax discovers Dodd's betrayal and kills him, then he activates Haskell's agent through a chip implanted in him. Haskell becomes hostile towards his companions, who struggle to continue their escape and leave him behind. They reach an exit to find Haskell waiting for them. Wynn and Rains manage to jump into the exit right as the procedure starts.

Wynn and Rains swim through water and emerge in a lake. They run through a forest similar to the one seen in Rains's dream, while being chased by soldiers. Wynn is tranquilized and recaptured. He wakes up in a room, where Jax informs him that he has been sentenced for treason, and that he had agreed to become a subject, despite Wynn remembering neither the trial nor signing the consent. Wynn's brain is altered, and he dreams about Rains reuniting with her daughter and praising him as a superhero. Wynn is now handicapped and found by its captives. He mentions the color of the room and that he wants to go back to a room of a different color.

== Cast ==
* [[Zachary Bennett]] as Eric Wynn, a junior Cube technician. A [[child prodigy]] and a [[genius]], he is the newest recruit for the Cube.
* David Huband as Dodd, a senior Cube technician, who is at odds with Wynn for his constant questioning personality.
* [[Stephanie Moore]] as Cassandra Rains, a political demonstrator trapped in the Cube.
* [[Michael Riley]] as Jax, senior supervisor of the Cube, fitted with an artificial eye.
* [[Martin Roach]] as Robert P. Haskell, an ex Cube soldier trapped in the Cube.
* Mike "Nug" Nahrgang as Meyerhold, a man trapped in the Cube.
* [[Terri Hawkes]] as Jellico, a woman trapped in the Cube.
* [[Richard McMillan]] as Bartok, a man trapped in the Cube.
* Tony Munch as Owen, a senior cube technician placed in the Cube.
* [[Jasmin Geljo]] as Ryjkin, a man trapped in the Cube.
* Joshua Peace as Finn
* [[Diego Klattenhoff]] as Quigley

== Release ==
The film premiered at the [[Screamfest Horror Film Festival]] on 15 October 2004. It was released on DVD in the United States on 22 February 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.moviefone.com/movie/cube-zero/1264911/main/|title=Cube Zero (2004)|publisher=[[Moviefone]]}}</ref>

== Reception ==
{{Expand section|date=October 2015}}
Reviews have been mostly positive, including positive notices from [[JoBlo.com]], [[AMC (TV channel)|AMC]]'s Movie Guide, [[DVD Talk]], and [[Bloody Disgusting]],<ref>[http://www.joblo.com/horror-movies/reviews/809 Cube Zero (2004)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531062007/https://www.joblo.com/horror-movies/reviews/809 |date=2019-05-31}} JoBlo.com</ref><ref>[http://movies.amctv.com/movie/314071/Cube-Zero/review Cube Zero - review]{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} AMC Movies</ref><ref>[http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/14816/cube-zero/ Cube Zero] DVD Talk</ref> with Bloody Disgusting saying that "''Cube Zero'' isn't the best of the series, but it comes close".<ref>[http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/film/424/review Cube:Zero] Bloody Disgusting</ref>

===Accolades===
The film won the award for "Best Special Effects" at the 2004 [[Screamfest Horror Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|title=2004 Screamfest Awards|date=15 November 2013|url=https://screamfestla.com/content/2004-screamfest-awards|publisher=Screamfest|accessdate=5 November 2016|archive-date=8 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308102443/https://screamfestla.com/content/2004-screamfest-awards|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0377713}}
* {{Rotten-tomatoes|1139738-cube_zero}}

{{Cube film series}}
{{Ernie Barbarash}}

[[Category:2004 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:2004 films]]
[[Category:2004 horror films]]
[[Category:2004 independent films]]
[[Category:2000s Canadian films]]
[[Category:2000s psychological horror films]]
[[Category:2000s science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:Canadian prequel films]]
[[Category:Canadian science fiction films]]
[[Category:Canadian splatter films]]
[[Category:Cube (film series)]]
[[Category:English-language Canadian films]]
[[Category:Films about mathematics]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ernie Barbarash]]