Dave Made A Maze (2017) Movie Review

Dave Made A Maze (2017) IMDB

Dave Made a Maze movie poster

How many times have you sat down to watch a movie and you already know the story because you have seen it before. Take the body swap movie genre. If you have seen Freaky Friday (any version) you have a good idea what will happen in The Change-Up, 18 Again, Prelude to a Kiss, The Hot Chick and Face/Off. The thing about Dave Made a Maze is that this is a story you probably have never heard/seen (I certainly can’t think of this story in another movie). I used the website bestsimilar to find the movie most similar to this plot and it spat out Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). For me, a unique concept is what makes this a good movie. So what is this movie about ?

Dave builds a cardboard fort in his living room. It looks small from the outside, but once you enter it gets much, much larger. Dave gets lost. Dave’s friends decide to join him against his advice to stay outside. Now everyone is lost. To return to civilization they need to band together and escape the cardboard fort which is a large maze. The creativity in the story and the low budget but interesting sets are what makes this movie special. Yet, the low budget sets made of cardboard are key to the entire plot of the movie and make complete sense. You haven’t seen this, and maybe you don’t THINK you want to see this, BUT YOU NEED TO SEE THIS. Destined to be a cult classic circa 2035. Possibly 2037. I also appreciate that the runtime is a quick 80 minutes. No extra fluff, no un-needed scenes, just fun scenes to push the plot forward.

The director of this film, Bill Watterson has only 3 directing credits to his name, and this is the only full length film. I think we need a sequel for this one with Bill directing. I learned later that he is from Cleveland, Ohio, where I live most of the year. Maybe that’s why I enjoy this humor so much.

I give it a 7.5/10. You can find this movie streaming for free on many websites.

Check out this fun trailer. You will get a hint of one of the characters that pops up in the maze/movie.

Cube (1997) Movie Review

Cube (1997) IMDB

Cube maze poster

Today I want to review the 1997 classic sci-fi mystery movie Cube. Any time I sit down to watch a movie I am always looking for a unique story concept and Cube has just that.

6 strangers wake-up in a giant cube shaped maze that is bobby trapped and trying to kill them. They don’t know why they are there or how they got there but they know they need to try and escape. Are they making the right or wrong choice as they choose each passageway ? Only one way to find out. Now this is some maze horror ! And yet the story really resolves around the mystery and the science fiction of the space they are in. I do not know if this is the first movie with this concept, but I believe it is the first big one to use: x # of strangers wake-up in X place and do not what how or why they are there and must overcome x. Cube created a new genre, much like the classic Groundhog Day created a genre of time loop movies and Night of the Living Dead created the reanimated cannibalistic zombie movies. The original Saw (2004) film starts with 2 strangers, House of 9 (2005) starts with 9 strangers, Unknown (2006) has 5 people, Shadow Puppets (2007) has 8, Nine Dead (2009) has 9 and the list goes on. Cube found a plot device that works and has been copied many times since. For this movie I give it a 7/10. Definitely worth seeing. This is great psychological horror.

This movie is part of a trilogy that includes:

  1. Cube 2 : Hypercube (2002) IMDB

  2. Cube Zero (2004) IMDB

and

This film was remade by a Japanese director in 2021, with Japanese actors and a new twist that would require a spoiler alert. Cube (2021) IMDB

Here is a trailer for the original movie:

The Depraved (2011) Movie Review

A group of people are led into the vast Berlin underground thru a secret entrance in a club by a local guide. That is the set-up for the movie The Depraved. I have to say that does seem like fun (with a guide, during the day, with water, snacks, and dressed appropriately). So how is this horror movie and should you see it ?

The Depraved (2011) (IMDB)

The Depraved (2011) movie poster
Urban Explorer (2011) movie poster

If you are going to get lost in a maze-like space it’s always a good idea to make sure it is dark, damp, underground, and full of trash, rats and bugs because naturally, that makes for a better horror movie. As far as a movie set-up goes, other than some bad decisions we have a strong concept to work with. Without getting into specifics about the plot there becomes a reason why the group needs to split up, because that is always a good idea in a horror movie that NEVER leads to any complications, EVER.

Now one thing about the version I watched was that the parts in German where not subtitled, but in a horror movie the context is enough to understand what is happening. There are a few versions on YouTube in other languages where you will not understand the German. I don’t think it hindered the “plot”. There is typically a place to stream this movie for free that includes the subtitles if you need them, but most of the movie is in English. So how is the movie ? Terrible. 4/10. I will say that the ratings and reviews on this movie are closer to 5/10 on sites like IMDB (currently rated at 5.2) and it was not a bad enough movie to make my list of the 10 Unbelievably Bad Maze Movies to Never, Ever Watch.

The original title of the film was Urban Explorer and it can still be found on some sites under this name. Sadly the title change does not change the movie. Oddly, the movie does have multiple award wins, including 4 from Screamfest in 2011.

Here is a trailer to get you pumped to NOT see this ! Or watch it. You do you.

Vivarium (2019) Movie Review

I watch any movie that features a maze or labyrinth as part of the plot. Usually that means some great maze movies that I would recommend everyone watch. How is Vivarium ? Let’s find out….

Vivarium (2019) (IMDB)

Vivarium (2019) movie poster

So Vivarium is a comedy horror film starring Imogen Potts and Jesse Eisenberg as a young couple looking to purchase their first house. They stop into the Yonder Homes rental office and decide to visit the development where they are shown house #9. The sign as they pull into the development says “Quality Family Homes. Forever”. Looking back as I write this, the forever was an omen. Everything from there on out goes wrong. The rental agent mysteriously leaves them and despite a full day of driving they cannot find their way out of the development, continually driving in circles stuck in a maze of identical looking homes. Exhausted, they spend the first night in the house eager to try exiting again the next day.

And the next day.

And creatively the next day.

And again, and again. . But they are stuck. Forever ?

Invisible workers that can never be caught are dropping off food and taking trash, and one day the drop off something a bit more interesting with a note that says if they complete a task they can leave.

Things get weird (wait they weren’t already weird ?) from there. And creepy. And finally a bit crazy.

This is an interesting concept for a movie but the last 20 minutes could have been improved. Still I liked the movie better than the critics and would recommend it as a free stream/ library rental. It certainly is worth having a conversation about with friends. What would you do in this situation ? What the heck was going on ? etc. What’s was the deal with ****** (spoiler free question !!!) ? And when you are done watching the movie, if you were interested, you will search for “Vivarium ending explained”.

This movie is the longer version of the short film Foxes (2011) from the same director. The theme is the same with a slightly different story, and I would recommend it. You can read my review which includes a link to watch the entire movie.

One of my favorite parts of this movie is the thumbnail for the trailer below ! We’ve all felt this way.

I give this a 6.8/10 because I enjoyed the concept and the acting. I think this movie is best watched with others so it can be discussed after watching.