4.5 Out of 5 Stars
First with The Force Awakens he managed to take a film that had probably one of the most scrutinized productions in the last 10 years and keep its plot almost a complete secret, while also giving us a film that finally worthy successor to the holy trilogy. Then not even one month later unveiled the trailer for the next film in the Cloverfield series 10 Cloverfield Lane. Like the previous film this one was made in complete secret and looks to take the Cloverfield name and go with a horror anthology vibe much like John Carpenter hoped to do with Halloween 3. While all films share a name they can each be their own “episode” if you will.
10 Cloverfield Lane begins with our protagonist Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) leaving her husband in tears and tearing down the open country road when she is mysteriously sideswiped, waking up 40 feet underground in a doomsday bunker. We soon find she was rescued by Howard (John Goodman) your stereotypical paranoid survivalist nut, who just happened to find her overturned car in a ditch and brought her to safety. According to Howard there was some sort of an attack on the US and the air outside of the bunker has been poisoned. This story is later corroborated by Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) the farmhand who helped build the bunker, who is the closest thing to a friend Michelle has in the film.
The thing that makes this film work so amazingly well is it’s good at layering these questions, while also feeding just enough information and misinformation to keep the audience asking even more questions. Was there an attack? Is the air really poisonous? Just how did Howard really find Michelle? And what happened to Howard’s daughter he’s always talking about? These are the questions that lead the viewer through the narrative following the breadcrumb trail, which unlike the first film leads to a very satisfying conclusion as all the puzzle pieces fall into place into place.
While produced by Abrams, the film was directed by Dan Trachtenberg who you probably know from that amazing Portal short No Escape that hit the net a few years ago. Like that film he has been able to imbue this film with an amazing amount of claustrophobia and desperation that just adds to the tension as Michelle tries to uncover the truth of what just what is really going on both inside and outside the bunker. The thriller is meticulously paced and I was honestly surprised at how smart it handled a plot that easily could have unraveled at any point in lesser hands and this is only amplified by a solid script that complete understands the genre. The script in question was originally titled The Cellar until it was adopted into the Cloverfield franchise.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead finally got a role here that pushed her out of her comfort zone in how she manages the vulnerability of a character who is held captive, but never lets that stop her from fighting. I have to be honest, this is the first role I think she really pushed herself beyond what we normally see from her in most films. Goodman on the other hand just turned one of the best performances of his career as Howard, while completely untrustworthy and creepy there is a genuine sadness to the character that still lets you empathize with him to a point.
The most divisive thing about 10 Cloverfield Lane is not the first two acts, but how it finally ties all the threads together at the end. I personally loved it and felt this is one of the best horror films I have seen since It Follows, but much scarier. I have to mention the sound design on this one is very effective so try to catch this in theaters if you can, it definitely adds another layer to the experience.
I LOVED 10 Cloverfield Lane, it not only finally allowed me to forgive JJ Abrams for Star Trek into Darkness, but let me know you can still make good genre films that can still surprise us. Its much more satisfying than it predecessor and yet leaves a fair amount of questions behind as the credits roll. 10 Cloverfield Lane could be one of the first great original films of the year and one we will be quietly dissecting for years to come. Given this is the director’s first feature length film, its a pretty tough act to follow when you make a film this good right out of the gate. Do let anyone spoil this one for you and catch it as soon as you can!
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