Movie Review: 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) directed by Dan Trachtenberg

Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) flees from her fiance. As she is driving at night, another car runs her off the road. She wakes up in a concrete room. She's chained to the wall and has a IV in her arm. She soon finds out she was saved by Howard (John Goodman), who brought her to the bunker and has saved her from certain death. He built this survival shelter under his farm and is waiting for the fallout to dissipate from whatever biological or nuclear attack has happened in the outside world. Michelle only has his word for it. And that of fellow bunkermate Emmet (John Gallagher Jr.). Emmet claims to know Howard, hinting Howard is both a survivalist and a conspiracy theorist. What is Michelle to believe?

The story unwinds in a tense fashion. Howard definitely isn't right in the head but is he the good kind of crazy or the bad kind? Goodman's performance keeps viewers guessing. As a character, Howard clearly sees himself as good but Michelle is unsure. She wants to get out and has more than one riveting escape attempt. More details are revealed about Howard throughout the film, making it a satisfying mystery since most questions are answered by the end. Michelle is a likable and intelligent heroine well played by Winstead.

The movie has a very superficial relationship to Cloverfield. Occasional hints at connections can be caught by astute viewers but they don't amount to much and are only a distraction from this story. Both movies are thrilling but I found this one much more satisfying. The characters here are more interesting and likable than in Cloverfield. The story is more believable and more tense, making it a much better movie.

Movie Review: Cloverfield (2008)

Cloverfield (2008) directed by Mark Reeves

Rob's friends are throwing him a farewell party in Manhattan. They are all late 20s/early 30s types. Rob's ex-girlfriend Beth shows up but things don't go well. She leaves after some curt words are exchanged. As Rob's best friend and his brother talk to him about it out on the balcony, the building shakes precariously. Turns out Rob should have left New York earlier because some monster is attacking the city. Rob decides to go after Beth. The only problem is she lives in the direction where the monster is attacking.

The movie is a "found footage" film. In this case, the footage is a tape from Rob's camera documenting the farewell party, which turns into a chronicle of their experience of the attack. The tape has some old video when Rob took Beth to Coney Island the month before, giving the characters a little more background and empathy. Unfortunately, it looks like there are some edits (like most of the testimonials from the party?) that blow the attempt at realism and immediacy. I never got fully invested in the film like I did with Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity. I started wondering if the Coney Island bits, which made sense narratively, would really be so perfectly lined up in random spots on the tape. So the found footage was a problem for me.

The other problem I had was all the hints at what's really going on. I had the impression that there was a larger, more interesting story and we were stuck following this group of semi-interesting, semi-sympathetic characters. The ultimate ending for Rob and Beth is touching if not surprising. I was expecting more from the talent behind the film (produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard). Some moments are startling and beautiful and terrifying but quite a bit of the film looks like stuff borrowed from other, better films.

I was surprised by how mediocre this film is. It would have been less distracting without the found footage gimmick and a better story was probably going on somewhere else in Manhattan. The isn't bad; I am still going to watch 10 Cloverfield Lane, which hopefully is the better story.