I was just thinking to myself. What would be an excellent way to pass some time? How about a maze that could literally hack you to shreds faster than a Ron Popeil Salad Shooter? If it sounds like fun to you, then the Cube Signature Series from Lions Gate is definitely the way to go.

Six people find themselves somehow trapped in a diabolical maze. They have no idea how they came to be there but more importantly, they don't know how the hell to get out. They're caught in a race against time and as we all know, the human body can only last about three days with out food and water before it begins to break down. Their only hope is to find a way out of the maze before they're mentally and physically exhausted...or worse.

The thing is that some of the rooms in this maze are rigged with deadly traps. Some seem to be noise activated while others appear to have motion censors. The trick is in finding which ones are rigged and which are not, but don't look at me folks cause I'm certainly not telling!

Our crew of six have only their wits to carry them through. There's Leavin (Nicole Deboer) who is a math student, Holloway, (Nicky Gaudagin) a free clinic doctor, Worth (David Hewlett), is an office worker, Rennes (Wayne Robson) was made famous by his many jailbreaks, Quentin (Maurice Dean Wint) is a police officer and Kazan (Andrew Miller) is a mentally challenged late comer to the group. They have to pool their strengths and talents and try to outsmart the maze. The only distinguishing marks in each perfectly square room is its color and the numbers that mark the doorways. Stress, fear and exhaustion are wearing on our group and the clock is slowly ticking.

Cube is a bit of a psychological trip. There are a couple of great horror effects, despite the fact that the film isn't overloaded with gore. There was obviously a lot of effort put into what's on screen. Cube plays off on fears like claustrophobia and disorientation. The characters have no idea how they got in, they just wake up and find themselves in a maze that will kill them if they take one wrong step. Unfortunately, they'll also die if they stay put. They have to fight off panic and exhaustion in order to find their way out.

On the down side, the movie does move a little on the slow side. There isn't a whole lot of action per say and the sets are very simple. You're basically watching these six characters trying to find the key to a puzzle they know nothing about. There are a few dramatic points as they work their way through the cube but mostly the movie consists of character driven dialog.

Audio and video quality was quite excellent for the most part. Picture quality was extremely sharp. Sound stayed fairly consistent throughout the film as well with a fairly impressive remixed 5.1 surround sound track. The soundtrack was fairly eerie and it did go a long way in building on layers of panic .

Special features on this Signature Series DVD include: Trailers for Cube and Cube 2: Hypercube, Interview with Nicole De Boer, Deleted Scenes, Art & Design, English/Spanish subtitles, and an audio commentary with Vincenzo Natali. If you dig Cube, the Signature Series is the way to go. All the special features on this DVD were not on the original and the Signature Series also boasts an anamorphic transfer.

When it's all said and done, I enjoyed Cube. It tended to drag in a few spots but not to a level of real distraction. Cube is a cleverly executed mix of science fiction and horror, check it out.