Greetings, Boils & Ghouls...
... and welcome to 'Day Thirteen' of "Awesome Horror Streams for Hallowe'en Screams on Roku" in which I will suggest my top picks of the fright flicks from the carefully curated catalogue of macabre movies available via the 'Shudder UK' streaming service - any of which can then be streamed to your television using the magic of Roku player - so, let's dim the lights... and prepare for more frights! :-O
If you read my Hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - published on 30th September, then you will know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, each featuring one horror movie from the current 'Shudder UK' content library. With recommendations for thirty-one of the best fright flicks I can find, by the end of the month, this means you should have plenty of great choices for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring some top-notch cinematic scares come October 31st! ;-)
If you read my Hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - published on 30th September, then you will know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, each featuring one horror movie from the current 'Shudder UK' content library. With recommendations for thirty-one of the best fright flicks I can find, by the end of the month, this means you should have plenty of great choices for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring some top-notch cinematic scares come October 31st! ;-)
For my thirteenth instalment in this series of posts I'm going to suggest a feature-length movie from Canada, directed by Vincenzo Natali, and first released in 1997 under the title of "Cube"... while based on an original screenplay, also written by the director, together with André Bijelic (as Andre Bijelic) and Graeme Mason. The film tells the story of six complete strangers, each from very different walks of life and with varying personality traits, who awaken to find themselves involuntarily placed inside a giant cube, like a Kafka-esque maze, with thousands of possible rooms - each containing some sort of deadly trap of one kind or another. Each has a unique skill, and it soon becomes clear that they must band together to get out: somehow a cop, a mathematician, an architect, a doctor, an escapologist and a disabled man must all play their part in this thrilling quest to find the answers as to why they were imprisoned and, above all, how to escape!
If you haven't seen the film before, here is a brief taster in the shape of an original trailer for this science fiction mystery thriller, courtesy of 'Attack from Planet B' and their 'YouTube' channel:-
Cube (1997) [Movie Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: That Was A Bit Mental
If you haven't seen the film before, here is a brief taster in the shape of an original trailer for this science fiction mystery thriller, courtesy of 'Attack from Planet B' and their 'YouTube' channel:-
If you'd like to know more... there's a full list of the cast & credits on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) listing for "Cube" (1997), FOUND HERE, which also includes a full storyline / plot summary as well as box office stats, technical specs & much more. For die-hard fans, there's even more tidbits of information to be had from the Wikipedia Page for Vincenzo Natali's "Cube" (1997) VIA THIS LINK, which may help to fuel your appetite for (yet) another screening. Although, if you're as much of a fan of this film as I am, or have a penchant for suspense thrillers in general, it probably won't take too much persuading for you to watch this again! ;-)
Nicole de Boer and Maurice Dean Wint in Cube (1997)
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com
Anyway... you probably guessed already but, if not, this film (like the others from this series of posts) is also available via the 'Shudder' streaming service and can be easily viewed on any Roku device via their dedicated channel (app) for these streaming media players. There are other opportunities for UK Roku users to watch "Cube" (1997), including a brace of rental options via 'Amazon Video' plus 'Rakuten TV UK' where it is (currently) only £2.49 (SD) or £3.49 (HD) to rent this film via either service - although I'd suggest taking a look at some possible free alternatives before you part with any money, because there may well be some free sources available online which offer streaming formats compatible with Roku. However, since my original idea for this month-long blogathon was to suggest thirty-one great Hallowe'en / Horror themed movies from the fang-tastic 'Shudder UK', I'm going to recommend that you stream it on your Roku device using their channel - if possible! ;-) :-)
If you haven't already added it to your channel selection, you will find "Shudder" listed among the "Film & TV" channels in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. You can easily add it to your Roku player(s) by navigating to the built-in 'Channel Store' (accessed via "Streaming Channels" from the home screen on your Roku device) and scrolling through the options until you see the channel icon (pictured above). It's completely FREE-TO-ADD so, once you've located it in the list of channels, just click the "OK" button on your Roku remote to select it and then click "OK" again where it says 'Add channel' to install it on your Roku player(s). Having done that, it's simply a case of launching the channel via the 'Go to channel' option and navigating the on-screen menu to log-in (if you already have an account, but haven't yet done so) or start your free trial (if you are new to the service) and, once you see 'Shudder TV' playing on the screen, just push the "DOWN" arrow on your Roku remote to get to the main menu... from where you can "Search" for "Cube", then press the "OK" button on your remote to select and 'Play' this 1997 sci-fi thriller which, for the record, runs to 1h 30mins.
Unfortunately for readers outside the UK, at the time of writing, this suspenseful mystery drama does not appear to be available via 'Shudder' in the U.S. or Canada... however, the good news for Roku users in the United States is that Vincenzo Natali's film "Cube" (1997) is available for streaming on an ad-supported basis via both 'Vudu' and 'TubiTV' as well as with a subscription to 'Netflix' in the USA. Additionally, there are paid rental options at USD $1.99 (SD) or USD $2.99 (HD) for Roku users in the U.S. who do not wish to have their movie viewing interrupted by adverts or don't have a subscription to 'Netflix' they can use. However, the same cannot be said for Canadian streamers... because, at the time of writing, this movie (unfortunately) does not appear to be available through any streaming service that can be accessed via the Roku platform in Canada. That said, there are other streaming resources at your disposal so, as suggested in previous posts from this series, it might be worthwhile checking for any free alternatives that could be available for watching this film on Roku. If you get stuck, message me via Twitter: @ukrokuchannels and I'll see if I can sort you out a link! ;-)
Meanwhile, for that full cinema experience, here's a few of the other film posters that movie-goers in 1965 (and more recently) would have encountered depending on their location around the world:
Cube (1997) [Canadian Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: IMP Awards
Cube (1997) [USA Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: IMP Awards
Cube (1997) [Japanese Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: Mauvais Genres
Cube (1997) [German Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: HorrorMovies.gr
Cube (1997) [French Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: IMP Awards
Finally, to round-off this thirteenth instalment in my month-long blogathon on 'Day Thirteen' for this edition of the 'Countdown To Halloween', here's more FRIGHTENINGLY FUN FILM FACTS... for example: did you know that each character who was portrayed in this film was named after a prison: Quentin (San Quentin, California), Holloway (England), Kazan (Russia), Rennes (France), Alderson (Alderson, West Virginia), Leaven and Worth (Leavenworth, Kansas)? Moreover, not only are the characters named after real-lifeprisons but they reflect the actual prisons themselves. For example: Kazan (the mentally challenged character), in Russia is a disorganised prison. Rennes (the "mentor") was a jail that pioneered many of today's prison policies. Quentin (the detective) is known for its brutality. Holloway is a women's prison, and Alderson is a correctional facility in which isolation is commonly used as a punishment. Leavenworth runs to a rigid set of rules (Leaven's mathematics), and the new prison is corporately owned and built (Worth, hired as an architect).
Other interesting tidbits of trivia include the fact that the film set contained just one cube; changed to different colours by means of gel panels. Since it was a time-consuming process to switch from one to the next, the film was not shot in sequence, but rather colour-by-colour. The red gels were the first to be installed, meaning all scenes in red rooms were shot first. As it happens, red rooms contain the most dialog-heavy scenes, including Worth's big "there is no conspiracy" speech to Holloway. The film had a modest budget and a tight schedule, and David Hewlett recalled being very apprehensive at shooting scenes that contained pages of pure dialog on his part very early in the shoot. He also felt that Worth's line "Well I feel better" after his rant to Holloway rang immensely true on a personal level, as the remainder of the shoot was much less dependent on his memorisation. Apparently, the actors enjoyed filming the "white room" scenes, but disliked filming the "red room" scenes! :-O