This Liminal Sci-Fi Thriller Makes Severance Feel Tame
A movie where each character is named after real-life prisons and embodies their qualities. Catch this classic for free now before it disappears from streaming platforms next month!
We've all fallen for Severance 's eerie charm: that clinical corporate aesthetic, the endless hallways, the unsettling sense of dislocation. Severance might have mastered the art of workplace horror, but it wasn't the first to tap into that distinctly liminal unease that is both alluring and repulsive at the same time.
Long before Lumon Industries trapped its employees in its corporate dystopia, a low-budget Canadian thriller pushed the boundaries of existential dread to their absolute limits.
Cube (1997): Trapped in a Death Maze
As much as we love horror movies, it can get repetitive and even boring. We get tired of the same tropes and formulas to get us scared. And at the end of the day, it's just sad when horror can't deliver a good story.
Back in 1997, Cube showed everyone how it's done. It used its terrifying setting not only to scare, but to explore human psychology under extreme stress.
“Cube [...] is the most cunning existential film of all time disguised as a simple horror,” one Redditor wrote.
Cube throws its viewers into the deep end immediately. Six strangers wake up inside identical cubic rooms connected by hatches on each wall, ceiling and floor. With no obvious way out, they soon discover that many rooms contain lethal traps.
Cube Deserves the Attention of All Fans Sci-Fi, Horror and Liminal Spaces
At first glance, it's just another horror flick about random people trapped in a deadly maze. Yet it's actually so much deeper than that. Cube nails everything without trying too hard.
The movie strips away everything we take for granted. There's no backstory, no monsters, no nothing. Just pure survival against this faceless threat.
The cast includes sci-fi legends. You might recognize David Hewlett (later of Stargate Atlantis fame) and Nicole de Boer (who would join Star Trek: Deep Space Nine the following year).
The practical effects, despite the film's limited budget, remain stomach-turningly effective even by today's standards.
The movie truly deserves your attention. As one Redditor wrote:
“I had an unhealthy obsession with these films growing up. I’ve always loved the claustrophobic vibe. I’ve never considered that this film plays on liminal space but you’re right. Love that.”
Where to Stream Cube?
So if you're of predictable horror movies and crave something that will genuinely disturb you on an existential level, Cube delivers in ways few films can match.
The good news is that you can watch Cube for free on Plex, Kanopy and Hoopla. But be sure to hurry up as it will be leaving these services in less than a month! This is a great chance to experience a genuine cult classic.
