10 Cloverfield Lane

One of my favourite scenes in cinematic history revolves around 3 isolated men, surrounded by vast nothingness yet with a pending threat, discussing scars, Mary Ellen Moffat and the Indianapolis.  The film was the quintessential summer blockbuster that, whilst in the midst of a big old shark, comes a scene of character building masterclass.

Back in 2008, in the height of found footage films, Cloverfield had a marketing campaign that rivalled the Blair Witch.  The film was a reasonable watch but not one I have not returned to.  Fast forward to 2015 and a secret Bad Robot Production project was unveiled on the back of a small indie film called Star Wars Force Awakens.  JJ Abrams production company had been working on a film that put three strangers in an isolated environment with pending disaster and heightening paranoia.  It was only late in the production time line that a Cloverfield title was given. 

After being involved in a car crash, Michelle wakes to find her leg in supports, a drip in her arm and shackled to a pipe.  Her saviour is a conspiracy mad John Goodman who is convinced that a nuclear attack had been pending so built a fully functioning bunker.  Seeing Michelle in trouble and knowing of the looming attack he takes her back to his fortitude.  Also in this shelter is Emmet, a contractor who help with the initial build.

With only John Goodman’s word that the surface is uninhabitable and they are in the best place, Michelle and Emmet eventually settle, but only to have questions raised about the integrity of Goodman’s background and  intentions.  Are they warranted? Are they being paranoid? What has actually happened above?

I thoroughly enjoyed Cloverfield Lane and was engrossed through most of the film.  The tension is only increased due to the surroundings that encapsulate.  John Goodman is just superb, his breathing is a character in itself.  I found myself shifting in the seat in some scenes wondering if his temper would come to the forefront.

For me, the whole focus of the film should have been the subterranean setting, anything above ground is superficial and unnecessary unless the intention was to make a whole film about it.  Sort of connected to the original Cloverfield but not really, the viewer already has an idea of what may be going on above….but is it in the same universe is the question.  As with most horror/thriller films the ending is the lasting memory, nail it and you’re a talking point for years to come, fail it and the same applies but for the wrong reasons.  Cloverfield Lane for me failed in the last 10 minutes, but the prevailing character focused, intense, claustrophobic 1hour 30minutes more than make up for it.

I was shocked to see two families bring small children into this film, I understand that it is a PG13 rated film, but there are some real intense and violent scenes that I struggled with.   How a 6 year old would cope I do not know, and one really needs to question ones film choices when bringing small children.  If this is a film you really want to see but have children, then my advice is get a babysitter for a couple of hours