SOCIAL MEDIA

Monday 1 May 2017

10 Cloverfield Lane (Dan Trachtenberg, 2016)


Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr

Summary: After getting in a car accident, a woman is held in a shelter with two men, who claim the outside world is affected by a widespread chemical attack.

Genre: Mystery, Horror, Drama, Thriller

Watched: January 8th, 2017


I absolutely loved Cloverfield (2008) when I first saw it. I still do, it's one of my Most Rewatched Films.
After I watched it I was hoping that there would be a sequel but I couldn't find any information about one on the internet.

Fast forward 6 years and I started hearing about 10 Cloverfield Lane. I automatically assumed it was the Cloverfield sequel I had been looking for but I later found out (after we had watched it) that it isn't actually a direct sequel but rather what J.J Abrams is calling a "blood relative".

Onto the review!

We're thrown straight into the story as soon as the film starts with Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) driving through the countryside late at night following an argument with her boyfriend. As she listens to news reports on her car radio regarding black outs in major cities her car is struck.

She wakes up to find herself in an empty room chained to the wall, where her captor Howard (John Goodman) informs her that they are locked in his bunker deep underground following a chemical attack.
This film is a lot darker and much more sinister then what I was expecting. With Cloverfield you were able to see pretty much everything that was happening, but 10 Cloverfield Lane is definitely more about what you can't see.

With Cloverfield we were literally in Hud's (T.J. Miller) shoes throughout the film, even without the camera 10 Cloverfield Lane is also able to make us (the audience) feel as though we are Michelle.
Like Michelle we don't actually know what's happening outside, we only know what we've been told by Howard and Emmett (John Gallagher Jr) and again like Michelle we don't know these people so we're not sure if we can really trust them.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is brilliant as Michelle but for me it is definitely John Goodman who really steals the show.

I've heard quite a bit about the way the films ends and how a lot of people aren't happy with it. I did think it was a little random and at the time I didn't think it fit very well but when I think about it, for me it doesn't take away from the rest of the film. It's definitely a film I would happily watch again.

Take a look at these interesting articles I found about the film and it's ending: The 10 Cloverfield Lane Backlash is Missing the Point and Why the Ending of 10 Cloverfield Lane Sucks


Rating: 8/10
One Final Word: Excellent!

2 comments :

  1. I absolutely loved the first film and had no idea they were doing another until now!
    Have to see it
    xx

    Lizzie | Takeoffs & Landings

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    Replies
    1. You definitely have to see it! Let me know what you think when you do.

      Jaye

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