10 Cloverfield Lane

I love to be surprised by films, i have no big expectations to. Most of the films that comes out, you either know they might be good, or you have a feeling that you will be disappointed. Then we have those films you have heard very little about, and have no idea if it will be any good at all. That happened to me back in 2008, when i heard a film called Cloverfield was coming out. I noticed that people were talking about the film, but i honestly did not have any high expectations. As i finally got a chance to see the film, i was very surprised. For being in the found footage horror genre, this was actually one of the better films in this category. The action scenes, with the majestic monster destroying town, looked really good. And it was also a very well made film, with very nice cinematography in chaos locations. The film was directed Matt Reeves, who proved himself to be a really good technical director. He gave us a very different approach on monster films, and i had a great time watching the film in the cinema seat. Matt continued to direct more good films, how about Let Me In ( a really good remake of the swedish vampire film Låt Den Rätte Komma In ), and Dawn of The Planet Of The Apes ? One of the most interesting details about Cloverfield, is that the film is produced by J.J Abrams. Most of you might know him, as the director of the new Star Trek films, including Star Wars - The Force Awakens. Cloverfield is still today seen as one of the best films in the found fottage horror genre, and i have a feeling it will be very hard to defeat this film. About 4 months ago, there was news of a new Cloverfield film, that no one knew was coming. In fact, this project was so secret, that not even the media had any idea about it. I loved this, because usually most media reporters tell you all the details about upcoming films. But when the title of 10 Cloverfield Lane came out, no one knew exactly if it was a sequel, or something else. Since i really enjoyed the first film, i was of course curious to see if this would be like the first film, or different. Reading that J.J Abrams was one of the producers on this film, i was hoping that the quality of the first film would still be here. With such a secret production, with almost no one knewing this film was being made, is this as good as we were hoping it would be, or did they fail to deliver a solid sequel ?

Michelle ( Mary Elizabeth Winstead ) is leaving New Orleans, after an argument with her fiancé Ben ( Bradley Cooper ). As she drives through the night, she is hit by a truck. As she wakes up, she is chained in a room, by a man named Howard Stambler ( John Goodman ). He tries to explain that she can´t leave, because there is no one alive out there anymore. Michelle does not belive Howard, and she tries to handle this difficult situation. Michelle finds out that there is another man down here, in this bunker. A man named Emmett DeWitt ( John Gallagher, Jr ) is also trapped in the bunker. Michelle tries to find out more information of who Howard really is, and why he is doing this. Is Howard completely insane, or is he telling them the truth ?

I am so pleased to tell you, 10 Cloverfield Lane is just as good as i were hoping it would be. And the main reason for that is the cast. John Goodman does one of his best performances in many years, he is simply outstanding as the doomsday prepper Howard. Is he insane, or is he perhaps right, that everyone outside is gone ? As you try to get your own opinion, it is difficult to know if he could be right, because you get a sense that he might have personal issues. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is also really good, as the trapped Michelle, who have no idea why she is locked up in Howard´s bunker. We also get to meet Emmett, played by John Gallagher, Jr, who reminds me of a mixture of a hillbilly trucker boy, and one of the Gator Boys. He also manage to deliver a solid performance. Most of the film focus on these 3 characters, and i like the way that director Dan Trachtenberg have used simple details to tell different sides of their stories. We get to find out details on Howard, as well as Michelle and Emmett, as they begin conversations. By the way, Dan used to be one of the hosts on The Totally Rad Show, one of my favourite web shows on Youtube, i used to watch a lot of their movie reviews. This is the first directorial debut film for Dan, and i am very suprised how well he managed to do this film. It is a very psychological thriller, and you have some horror influences here as well. Since most of the film takes place in the bunker, you feel that the atmosphere is sensitive, that Howard can explode any minute, if you don´t follow the rules. I would not say that this film is worse than the first film, simply because i almost enjoy this film, as much as the first Cloverfield. The films are very different, but i still feel both manage to capture the feeling of how we handle hard situations, with our lives at stake. The claustrophobic atmosphere manage to make this film feel intensive, as Michelle tries to figure out how to escape to the outside. I am not going to give away any details about what is going on outside the bunker, because you really don´t want to know. Going into this film, you are supposed to know as little as possible. 10 Cloverfield Lane manage to stand strong, and deliver a psychological thriller, that will make you sweat of joy. Everything is not perfect, but this is probably one of the better horror influenced films you will see this year. Remember kids, if you see the sign Cloverfield Lane, make sure you have Gerard Butler with you by your side. He knows how to get the party started.

Rating: DDDD