Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr
10 Cloverfield Lane
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Rating: 4/5
At the beginning of the year, very few people know that 10 Cloverfield Lane was heading for release this spring... until a poster for the film was unveiled and took the world by surprise.
There has been a lot of talk about a possible Cloverfield sequel since the release of the film back in 2008 and now it is finally here. Well, sort of; 10 Cloverfield Lane is being called more of a 'blood relative' than an actual sequel. Sequel or not, this is a movie that you cannot afford to miss this weekend as it really is a terrific watch.
A young woman wakes up after a terrible accident to find that she's locked in a cellar with a doomsday prepper, who insists that he saved her life and that the world outside is uninhabitable following an apocalyptic catastrophe. Uncertain what to believe, the woman soon determines that she must escape at any cost.
10 Cloverfield Lane marks the feature film directorial debut for Dan Trachtenberg, but you really would not know it as he has delivered a tense and hugely claustrophobic film that will intrigue and entertain from opening scene to closing credits.
Almost all of this feature film is contained inside an underground bunker and it is this enclosed setting - as well as the uncertainly of what may lie outside - that creates the tension and the unease.
This is not a film that suffers from the lack of a scenery change, as 10 Cloverfield Lane is packed with twist and turns that will chill and thill you. But it is the trio of central performances from Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, and John Gallagher Jr that elevates this film even further.
Goodman has never been better as the man who claims to have saved Winstead's character from whatever lies outside. Is he a hero? Or he is keeping her captive? These are the questions that you will ask yourself through the whole film as this fine actor sends a shiver down your spine from time to time. Goodman is one of the best in the business but he really does knock it out of the park with a raw and captivating performance that you will not be able to take your eyes off.
Winstead is also terrific as a young woman who wakes up to find herself injured, trapped, and unsure of what has happened to her. Her uncertainty about Goodman's character helps create that tension and suspense.
Sadly, the end of the film perhaps doesn't quite live up to what has gone before, which is a shame. However, it is not enough to spoil what really is a thrilling watch. This is easily one of the best films of 2016 so far.
10 Cloverfield Lane is out now.
Tagged in John Goodman Mary Elizabeth Winstead