Skip to content

Nights and Weekends

Reviews of movies, books, music, and board games

Primary Menu
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Pin Posts
  • Privacy
  • Home
  • 10 Cloverfield Lane
  • Out of this World

10 Cloverfield Lane

kdk March 11, 2016
0 0
Read Time:2 Minute, 29 Second

In 2008, the heavily-hyped J. J. Abrams-produced found footage monster movie Cloverfield followed a group of young people as they raced through the crumbling streets of New York City. But Cloverfield’s sister film, 10 Cloverfield Lane, is a very different—much more intimate—kind of thriller.



10 Cloverfield Lane begins as Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) decides to leave her fiancé and drive off into the night. But before she reaches her destination, her car is run off the road, and she wakes to find herself locked in an underground bunker. The man who took her there, Howard (John Goodman), claims that he’s saved her life—that there was an attack, and everyone outside the bunker is dead. And the only other resident of the bunker, Emmett (John Gallagher, Jr.), believes him. But Michelle doesn’t know what to believe.



Anyone who’s expecting the noise and terror and widespread panic of the original Cloverfield will be completely caught off guard by 10 Cloverfield Lane. For the most part, it’s a quiet, claustrophobic drama, with just three characters in a small, enclosed space. Really, it’s more like a suspenseful Sundance thriller than a big-name release.



The drama here is creepy and intense, with so many questions arising one after another. In the beginning, it may seem simple: Michelle’s been kidnapped, and she needs to figure out how to escape. But you’ll soon find that there’s nothing simple about this story—or about Goodman’s Howard. He may be crazy and dangerous. He may be a smart, eccentric guy who planned ahead and has chosen to save two other people from a horrible fate. Or maybe he’s all of the above. And Goodman plays the character so well—making him so strange and fanatical and unpredictable—that he’ll keep you guessing.



As the drama plays out, though, you’ll most likely find yourself waiting for something bigger to happen. After all, this is a Cloverfield movie—and there are constant references to some kind of horrors taking place outside the bunker. On one hand, that adds to the suspense—because you’ll be bracing for what’s sure to come. On the other hand, though, it’s also a distraction—and you may be so focused on what’s coming that you might lose sight of the suspense that’s playing out in the bunker. So in order to appreciate the film fully, you’ll need to let go of expectations. Just forget about what may or may not be coming, and let yourself enjoy the tension and suspense of this eerie underground drama.



10 Cloverfield Lane probably isn’t what you’re expecting—and its hype and choppy ending may actually detract from an otherwise solid psychological thriller. But if you can separate this film from its predecessor, you’ll be in for a tense and gripping adventure.





Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:

Share

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

About Post Author

kdk

Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it. Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course. As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com). Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
kdk@nightsandweekends.com
http://www.NightsAndWeekends.com
Happy
Happy
0 0 %
Sad
Sad
0 0 %
Excited
Excited
0 0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 0 %
Angry
Angry
0 0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 0 %

kdk

Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.

Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.

As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).

Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.

See author's posts

Continue Reading

Previous: Pixels
Next: RWBY: Volume 3

Related Stories

Encounter
  • Melodrama
  • ON FILM
  • Out of this World

Encounter

December 3, 2021
Eternals
  • Cardiac Corner
  • Melodrama
  • ON FILM
  • Out of this World

Eternals

November 5, 2021
Mitchells vs. the Machines
  • Out of this World

Mitchells vs. the Machines

April 30, 2021

Categories

Archives

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

You may have missed

Road to Perth
  • Melodrama
  • ON FILM

Road to Perth

January 7, 2022
American Siege
  • Cardiac Corner
  • Melodrama
  • ON FILM

American Siege

January 7, 2022
Good as Gold (Whatever After #14)
  • COVER TO COVER
  • Kiddie Lit
  • Listen In...

Good as Gold (Whatever After #14)

January 4, 2022
Just Haven’t Met You Yet
  • Chick Lit
  • COVER TO COVER

Just Haven’t Met You Yet

December 28, 2021

Pages

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Pin Posts
  • Privacy
Copyright © All rights reserved. | MoreNews by AF themes.