REVIEW: 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
10 Cloverfield Lane is written by Josh Campbell, Matthew Stucken, and Damien Chazelle. Dan Trachtenberg directs, and the cast includes John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and John Gallagher Jr.
This is billed as a sequel to J.J. Abrams Cloverfield (2008). Abrams is listed as a producer on 10 Cloverfield Lane and has confirmed that it is part of the Cloververse franchise of loosely connected stories.
10 Cloverfield Lane is more of a psychological thriller than a science fiction movie, three characters thrown together in unlikely circumstances and it takes a while before we can unravel exactly who is telling the truth. It’s the kind of story and setting that could easily work on stage as a play.
While the key plot points are fairly clearly signalled and spelled out, this is a well-crafted movie. Goodman is the big name actor, and he’s suitably creepy, but it’s Winstead’s character that successfully drives the momentum of the movie.
Accomplished film-making.
