10 Cloverfield Lane

So I saw the first Cloverfield a while back and I thought it was fine. Not a great film. I've always thought the found footage was better in theory than in practice and Cloverfield, while a decent found footage movie, isn't a masterpiece. The movie is on Hulu and after watching this, I might want to revisit that one, if not to give a review perhaps comparing the two and giving my opinion on whats better.

Of course if you don't already know though, 10 Cloverfield Lane is really only related to Cloverfield by title, and even that's a stretch. It is not a direct sequel and really has nothing to do with the first movie, as far as I remember. I'll talk more about its connection and future films near the end of the review.

But 10 Cloverfield Lane opens up with a woman named Michelle (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) getting into an accident and waking up in a bunker. This bunker is under the house of the man named Howard (played by John Goodman) who claims he rescued her, not only from the car crash, but from a larger threat.

Howard claims that he brought Michelle down into the bunker because he rescued her and is keeping her alive from the toxic air that is outside. He claims that there was some kind of attack and there was fallout, making the air dangerous to inhale and get on your skin.

With them in the bunker is another guy named Emmett (played by John Gallagher Jr.). And that's pretty much the entire movie. You have Michelle, Emmett, and Howard all down in this bunker going about their business. Of course there is suspense, especially since Michelle and Emmett are in a similar situation where they're outsiders in Howard's house and they are off put by his rules and confrontational nature.

And that's the true beauty of this movie, the suspense. And its mainly owned by John Goodman.

From the get go, Howard just comes off as a guy who would abduct you and keep you locked up in a basement. However, then he starts talking about an attack, he starts talking about the air being toxic. Then that's supported by what Emmett saw before he came into the bunker. But then you get his creep vibes all around and his rules and how he's going to be in control no matter what. You keep asking yourself if he's telling the truth about the attacks, if he's just a psycho keeping people in his basement, or if he's just totally nuts. On top of that, the way Goodman decided to play this character is just perfect because the way he's written, the way he says things, they just get you on the edge of your seat, not totally sure what he's going to do next.

Throughout the entire movie you can just tell that something is not right with Howard, but you don't figure out until the end if its something psychologically, or if he's just responding to the impending doom above the bunker and John Goodman plays that like an absolute boss.

And then there's Mary Elizabeth Winstead and I really enjoyed her character in this film.

Something I really enjoyed from this movie that was a pleasant surprise was that while Michelle looks like just another helpless female victim from any horror movie ever, Michelle is a very smart character. And she doesn't need to have a background in escaping or be the next Macgyver, she's just smart and able to figure out creative solutions to her problems.

I really enjoyed her and John Gallagher Jr. as they are very much the people being kept in this bunker. I think they worked well together and it just kind of points out how good the performances were in this film. I won't say that they were extraordinary, but they were good to the point where I really was invested in their characters and their struggle with John Goodman's character who I think was suspenseful and just a wildcard throughout the entire movie.

Now, something I will say about this movie is that the suspense comes in ebbs and flows. The entire movie takes place in this bunker and its exactly what you expect its going to be. Its going to be these characters hanging out in a bunker during what they think is the end times. Sure there's going to be a lot of questions circling their circumstances and then the suspense that Goodman provides does show up, but I did have a couple of moments where I was checking my phone and not being one hundred percent connected to the events of the movie.

I did appreciate how the scary parts of this movie focused on the suspense and the scary nature of the situation instead of cheap jump scares as I am not usually a fan of horror or scary movies. But I did think there could have been a little bit more than just these three sitting in a bunker.

I won't give away the ending as it really is the answer to all the questions you have, at least about why are they in the bunker? What is John Goodman's plan? But I did think that the big reveal at the end was done pretty fast and I don't know how wild I am about the ending. You sit throughout the entire movie thinking that this is a pretty scary but realistic situation someone could be in and then you see the ending and I had to laugh a little bit.

Was it a horrible ending? No. I just think it pointed towards a larger movie that I really don't think we're going to get based on what I've seen about this sequel and this franchise.

And that's a good transition to how this connects to the first Cloverfield and what the future holds for movies with the same name.

In the first movie, a giant monster attacks New York. But there seems to be no reference to that attack in 10 Cloverfield Lane. And even if there was, by the end of the movie, its obvious that the Earth has bigger problems on their plate than a giant monster.

So how do these movies connect? Well its confusing because on one hand, the digital marketing for these movies is really fantastic with Bad Robot creating fake websites and digital content for viewers to follow and pick up on all the Easter eggs set in the Cloverfield universe.

However, in an interview, the director of 10 Cloverfield Lane said that the events of Cloverfield didn't happen in the new movie and that they are on a different timeline. So which one is it?

Based on this movie and the original, I can't say that I'm a huge Cloverfield fan. What I am a fan of is the universe that could be created out of these movies. I don't know if they're pulling some kind of Twilight Zone approach or if they're going to start talking about alternate realities but I do like how vague they are being with this. It allows the fans to go on the internet and look up conspiracy theories. In many ways, those often end up being better than the actual stories in some cases.

I don't think there is going to be a direct sequel to 10 Cloverfield Lane and I kind of hope that they continue in the vague, connected but not connected fashion that they've started on with 10 Cloverfield Lane. I think its a big gamble and it requires a lot of long term commitment on the part of fans to continuing to go and see movies with this name and have them try and understand the connections being made.

At the end of the day though, if you're not focused on the backstory or the secret lore behind Cloverfield, I think the thing that they need to focus on first and foremost is the individual stories being told. If you can at least say that these movies are well done, you'll continue to bring in more people and get more people interested in conspiracy theories and a larger story.

Overall, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a decent movie. After letting the movie settle for a little bit, I think that I enjoyed this one more than the first one (until I go back and watch the first one) but if you're not interested in a larger world, this is a very confined movie with good performances and a suspenseful mystery you need to solve. On top of that, its not really that long of a movie. Nothing wrong with a short and simple flick.

But what do you think? Do you think 10 Cloverfield Lane is a good flick? How do you feel about a larger universe being created? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter you can also get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

I'll leave you with this. If you've seen the movie, this video will give you a pretty good explanation for the ties and connections being done not only in the movies, but online to a really interesting degree. But probably the best part about this whole movies run was how it was announced. A while back, this trailer really came out of no where and nobody expected it. Nobody knew that a new Cloverfield movie was being made and it just appeared. This is that trailer. Enjoy!