10 Cloverfield Lane

This review may contain spoilers!

This film is an insanely good thriller right up until the science fiction genre is rammed up your nose at the end of the film. I would give 10 Cloverfield Lane an 8/10.

Well I have to say this is an incredible edgy thriller for most of this film, this exploration of being kidnapped and adapting to over come each new obstacle makes for a really interesting film. This film boasts a cast of three who each present really interesting characters that enhance this film. This film for me had a great sense of pace and knew how to create a twist that would keep you engaged in the story. The cinematography and editing for this film is absolutely beautiful, even when the action moves down to the bunker this film displays a keen visual style. Even though I disliked the aliens at the end of the film even I have to admit they looked really good, there was quite clearly a lot of work put in to making the special effects in this film look very smooth and realistic. The score for this film is extraordinary, the sound is so unique and has fast become one of the best scores of the year thus far.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who played Michelle, was an incredible lead protagonist in this film; her ferocity and fight made her really compelling and you were rooting for her in every scenario she found herself in. John Gallagher Jr, who played Emmett, was a really fun role; Gallagher Jr made Emmett a quietly courageous role who was really relatable and grounded.

However the best performance came from John Goodman, who played Howard. I had no idea Goodman still had a role like this in him, this was truly one hell of a performance and if you're a fan of this actor I really recommend seeing this film. In the scenes where Goodman isn't viewed as an antagonist he presents a very awkward and unpredictable character, there is something so fundamentally interesting in this character that you are paying attention to every scene he's in. However when you're aware of him as an antagonist Goodman is intimidating and frightening, he becomes wild and his presence takes up all of that tiny bunker that makes up this film.

I almost wish this film hadn't gone back to it's science fiction roots at the end of the film, this sudden plot twist and genre change came out of nowhere and didn't really serve the film well. One might argue that you should expect the science fiction themes because of the first Cloverfield film; however there are no ties to the last film which is another problem. There is no follow on from the first Cloverfield (not even the aliens look the same), in fact this film is so incredibly different that I wonder what the point of naming the film after Cloverfield is. There also needed to be more attention to building up the character backstories, I never felt like I got to know who Michelle was before the bunker and there were several questions around Howard that were never answered which bothered me.