Review of 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) by Colginator — 16 May 2016

Whilst 10 Cloverfield Lane is sold as a sequel, it is not a sequel in the traditional sense. J.J Abrams described it as being a blood relative to Cloverfield, with no direct links existing to its 2008 predecessor. Typically sequels that have nothing to do with the original do not have a good track record often just attempting to capitalise on the reputation of the original without having to put any effort in to creating a good film, such as Home Alone 3 and Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. But fortunately 10 Cloverfield Lane avoids this, being an effective thriller that stands apart from the original whilst still offering the same kind of horror and looming threat that made the original Cloverfield such a hit.

We open the film with a young woman called Michelle as she is driving away after seemingly breaking off her engagement. There's a few vague mentions on the radio of something going on, but before she can pay this any thought, a car crashes in to her and drives her off the road. She awakes in an empty room chained to the pipe. Eventually a man named Howard (John Goodman) enters the room to tell her that the outside world is no longer inhabitable and that he bought her in to his bunker to save her life.

And that's all that we know. It's this uncertainty and the unknown that casts a lurking shadow across the rest of the film as we, along with Michelle, try to put together exactly what's going on. There's another survivor in the shelter named Emmet (John Gallagher) who seems more trustworthy than Howard and is also convinced that somethings happened, but none of them are sure of just what it is. A few theories are thrown out there regarding Russians, aliens or apocalypse. Throughout the film we're left attempting to figure out exactly what's happened, but we do know that somethings happened and whatever's out there is keeping them trapped inside.

But as threatening as whatever's outside is, our characters never seem that much safer inside with John Goodman's Howard posing an ever looming threat. He's similar to other great villains like Kathy Bates in Misery, with his unhinged nature making him both unpredictable and dangerous, constantly switching in to fits of rage every time one of the other characters talks out of place. And just like whatever has happened outside, throughout the film we're constantly trying to piece together just who he is and whether he was really just trying to save Michelle or if he had some other reason for taking her out from that car wreck.

Whilst Michelle is held in the bunker against her will, she never for one moment becomes a passive victim. She is constantly using her survival instinct and being resourceful to gain an understanding of what's going on and figure out a way that she can get out of there.

Further distinguishing itself from its predecessor, 10 Cloverfield Lane does not use any shaky cam throughout the film. Instead Dan Trachtenberg favours a more suspenseful style of shooting that follows from Michelle's perspective whilst better emphasising the often claustrophobic setting of the film.

It's a thrilling premise that's executed in an unsettling way, trapping us within the same uncertainty and paranoia as our main character. Whilst we don't know exactly what we're supposed to fear, we know that whether it's the monster outside or the monster within, there is constant danger looming.