10 Cloverfield Lane

It's an increasingly rare treat to be able to go into a movie and only have the vaguest idea of what a movie is about. You have just enough information to entice you to check out the film and get the whole story. That was the joy of seeing 10 Cloverfield Lane. That's also what is going to make this review tricky because I want anyone else seeing the film to have that same experience. 

Michelle (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) awakes after a bad car accident to find herself in an almost empty cell. Disoriented and freaking out, she is introduced to Howard (played by John Goodman). She immediately doesn't trust him despite the fact that he tells her he saved her life. It probably has something to do with the fact that she is handcuffed to a pipe on the wall. A little later, he brings her some food and tosses her the key to the handcuffs. It is revealed that Howard found Michelle in her car and brought her to his bomb shelter. With them is Emmett (played by John Gallagher, Jr.), who we find out helped Howard build his underground bunker. Howard explains to Michelle that when he found her, there was an attack starting on the U.S and he had no choice but to bring her there. The bunker is outfitted with a fully functioning kitchen, years worth of food, air filtration, a jukebox and a TV with plenty of DVDs and cassettes. Overall, it's a fairly sweet setup for the three to ride out the apocalypse together. The problem is Michelle is not convinced she can trust Howard or that what he is saying is true as she sets out to piece together what is really going on.

This movie was a tension filled thriller from pretty much the word go. I love how this movie played it's cards close to it's vest both in the actual film and in the marketing. As I watched the film I kept going back and forth wondering is John Goodman's character a good guy or not? A lot of that has to do with how well Goodman plays Howard. The guy means well and in his mind he's protecting these two other people from the dangers outside, or so he says anyway. You just never know if he's on the level or not. One moment, he seems subtly crazy and then in the next he's perfectly normal, rocking out to the jukebox and making fluffernutters. At the same time though, he is incredibly controlling with a strong temper and being stuck with someone like that in a relatively confined space you can just feel the tensions rise. Mary Elizabeth Winstead likewise does well in her role as a girl who was literally running away from her problems when she finds herself smack dab in the middle of an all new one. Her character has a nice arc when she realizes she is going to have to rely on herself to get out of this situation and is able to find the strength and wits to start putting together a plan for escape. 

The film is directed by Dan Trachtenberg and was apparently his first feature film. He does a dynamite job telling this story, finding new and interesting ways to shoot the bunker and the three people occupying it while at the same time slowly turning up the tension.  Part of that is that he keeps the film so grounded for the most part. Everything seems so tangible and real. We could see something like this happening and that plausibility only adds to the suspense the film generates. The film was written by Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken, and Damien Chazelle and they do a fantastic job charting out this little tale with several hidden layers and surprises to be found in the movie, peeling back each layer at the exact right moment. It made for an absolutely riveting film. I also have to call out that I'm thankful they decided to drop the "found footage" format the first film had, as that technique has more than worn out it's welcome with me.

Overall, 10 Cloverfield Lane was a superior thriller focusing on only three characters. I should clarify that this really isn't a sequel to Cloverfield, at least not in any sort of true sense. It seems like producer J.J Abrams is going more of an anthology route with it with each film being a separate stand alone story with some thematic similarities. I'm curious to see how it all plays out. If it's anything like this one, I eagerly anticipate whatever comes next.