Film Review: 10 Cloverfield Lane

After packing her belongings and leaving her husband, Michelle is involved in an automobile accident and wakes up in a bomb shelter with two strange men, Howard and Emmett. While the two men insist that some unknown catastrophic event took place on the surface and that Michelle is not a prisoner but rather there for her own safety, she can’t help but harbor a distrust toward the strangers. Tensions grow as the three learn more about one another and even though they have no idea what happened outside or what may still be happening outside, could outside be a better option?

10 Cloverfield Lane has certainly found itself to be the topic of controversy as film fans debate whether it has any tangible connection to 2008’s Cloverfield, but then again we already know that producer J.J. Abrams likes to enshroud his projects in a veil of secrecy and mystery. While not a proper sequel of any sorts, 10 Cloverfield Lane certainly takes place in the same universe and depending on how you read certain events can definitely be part of the same extended story. But no matter which way you lean on that decision, it is certainly an excellent film on its own. First time feature director Dan Trachtenberg does an amazing job of crafting a tense sense of dread as we learn more about the situation and our three main characters and all three of the lead actors do wonderful work in the movie.

The movie as a whole is a thoroughly entertaining and tense thriller and I would recommend 10 Cloverfield Lane to anyone looking for a fun and challenging film.

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016); Director: Dan Trachtenberg; Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr.