Cypher

Five years after the claustrophobic “Cube” (1997), Vincenzo Natali comes up with a refined sci-fi noir imbued with echoes of Philip K. Dick as well as constant references to John Frankenheimer’s masterpieces of the 1960s. In fact, the process that protagonist Morgan Sullivan falls victim to seems like a mix of the conspiracy laid out in the excellent “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962) and the cynical capitalistic logic from the equally noteworthy “Seconds” (1966) – “If we hadn’t interrupted the brainwashing process, you’d be like the other convention guests: programmed with a new identity and sent to companies across the globe, disposed of when you’d outlived your usefulness to Digicorp“.

Identity, truth, and control are the main themes of a work characterized by a style that’s simultaneously cold and elegant – Derek Rogers’s evocative, algid cinematography works well to that end. As a result, the entire story unfolds in a muffled atmosphere, dreamlike and surreal, enabling it to convey a pervasive feeling of uncertainty, which grants a bit of leeway in judging the excessively intricate plot, not unlike a series of Russian nesting dolls from a disoriented universe in the perpetual thrall of powerful multinationals.

Moviegoers didn’t think much of it, and some critics overlooked it. “Cypher” remains unfairly underrated today.