10 Cloverfield Lane is directed by Dan Trachtenberg and stars John Goodman (Monsters Inc, The Big Lebowski) as Howard, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (A Good Day To Die Hard, Scott Pilgrim) as Michelle and John Gallagher Jr. (The Newsroom) as Emmett.
The plot of this film? Well, its really hard to explain. To put it simply, Michelle (Winstead) wakes up in an underground bunker, with Howard (Goodman) and Emmett (Gallagher Jr.), after being in a car crash. She’s told by both men that there’s been some kind of attack and everyone above ground is dead or soon going to be.
There’s nothing else I can really tell you without spoiling the film. Of course there are a lot of plot twists within the film, and the ending itself is something of an open ending with a huge genre shift. But overall the main genre of this film is a psychological thriller. It’s a very claustrophobic film as its just the 3 people stuck in an underground bunker.
The performances of the cast in this film are amazing. John Goodman delivers one of his best performances ever as Howard – a doomsday-prepper who has something to hide? his performance and arc really lead you in all kinds of directions and you, like Michelle, don’t know whether or not you should trust him or try to escape.
It’s annoying because I don’t want to spoil any of this movie for anyone. Some of the plot twists in this film are incredible and, despite people not liking the open ending or genre shift, the film is intense and confusing from start to finish.
This film itself came out of no where. The trailer and announcement for this film was literally released a few months before the actual film hit cinemas and it became a viral sensation. The key drawing point for this film was the word ‘Cloverfield’ an obvious call to Cloverfield, the movie released in 2008. This is not a direct sequel, its not really a sequel in any way. Cloverfield (2008) followed the story of a group of people trying to survive an alien attack in New York. There is almost nothing within this film suggesting that this event happened in the same universe, but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t. Now this is where the not wanting to spoil anything comes into play. There are kind-of links to suggest they are in the same universe but its very weak. The ‘Cloverfield’ title could mean they’re creating a series of anthology films that are Horror-Thriller-Sci-Fi movies that follow similar themes and ideas, but who knows.
Overall, if you were hoping for a direct sequel to Cloverfield (2008), you won’t have it. However, if you go in with an open mind this film is an incredible piece of cinema, with great shots, music, actors, action and themes. 10 Cloverfield Lane is incredible, i can’t recommend it enough, please see it when possible.
10 Cloverfield Lane: 5/5
Connor Mountford 