10 Cloverfield Lane : Movie Review


10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) - Movie PosterIn an age when pre-release spoilers run rampant on the Internet and movies can never be kept completely secretive during their path to screens, somehow creator-producer Drew Goddard and co-producer J.J. Abrams have achieved this near-impossible feat twice—first with director Matt Reeves' awesome, chilling 2008 found-footage monster thriller "Cloverfield," and again eight years later with Dan Trachtenberg's breathlessly riveting companion piece "10 Cloverfield Lane." Less than two months prior to the latter's March 2016 opening, virtually no one aside from the people involved in its making knew it existed. When the exceptionally intriguing but tastefully shady trailer premiered, it caught everyone unaware and rightfully sent "Cloverfield" fans (myself included) into an anticipatory whirlwind. Indeed, it is still possible to surprise viewers, and "10 Cloverfield Lane" does just that throughout its airtight 103-minute running time.

On the run from relationship woes, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is hit by a truck while driving through rural Louisiana. When she comes to, she finds herself chained up in a barren room. Gradually, more details come to light, though Michelle has no way of knowing how legit they are. A middle-aged farmer, Howard (John Goodman), has brought her to the fully stocked underground bunker he has built on his property. His conscientious forward thinking, he claims, has saved both of their lives—and that of a third occupant, local acquaintance Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.)—following the fallout from a deadly airborne contagion. Howard is adamant no one else above ground has survived, but Michelle isn't quite sure if his words are truthful or the dishonest ravings of a mentally unhinged lunatic set on holding her and Emmett hostage.

See Dustin Putman, TheFilmFile.com. for full review

Author : Dustin Putman, TheFilmFile.com.