NEW KIDS IN THE BLOCK.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

'CUBE'' WAS A COOL if awfully flawed 1997 independent film from Canada about a group of pseudo-iconic individuals who awaken to find themselves trapped inside a Rubik's Cube on PCP - the trick was to figure it out from the inside, rather than from the outside. Of course, the inside was as deadly as a slasher flick. Trekking from room to room was rife with peril - gravity shifted; heck, reality shifted; blood spurted copiously.

Which brings us to ``Cube 2: Hypercube,'' which essentially posits the same predicament, only with better actors, similarly cheesy special effects and less imaginative and gruesome demises. The film offers an assortment of characters: avuncular guy, violent hothead, Alzheimer's patient, sarcastic kid, smart babe, not-so-smart babe, blind babe. Kari Matchett plays our heroine, the smart babe, not that she prevents gruesome denouements for the rest of the cast.

``Cube'' was sci-fi Kafka and Sartre - the paranoia of existence combined with the concept that hell is other people - diminished only by its low-rent production. ``Cube 2'' can only aspire to its antecedents, only hinting at a future sequel. I say go for it - it's such a promising premise, it'd be nice to see the conceit executed correctly, finally.

CUBE: HYPERCUBE 2 - Two and one half stars

What: Sequel to the cult film about a group of strangers mysteriously trapped in a giant series of cubes.

Where: Sci Fi Channel.

When: 9 tonight.

In a nutshell: Cool idea, frigid execution.

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Photo:

This man isn't too happy about being trapped with a bunch of strangers in ``Cube: Hypercube 2'' on the Sci Fi Channel.