10 Cloverfield Lane [2016]

October 19, 2016

This is the first movie this year that I thought is going to be great and it actually turned out to be great. In case you missed the original Cloverfield [2008], you don’t need to check it out, because this is a completely new movie. I didn’t like the original so much, it was produced during the found footage crazies so maybe that put me off, along with JJ. Although I really don’t like what he has done to two of the major franchises Star Trek and Star Wars, I have to admit that the man is talented (to some extent). 10 Cloverfield Lane is a claustrophobic thriller with science fiction elements and a few characters.

This meant that the casting had to be spot on and with John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead on board from the start I knew that this is going to be a fantastic movie. Featuring intense atmosphere filled with mystery, engaging acting and careful directing, this Cloverfield is a smash hit. You’re following the story, looking for hidden hints and trying to piece together what the fuck is going on and who is here good, evil, or just plain old crazy and before you know it, the movie is over. I loved this ambiguity where you can’t tell what’s going on, especially compared with the rest of the morally determined movies that just guide the viewer towards the desired solution.

Michelle and her boyfriend Ben just had a huge fight and Michelle decides to pack up and leave New Orleans. As she is traveling through the countryside, she keeps hearing reports of something strange happening all over the country but then a sudden impact renders her unconscious. She wakes up tied up in a cellar with her injuries treated…

The decision to abandon the found footage filming style was a crucial one because I don’t see this movie working with that so well. Another thing they nailed was the pacing. 10 Cloverfield Lane doesn’t get boring or dragged out, it just flows naturally with its main story and several subplots that are equally interesting. John Goodman was really phenomenal in this movie, dancing on the knifes edge in attempts to keep his character true to the concept.

In this day and age, where prepping is a real thing and where preppers might actually be right if some disaster hits us, 10 Cloverfield Lane can also be watched as a dystopian future movie. Would you choose quick death on the streets or would you choose to live in a bunker? Indefinitely? What kind of a bunker would that be and what would be the things you would most miss from the “normal” world? So many interesting questions and so little time… This is a directorial debut for Dan Trachtenberg and based on this little gem, we can expect great things from him. If you’re interested in seeing some similar movies check out the following tag: Closed Environment Movies.