Three’s Company

10 Cloverfield Lane is an unusual quasi-sequel to the 2008 handheld found-footage Godzilla-like monster movie Cloverfield. I watched the original in theatres back when I was at University, and it struck me as a rather exciting, large scaled horror movie. The gargantuan scope of that picture is interestingly scaled back to the complete opposite in this loose spin-off.

Done in a more traditional, Hitchcockian style, director Dan Trachtenberg uses an epic score (and no dialogue), to introduce us to our protagonist, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who is leaving her flat, with her engagement ring no longer on her left hand. Bradley Cooper appears in voice only as her fiancé – pleading with her to turn around. As she drives into the rural countryside, ignoring his most recent call, her car careens off of the road and she awakens in a cement bunker, injured, chained to the wall.

What follows is a taut, claustrophobic thriller that ebbs and flows as we learn the truths and lies people tell (as well as the secrets they keep) when they are trapped in an underground bunker with two others after a supposed attack on the United States. Michelle’s captor (or saviour), is Howard (John Goodman), a hardcore, intense survivalist who grabbed her after the accident. The confused and confined woman is clearly pumped full of adrenaline, worried that she is in a very dangerous situation. Her first instinct is to carve the crutch she has been given (as her leg is injured) into a spear, but her surprise attack fails.

Eventually, she meets Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.), who clarifies for Michelle that there has been some sort of major attack outside (bringing to mind the Cold War paranoia of the 1950s and 1960s) and that the air has supposedly been contaminated.

Michelle is given some freedom in the underground home, yet she still eyes any chance for making a break for it (despite being shown that Howard’s pigs are dead and disfigured). When she makes it to the front door, she witnesses a wounded woman who is violently distressed – making her once again question whether safety does actually lie in the decorated crypt.

There is really not too much more I want to divulge on the story front, as this movie is best enjoyed with the least amount of information possible – much like the way it was created. No one really knew that there was going to be a sequel to Cloverfield until the trailer dropped, and after watching it, people were left a bit confused as to the connection (to be clear, this is a sequel to the original film – though it is set in a different location and has new characters).

As with most movies, there were definitely some areas that could have been improved, yet it mostly succeeds as a confining thriller. Both the tight setting, where nearly nothing can be hidden, and the acute sounds (be it the locked metal doors, the generator or the cacophonous noises coming from outside), help drive the story forward, making the characters all the more interesting. Each tic, action or move catches our eye, whether it is the anger brewing as Howard loses the control he so evidently desires or the man dancing to the retro tunes coming from his neat jukebox, and provides the audience with a sense of the ever-changing mood of the bunker (which is usually teetering towards intense).

The movie works for the better due to the masterful performances brought forth by the cast. Goodman is, once again, brilliant. He brings forth a frighteningly real performance, where we see everything from his need for absolute control and his intense bravado, to his short fuse and bizarre Cold War era induced outlook. Yet, we can also see pain or misery just below the surface. Winstead is just as impressive keeping up with the icon. The mix of fear, bravery and creativity that she displays is impressive to watch (as is the way she overcomes her habit of running away when something negative enters her life – a major theme of the film). Gallagher Jr. rounds out the cast, easily capturing the essence of the rather average joe.

The ending is likely to lead to a lot of discussion – and it may irk some, as it is sometimes hard to remember that this is a mixed-genre film, yet it surely continues the ‘fight for survival’ motif found throughout the movie.

I must also give credit to whoever selected the great sixties song “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tommy James & The Shondells – which is used in both the film and its first trailer. It is an eerily perfect selection for the motion picture (make sure to read the lyrics after seeing the movie).

10 Cloverfield Lane is a very different movie from its blood-relative (as producer J.J. Abrams has called it) of 2008. In an interesting manoeuver, it does not need to be seen along with its original to be understood or enjoyed (as it was not planned to be a sequel at all – it was actually titled “The Cellar” originally – and was only re-worked a bit after the first script was completed). So, take a chance on this movie (which feels part Psycho, part War of the Worlds) to hear some “Crimson and Cloverfield” – sorry, wrong Tommy James & The Shondells’ song.