I really appreciate a film like this. It gets right to its nonsensical premise—no setup, no backstory, no logical explanation, just a story about a guy who builds a giant, magical, deadly cardboard maze because he was bored.
Dave Made a Maze starts off like a mid-season episode of some modern sketch comedy show (it’s a premise that could have fit right in on a Key & Peele episode), with a cast that shows up similar to recurring characters the viewers are supposed to recognize…and it, strangely enough, works. With a plot this ridiculous and zany, Dave Made a Maze opts to jump right in and flesh out its characters along the journey (at least the one’s not murdered and/or turned into cardboard).
The film is bursting with creativity—unbound from the rules of science and logic, free to do whatever it pleases. A small cardboard fort on the outside contains an endless labyrinth of booby-traps and murderous monsters. The characters's blood and guts are replaced with red and pink yarn. There’s a fascinating optical illusion room, a tiny maze inside the actual maze, a glowing vagina that turns people into cardboard (I am not making that up!), a unique segment where the protagonists wear various paper outfits—repeating the same dialogue but with different implications, giving insight into their lives and psyche—and a whacky scene where the characters turn into paper bag puppets (with an unexpected nod to The Potter Puppet Pals’ Mysterious Ticking Noise sketch).
Oh, and if you haven’t already guessed, the film’s funny. It has a bunch of zany humor that’s sharp, witty and surprisingly tasteful despite the majority of characters being brutally murdered throughout. Dave Made a Maze could have easily been a miss, yet it somehow works really well. From an overview, its key strength is its charming nature, with the film’s darker elements never overtaking its well-meaning nature. Dave Made a Maze is sweet, funny, incredibly creative, and ends up being unexpectedly endearing.
