Vincenzo Natali makes science-fiction and horror out of places people cannot safely navigate. We rate him for the suspense of working out what to do next, though his characters can be less interesting than the problems they face.
Fi1m perspective
A room in Cube (1998) has to be assessed before anyone dares enter it, and Natali makes that hesitation uncomfortable. The strangers caught in his maze must solve mathematical puzzles while deciding whom to trust. We found ourselves dreading the next room because a wrong judgement about its traps could be fatal. This is where Vincenzo Natali earns our time: watching people try to think while fear makes them less willing to listen. His science-fiction thriller is worth an evening even when those people become tiresome.
John Sanders's editing gives the uncertainty time to become uncomfortable rather than hurrying towards the next danger. Mark Korven's score adds to the unease, although the rooms and their occupants already give us plenty to worry about. Natali understands that working out what to do can be as tense as doing it, especially when the group cannot agree. The pauses needed for calculation keep us involved without requiring another chase, and make the puzzles matter beyond the satisfaction of getting an answer.
The films that followed found other uses for his interest in identity, technology and confined spaces. Cypher (2002) took him into corporate surveillance; Nothing (2003) tested a single-location premise through absurdist science fiction. Splice (2010) moved towards bio-horror, genetic engineering and its ethics, broadening the questions beyond how to escape. Television work on Hannibal, Westworld and The Peripheral sits alongside later features, including Haunter (2013) and In the Tall Grass (2019). The latter's disorienting environments continue his interest in places that people struggle to understand.
The caveat is there in Cube too, in the screenplay Natali wrote with Graeme Manson and André Bijelic. Selfishness under pressure is credible, but repeated demonstrations of it are poor compensation for characters with little else to offer. The disputes start to feel arranged, and the broad social lessons tell us less than the practical decisions. We want to know more about these people before being asked to endure another argument between them. Begin with Cube for the puzzle; a liking for its company is optional.
Biography
Vincenzo Natali is a Canadian and American film director and screenwriter. Born on 6 January 1969 in Detroit, Michigan, he moved with his family to Toronto at the age of one. He attended Royal St. George's College and studied film at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University). He later trained at the Canadian Film Centre and worked as a storyboard artist at Nelvana Animation Studios.
Natali's feature debut was Cube (1997), which he directed and co-wrote. The film received five Genie Award nominations and won the award for Best Canadian First Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival. His other feature films include Cypher (2002), Nothing (2003), Splice (2010), Haunter (2013) and In the Tall Grass (2019). He has directed episodes of television series including Hannibal, Westworld, American Gods and Lost in Space.
