10 Cloverfield Lane

Where am I? How did I end up her? What’s going on outside? Can I really trust you?......You would want to find out at once after 10 minutes the movie began through the Michelle's eyes played by Elizabeth Winstead who brilliantly leads you to an brand new unknown world. J.J. Abrams is back as Producer (along with Lindsey Webber) on this <10 Cloverfield Lane>  to create another suspense movie that is more about the psychology of confined spaces than not knowing what is out there – as the synopsis so tellingly puts it, “monsters come in many forms” and you will know why when you watch this well-made addition to his screen biography.

The story sounds quite simple, but who and what really are the monsters? Michelle (Elizabeth Winstead) survives a car accident and wakes up to find herself kidbapped and imprisoned in an underground bunker with tow men, Howard (John Goodman) and Emmet (John Gallagher, Jr.). Howard tells her that he saved her from the crash and that was a massive chemical attack has rendered the air unbreathable, and their only hope pf survival is to remain inside. Despite the comforts of home, Howard's controlling and menacing nature makes Michelle want to escape. To add to the suspense, there are intermittent noises coming from outside that have a foreboding that no one can truly explain, the audience will follow through Michelle's eye eager to escape as once to find out more what the reality is in the outside world. At the same time Emmet’s reason for being there was not truly explained (he said he forced his way in) and he is a good foil for Michelle, but you keep wondering what Howard’s motivation is and who is he gunning for and why did he decide to save Michelle while he deliberately caused the crash and felt a need to save her because of his actions. The entire film focus mainly on three surviving human beings that makes you think who shall be trusted before the truth unveiled.

The bunker is not very big, but there are enough private spaces for planning actions, so we are rooting for Michelle big time and makes you desperately to know what is happening outside and what that foreboding noise really is that anxiously challenging the patient of the audiences who knows something is up, but what? Is is safer to remain in the bunker or escape to the outside world at once?

The denouement is satisfying and maybe there is more to be told in a sequel – and maybe not this is the best way to handle a thriller genre by having such open curiosity discussion. John Goodman carry the film had us some memories of him playing a crazy man in Barton Fink by watching this movie. Goodman encapsulates the obsessive “the world is coming to an end” type so well and you truly see evil in him and thinking that he can’t be trusted. Confined spaces can result in some really bad movies or some incredibly suspenseful ones and this falls into the latter category and well directed by Dan Trachthenberg. This is a must see and an interesting addition to the original “Cloverfiled” film of 2008, you know J.J. Abrams has more material up his sleeve since he created <LOST>. Don’t miss out.

Review Rating: 4.5/5