By Nick Parks
In 2008 a movie by the name of “Cloverfield”, produced by J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk and directed by Matt Reeves, released worldwide and was quickly met with moderate reviews.
However the movie did not get lost to the tides of cinema as not long after its DVD release it began to develop a cult following. This eventually led to the big question, would we ever get a Cloverfield 2? Fast forward to mid-January of 2016, where unsuspecting moviegoers were faced with an ominous trailer that ended on an extremely exciting end slate which simply read “10 Cloverfield Lane” with a date marker of March 11, 2016.
Fan’s of the film’s predecessor were thrilled but online forums quickly caught onto one major issue, the trailer looked nothing like the original film.
“It’s not called Cloverfield 2 because it isn’t Cloverfield 2,” said J.J. Abrams in an interview published on Fandango a movie ticketing and news website.
Instead Abrams considers “10 Cloverfield Lane” to be more of a blood relative, a statement that had many fans wondering what he meant.
While the original “Cloverfield” focused on the events of a Monster, called Clover by fans, attacking the city of New York being filmed through a handheld Camera, “10 Cloverfield Lane” traded in for a more cinematic feel and focuses on the lives of three individuals trapped in a fallout bunker after an “attack” from an unknown source. Despite this difference in style both films focus heavily on the same subject: The unknown.
Our main character Michelle, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, is a young woman who has just run out on a less than favorable relationship when her car is struck and she is knocked off the road. She awakens to find herself chained to a wall in a small concrete room with a makeshift cast around her leg.
We are then introduced to the unsettling Howard, played by John Goodman, who informs Michelle that he saved her life and that the world outside is little more than a graveyard.
Soon after, Howard introduces Michelle to the third person in the bunker, Emmett, played by John Gallagher Jr, who forced his way into to bunker after seeing “red flashes” coming from a nearby location.
While what Howard has said may be true, the film is quick to kill any notion that this bunker is safe and that Howard is trustworthy. From the moment Howard is introduced, it is clear that something isn’t right; his slight tics, vague word choice, short fuse and insistence that Michelle “should show some gratitude” create an air of unease in every scene he is present.
This is where “10 Cloverfield Lane” separates itself from its predecessor.The characters are each extremely three dimensional and in a state of constant evolution. Each of the three characters evolve over the course of the film in magnificent ways that create a very real attachment for the viewer.
Michelle indicates that she always runs from her problems, but by the end of the film she has been hardened and, when faced with a choice, decides that she won’t run anymore. While Howard is clearly presented as the film’s antagonist he isn’t given the “just evil because he is” treatment, you learn about him and you get invested in what he has to say and how he reacts.
While environment, character development and style all deviate from that of its predecessor “10 Cloverfield Lane” still manages to leave us with the same question that “Cloverfield” had us ask: What is actually going on? For all the development happening on screen it is extremely apparent by the end that we actually know next to nothing about what is happening and that’s okay.
Much like “Donnie Darko” we find that in the end we have more questions than answers.
We never find out who each of the characters were, despite knowing a bit of their backstories.
What about the attack? While the last 30 minutes of the film do elaborate on what is going on outside we are never really told what happened, why or when. We don’t know how long Michelle has been in the bunker, nor do we know how long she was unconscious from the crash, in fact we aren’t even told how much time there was between her crash and the “attack”. For all these loose ends the film leaves you thinking that there is more value in the lack of an answer.
While “10 Cloverfield Lane” may not be the sequel fans had hoped for, it is definitely a movie that can stand on its own two feet, earning a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film keeps you guessing from beginning to end, making sure that you are never too comfortable and constantly wondering what is going to happen next. For fans of slow burning psychological thrillers and “Cloverfield” alike this film is a must see.
