The only negative I have about 10 Cloverfield Lane is the cynical use of 'Cloverfield' in its title. It's just marketing nonsense as this film bears virtually no relation to the 2008 movie bearing that name.
Anyway, why bother when you've got a great movie that stands tall and firm on its own cinematic standards? What we've got here is a claustrophobic thriller that would compare favourably with the works of the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Yep, it's that good.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as Michelle, a young woman who runs out on her fiancé. While driving and being distracted by her phone she gets run off the road, her car overturns while bouncing down a hill and she gets knocked out. When she wakes up, she's in a bare room, on a mattress, hooked-up to a drip, and in chains.
The really bad news is that her captor is John Goodman playing Howard, one of these survivalist types, and they're both in his underground bunker. He claims that some kind of attack has taken place, the air outside is toxic, and that he rescued her after her car crash. She isn't convinced and tries to attack him at the earliest opportunity.
Then we're introduced to the third member of the claustrophobic crew, Emmet, whose arm is in a sling after damaging it while trying to get into the bunker. He confirms that he saw the attack take place, but Michelle remains sceptical. What follows is a game of paranoid cat and mouse.
This film could've been a disaster in the wrong hands, but it's deftly handled by director Dan Trachtenberg, in what is his feature-length debut. The cast is fine, but Goodman is a towering presence and it's impossible to tell whether or not his character is genuine.
Go see. Enjoy.
