Review of 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) by Johnny T — 02 Jun 2016

10 Cloverfield Lane comes loaded with everything a psychological thriller needs to shatter your nerves - and then kicks it up a notch. Goodman is responsible for most of the film's tension. Over the years he's demonstrated a knack for playing likable and sinister, funny and serious, but not often all of those at once and rarely with the force he does here. This is a terrific movie that will keep audiences gripping their seats from start to finish, and a great deal of that is due to the magnificent acting jobs by Goodman, Winstead and co-star John Gallagher Jr. Filled with considerable dread and mystery, 10 Cloverfield Lane functions just fine as a standalone genre title. But as a spiritual sequel to the original, it builds out the so-called "Cloververse" far better than could be expected from even the most straightforward of tales. Smart, solidly crafted, and palpably tense, 10 Cloverfield Lane makes the most of its confined setting and outstanding cast -- and suggests a new frontier for franchise filmmaking. All three actors are tremendous, and director Dan Trachtenberg, making his feature debut, must be commended for keeping things tightly focused. The film barrels through a variety of emotional colors: scares, laughs, moments of emotional vulnerability, and it's a testament to director Dan Trachtenberg that the pieces fit so seamlessly together.

VERDICT: "High-Quality Stuff" - [Positive Reaction] This is a rating to a movie I view as very entertaining and well made, and definitely worth paying the full price at a theatre to see or own on DVD. It is not perfect, but it is definitely excellent. (Films that are rated 3.5 or 4 stars).