User reviews

Arguably, the worst aspects of '10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)' are those that tie into its franchise roots, which is understandable considering that this started life as a completely original screenplay before it was contorted to fit into the 'Cloverfield (2008)' "universe". These issues are really only limited to a somewhat rushed finale, though, and the final result is still a much finer film than its predecessor. It's an incredibly intriguing and evolving mystery-thriller that's consistently entertaining and suspenseful, as it uses its small core cast of well-realised characters to drive the tension within its (mostly) single, increasingly claustrophobic location to expert effect. It's incredibly compelling mainly because of its intense focus on character, while it's the several subtle twists and turns that keep us on the edge of our seat as our reading of the situation (always seen through the lens of the protagonist) continues to organically change. Ultimately, the piece becomes perhaps one of the most enjoyable entries in its genre. 8/10

Pluses: 1. Great cast. Really good chemistry among them. Terrific performances from all. Mary Elizabeth Winstead gets better with every film she makes. 2. Story keeps you guessing until the end. 3. There are references in it to some popular films in the genre (that are likely film maker favorites) from the past 30 years or so. 4. Director shows great promise while still early in his career. 4. Story more important than special effects or pointless action sequences (always a plus for me). 5. Sound effects, usually unappreciated in non-action films, well used to add to the intensity of the drama.

Minuses: 1. We've probably all seen John Goodman play a similar character before. 2. There's a possible murder that took place prior to the film, a plot device never resolved.

Since the film has the word "Cloverfield" in the title, a lot of dim light bulbs thought this was a prequel or sequel to the other film and bad mouthed it because it isn't. Using Cloverfield in the title was likely just another reference to a favorite film.

Some people didn't understand the ending. Huh? They must have fallen asleep during the rest of the movie (when they realized it wasn't Cloverfield 2) or this generation is dumber than I fear it might be. The actions of Winstead's character at the end of the film make perfect sense in light of a monologue she delivered earlier, which apparently was ignored by those whining about the ending.

Don't listen to the naysayers. It isn't high art, but it's an entertaining film that will hold your attention to the end.

I explicitly avoid watching any trailers or reading any reviews from 10 Cloverfield Lane just because I wanted to be certain to be surprised by the story. I just heard from some people that it was good and that's all I needed to know. And I'm glad I did because during the whole entire movie you wonder what is really happening. You think about all the possible scenarios and still you are never sure what is going on. I like those kind of movies, mysteries, that keep you on edge all the time. The cast did a perfect job with their respective performances. And even though there are almost no other actors then the three main ones, John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr, the movie never gets boring. It's full of twists and that's how I like it. One of the better ones I saw this year.

It would have been solid 8 or 9 if it wasn't for the ending. Except that it was quite an intense mystery.

Full disclosure: The year is 2007. A trailer hits cinema screens advertising a mysterious film named "Cloverfield." Nobody knows what it's about, except that it's riding on the wave of the found footage genre, and that it seems to depict a giant monster attack on New York. Speculation immediately breaks out all over the internet, but nowhere more fiercely than on the IMDb forums, with many folks being caught up in the genius viral marketing. I myself was one of those people, along with my wife. Yes, we met on IMDb's Cloverfield forum. She moved from the US to Australia a few years after, we got married, and we've lived together happily ever since.

Yes, that is the power of film; it can bring people together in the most unlikely ways possible.

So, it's with some excitement that we were blindsided by the brief and vague advertising campaign for 10 Cloverfield Lane. Does it have any connections to the original Cloverfield? What's JJ Abrams playing at here, exactly? Without giving too much away, it's not a direct sequel, but rather a sequel in tone. I'm assuming Abrams is going for an anthology style series here, with each entry being a different story tied together by their themes and science-fiction setting. It's clearly a marketing thing, but if that means we'll get more films like this, I'm certainly okay with it.

10 Cloverfield Lane eschews its predecessor's found-footage trappings, and immerses us in a classic style bottle thriller. The setting is limited and claustrophobic, and the cast small, but the story and tension will grab you and not let up until the end. The nature of the mystery means your opinion will hang very precariously on whether you like that ending, and I suspect it will be divisive. There's not a great deal of resolution, and if I'm correct in assuming this will be an anthology series from now on, I doubt we'll ever get any. But that's fine, because I don't think the story that would follow the film really needs to be told.

What matters are the performances. John Goodman is the real draw card here. He gives a stunning turn that is delightful, sympathetic and absolutely terrifying in equal doses. He's had so many great roles in the past, but he is unforgettable here. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is also very likable as the resourceful protagonist. Perhaps a little too resourceful at times, but for the most part we're with her happily throughout.

The film looks fantastic despite the cramped environs, with great use of color and shadow and some interesting cinematography. There are some nice designs and special effects toward the end of the film, even if they may be considered a little derivative. The score is tense and effective, and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The script is great with very little flab, and if you like these kinds of stories which lock characters together in tight, paranoid spaces then you'll find a lot to enjoy here. Just don't go in expecting Cloverfield 2, because this is not it. It's its own beast, and has a brave ending that you'll either love or hate.

To describe 10 Cloverfield Lane in one word: Genreless.

I won't say much about the film as I'm a strong believer of going in blind, but I will say that the performances, writing, and cinematic pacing worked perfectly together to create a truly unique film.

I loved watching it, and the moments of comedy sprouting up throughout made the duality between light-hearted humanity and dark confusion work perfectly together. I would give the Titles and Credits 10/10 as well, because they were just so damn fantastic and fresh and reminded me that titling is an art form like any other in the cinematic Genre. If you enjoy good film, you will enjoy 10 Cloverfield Lane.

10 Cloverfield Lane gives all the development and the meaningful story that its blood relative installment lacked completely. This is not a spectacle full of screams and special effects. This is a spectacle of tension and suspense of epic proportions. This is a really feel-bad movie at certain points.

First of all, you have to take the leap of faith and go ahead watching without knowing anything of the plot. Don't worry because all the teasers doesn't reveal anything important, but don't try to search information. If everything were that easy, even Hitchcock or Nolan movies would lose all interest.

I was extremely hooked since the furious start to the eye popping and surprising finale. The direction is amazing and claustrophobic. The performances are great, looking up to a surprising Winstead and a unrestrained unforgettable turn by Goodman. The story is gleefully unapologetic delivering chills and full blooded twists (the biggest of all is the intense ending reveal) even thought it deviates from the monster POV storyline.

Secretly made, impeccably marketed, nicely developed and finally here along with us: 10 Cloverfield Lane promised thrills and delivered it and then some. I was expecting some things that I tasted but I was surprised by a complexity and a twisted sense of horror that I didn't see coming. 2016 has released the very first great movie of the year.

Belated pseudo-sequel to the divisive 2008 movie Cloverfield. That first film dealt with an unexplained giant monster attack in NYC, and was shot in the "found footage" style: everything shot with a video camera, as if by one of the characters within the film, with all the shakiness and amateurishness one would expect. The idea is to lend the film added verisimilitude and place the viewer within the narrative. This works only occasionally, and in my opinion Cloverfield was one time that it did. However, that being said, this sequel does away with that narrative device, and is shot in a traditional, stationary manner, with known actors and professional cinematography.

The story follows Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a young woman in an unhappy relationship who packs her bags and hits the road, leaving her boyfriend and driving toward parts unknown. She suffers a terrible car accident, and when she awakens, she's chained up in the underground bomb shelter of the distinctly odd Howard (John Goodman), a conspiracy theorist and survival nut who claims that while Michelle was unconscious, the world up above has come to an end. What caused it, he isn't sure (Russian nukes? Terrorist bio-weapons? Alien invaders?), but he knows it isn't safe to step outside. Also in the shelter is goofy country boy Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.), a former employee of Howard's in the construction of the shelter.

The vast majority of the movie is a slow-burn suspense drama, as Michelle tries to learn more about her surroundings, and the two roommates she's now forced to live with. You know Howard isn't all there, but just how far gone is he? Or are his most outlandish claims only the tip of the iceberg? These scenes are well-done for the most part, and the actors are all good, especially Goodman, who uses his bulk to great advantage. Winstead does great work as well, using her eyes more than anything to project her performance. The problems for me came in the relatively uninspired script. There wasn't really a beat in the film that I didn't see coming, and all of the characters ended up where I expected them to be within the first 10 minutes. The dialogue, too, while showing a tiny bit of wit here and there, didn't hold my attention as well as I hoped. I won't go into the film's last act, only to say that "Cloverfield" is in the title for a reason, but don't expect the giant monster action of the first film. Directorial debut of Dan Trachtenberg. From Paramount.

It had been a good many years since watching Cloverfield, and upon watching the trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane, I had a pretty solid idea of how this new movie was going to pan out. Now maybe this trailer only showed in Europe or perhaps even just Britain where I'm from, because I can't for a moment believe that people didn't expect exactly what was going to happen after watching the 3 minutes of footage? The twist was given away. The plot spoiled. Anyone with half a brain could've deduced the entirety of the story from the trailer.

So, saying that, I knew what to expect. I went into watching the movie with a pretty strong idea of what was going to happen- and I wasn't far off.

The first 3 quarters of this movie is one movie in itself, and the last quarter is an entirely different one. So far from one another in terms of genre that even despite knowing what was going to happen, I was still stunned by the total change.

The first 3/4 is, honestly, extremely well done. John Goodman portrays such a convincing creepiness and terrifying instability that I found my skin crawling in almost every scene he was in. He completely steals the movie for me. And thank God, because without him I don't think there would be much to hold it up. The psycho-thriller element to this movie is fantastic. If it had remained solely within that genre, I think you'd be working with a solid 9/10.

But the ending just sours it for me. Expected, but not enjoyable. Cool CGI and action is great in itself but after a buildup of drama and tension and claustrophobic social interactions, it just feels odd and misplaced.

All in all, a great movie that's thoroughly worth watching- but I feel the sharp deviation at the end will either confuse and disappoint, or be a snippet of excitement that isn't nearly satisfying enough.

Two months ago, no one knew that 10 Cloverfield existed, let alone was about to be wide released in theaters. One month ago, no one had any idea how, if at all, this film was related to the 2008 film Cloverfield except for the obvious title and produced J.J. Abrams. And now, all is revealed. Sort of. Here's my review.

One of the greatest things 10 Cloverfield Lane has to offer is that the audience really has no idea what to expect going into the film. Very much in the J.J Abrams way, the production for this film has been left completely under-wraps and the trailers have revealed next to nothing. That's one of the benefits for the movies, so I'm not going to spoil or give anything away in my synopsis or the review. I won't even tell you if this movie is indeed a Cloverfield sequel or if it's something different altogether. You'll have to find out for yourself, because I can tell you right now that you should spend the money to go see it in theaters.

I'll be brief. A woman we know very little about named Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is involved in a car crash in a breath taking opening credit sequence. She wakes up a few days later to find herself in an underground bunker with Howard (John Goodman), a large and crazed eyed farmer standing above her. He tells her that she can't leave, because some sort of disaster has happened and it's not safe to go outside. Finding herself alone with Howard and another man named Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.), and I'm stealing their tag line here because it's a dang good tag line, they find out that Monsters come in many forms.

Obviously I had no idea to expect when I went into 10 Cloverfield Lane. No one did. But within the first five minutes they set the tone so you know what kind of movie they are going for, and I found myself instantly engaged. For the rest of the film, I was floored with what was going on. Director Dan Trachtenberg takes the reigns on creating a film that will hit you with the unexpected, and leave your jaw hanging.

The best word I could think of to describe this film while I was watching it was claustrophobic. For the scenes that takes place in the bunker (I'm not saying how much of the screen time that actually is) they create such an intense and nervous atmosphere that you feel yourself getting antsy along with the characters.

That's because for almost the whole film, we don't really know what's going on. We know what John Goodman is telling us and leading us to believe, but we have no idea if that's reliable or not. We discover things along with the characters, which is why this film is such a good build up. When the conclusion to the film finally comes, you leave more than satisfied. But don't ruin it for yourself by looking up online spoilers to see if it is a Cloverfield sequel. Spend the money. See the movie. Find out for yourself. It's worth it.

I've heard the argument and I've sited it a few times in past reviews, that the best way to bring out great performances in actors is to lock them in a single setting film where they having nothing to hide their performance behind. That's what happens here. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, an actress who deserves to get more work than she does, played the character so well as she captures the nervous ticks without acting completely helpless the whole time. In the end, she was pretty bad-ass. John Gallagher Jr., a character who could have been super annoying, ended up being great in the film too, and had really good chemistry with Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

But the stand-out of the film if John Goodman. John Goodman is in so many films every year that we sometimes take him for granted and forget how good of an actor he can be when he's not mailing it in (whatever Hangover film he was in. I forget) but rather commits whole heartedly to a role. That's what happens here. He could have easily over-cooked his performance where it came of as cartoon-y or unrealistic, but he hit just the right level of disturbing and off-putting where you are crept out by the guy but you can't be sure if he's in the right or wrong. It's a performance similar to Joel Edgerton's in The Gift.

ALSO just read on IMDb that Bradely Cooper's voice appeared over a cell-phone in one scene. I knew I had heard the voice somewhere but I couldn't put my finger on it until now.

At no point of 10 Cloverfield Lane does the film slow down or lose interest. It uses it's hour and forty five minute runtime, a surprisingly long one for this type of film, to achieve the best possible effects. The film flies by and I found myself never wanting it to be over.

10 Cloverfield Lane is a movie you should rush out to the theater to go see. Accept that you know nothing about it going in, and enjoy that experience. Because it's something that doesn't happen often and it's a rare gift when it does. 10 Cloverfield Lane has a lot to offer despite the fact that it's a very small film. In fact, regardless of the fact if they are in the same universe, I'll say I enjoyed 10 Cloverfield Lane more than I enjoyed Cloverfield itself. And I want to see the story continued in a sequel. 10 Cloverfield Lane gets an A-, it's one of my favorite films of 2016 so far. Go see it this weekend. " - brands42

I love the film and am trying to figure out how to write a review without giving anything away.

A woman on the road at night is suddenly in an accident. When she wakes up you immediately start wondering what direction this film could go in. It could go down several different paths. You think you've got it all figured out. Based upon what you are seeing, there really is no other way to go. Wrong.

At some point things seem to settle into some harmonious normalcy but then things get ugly and disturbing. Always were a bit disturbing but more ominous.

The acting is excellent by everyone, the twists and turns very good especially since these three characters are in an underground bunker. It is edge of your seat, leaning forward intensity. A wild ride for sure. Check it out!

I'm probably in the minority, but I disliked Cloverfield ... intensely! So many of these found footage films as far as I'm concerned, are just an invitation to watch someone's tarted-up home movie. Their producers/directors should be commended for being excellent marketing strategists in being able to convince punters to part with their hard-earned, to watch some (generally) cheap, tacky B feature. Cloverfield was no exception.

However in a significant turnaround, I'm happy to report that the Cloverfield's "blood relative" (according to JJ Abrams) is a much better production and a far more interesting story, than its predecessor. Technically speaking 10 CL is streets ahead, with the found footage format dispensed with and a small, but very professional cast employed in telling the story of 3 people dealing (not always on a voluntary basis) with life adjustments in a world affected by the events at the end of Cloverfield.

The cast were uniformly good with Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Michelle and John Goodman as Howard being the obvious lynchpins. Knowing virtually nothing about the storyline going into the film (apart from it having some vague relationship with Cloverfield), I have to admit I was pretty much hooked by the unfolding series of events affecting Michelle pretty early on. And as both her seemingly sometime antagonist and ally, Goodman's Howard is the perfect physical contrast. But very pleasing to see another independently resiliant and strong female lead character being featured in such a surprisingly entertaining and thrilling sequel as 10 CL turns out to be.

Much has been commented about the film's climax. I have to admit to some ambivalence. This is where the relationship to the earlier film is given some clarification, whilst overtly setting up the stage for a later episode. Still rejoicing over the absence of found footage, I guess I could just about accept anything thrown up by the producers. I will admit to some disappointment in that the events are clearly played out in real time, with Michelle emerging from the shelter at what is clearly the beginnings of dusk. For some reason an unlikely darkness then overwhelms the setting within about a minute of screen time and with the subsequent taking up of hand-held cameras, the action suddenly becomes more difficult to discern. Though I was still somewhat relieved, I can understand how others may have experienced some disappointment.

I'll admit to looking forward to the next instalment and even perhaps girding my loins and giving the original another watch, just to see again how well (if at all) it sets up this story.

10 Cloverfield Lane was a good movie, and definitely one I'd recommend. Was I disappointed I didn't view it in the theater? No. 10 Cloverfield Lane was a good late night movie full of some surprising twists. The plot and pacing of the movie were very well done, but I felt the end and some character arcs lacked a bit in detail. So to finish things off, I decided to give 10 Cloverfield Lane a "Good" on theVade Review Bar or an 7 out of 10. It's worth renting, but not a buy in my opinion.

Read more at theVade.

First of all, if you want to watch '10 Cloverfield Lane', make sure to avoid any kind of spoilers on the internet. I will try to write this review without spoilers, even if it's a bit difficult considering the movie I just witnessed.

'10 Cloverfield Lane' is an amazing mystery/suspense movie that serves as a sequel to the 2008 hit 'Cloverfield'. I have to say, it's hard to tell if the greatness of this movie is going to hold up in 10 years because of how everything surrounding the movie made it better, but I really really liked it.

Me and my friend tried to avoid the spoilers on the internet and read as less as possible on the movie before we went to see it. Fortunately, the brilliant marketing campaign did not reveal anything about the story, and the fact that it was a sequel to 'Cloverfield' is going to make you constantly guess. Is it a traditional horror/suspense movie? Is it a monster movie? Where are the monsters? WHAT IS GOING? (Pretty much what I kept asking myself all along the movie)

John Goodman was incredible, definitely the standout of this movie. The soundtrack was great, some jukebox oldies and a thrilling score.

The movie starts with Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) driving off from her marriage and taking the road to leave her husband. This is made with a perfect montage, and there's no dialogue for the first 4-5 minutes of the movie. Then, things take a turn and we are transported to the bunker you saw in the trailers.

I will say it again, go watch this film, and don't read anything about it on the internet. I can't recall the last time a movie kept me guessing like this one. If you tend to get bored and tired by the usual clichés in movies, buy your ticket to '10 Cloverfield Lane' and enjoy your time at the movies.

Clever marketing, brilliant story, very good direction, great performance by the cast, it's hard to complain about this film!

9/10

First things first, after watch this movie you will learn that nothing is what it seems to be.

At the beginning you will appreciate what appears to be a well made drama, after a while you will be immersed in a thriller with some awesome actors providing you moments of fear, sadness, uneasiness, terror and disbelief.

The story will make you doubt the movie at first but don't let it make you give up of watching it. You will certainly be captured by the fast changes in the narrative transforming this movie from one thing to another, where in a moment you will be happy watching it and a second after you will be terrorized by something; or wanting to know what is really happening and a moment after seeing all your beliefs crushing down by another event that reveals itself.

It is a awesome movie that anyone who wants to watch different stories should invest an hour in it.

The movie was going well untill the end

The end of the movie is very bad