10 Cloverfield Lane

When looking back, the film doesn't seem as clever as it did while I was watching it. Its screenplay tempts us to expect some kind of mystifying twist, similar to Sexmission, and meanwhile... The film is interesting in that, during its runtime, it changes genres, similar to a chameleon changing colors. It's not about intertwining different genre elements, it simply functions as a pure horror for a while, then transforms into a psychological drama of an isolated group of people, later on it becomes an authentic science fiction, and elsewhere it turns into a thriller about encountering a deranged criminal. By the way, the main heroine is really unlucky. Ending up in the company of the biggest lunatic in the district after a serious car accident is not fair at all. All three actors deliver an appropriate performance. Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the role of a brave girl who doesn't want to sell her life for free is likable and appeals to me more than in a similarly constructed character in the prequel The Thing. The real treat, however, is the presence of John Goodman in the role of an eccentric property owner with peculiar hobbies. This is an immensely gratifying type of character and John Goodman thoroughly enjoys it. Although after the final quarter-hour, when 10 Cloverfield Lane definitively reveals its true colors and the illusion of sophistication dissolves, the impression slightly decreases, I will ultimately give it 4 stars, as no matter what genre it belongs to, it precisely provides the emotions it intends to. Overall impression: 75%. (07/09/2017)

A decent series pilot that has no business on the big screen. Logical holes in the narrative vs. powerful moments of surprise and an intense climax, which, however, is only as long as the climax of a TV series episode. A small movie to accompany Super 8, which also didn’t warrant much attention. Not as good as the larger and original Cloverfield (if we’re talking about J.J. Abrams’s projects for the same target audience). (04/09/2016)

It would certainly be stimulating to discuss the (viral) marketing of 10 Cloverfield Lane, the 1980s pop-culture references and design (John Hughes), Michelle’s position among other self-sufficient female characters of recent times, the reflection on society’s rising demand for an authoritative leader, or the subversion of the star system by casting John Goodman in a slightly different “dad” role, but for me, this is primarily a textbook thriller that makes maximum use of the information provided within its confined world. Practically every element to which our attention is directed by a longer, close-up or point-of-view shot can be described as compositionally motivated, even though it may at first seem that its purpose is only to amuse us (the infantile shower curtain with a duck motif). Furthermore, in the case of objects that return to the action at greater temporal distance, we are first verbally notified before their involvement in the plot that they have not been forgotten, so that their subsequent use does not feel like a deus ex machina (the bottle of alcohol that Michelle takes from the table when leaving the apartment at the beginning, later mentioned by Howard, and whose star moment comes just before the end). At the same time, the significance of the props is not constant and, for example, the girls’ magazines first notify us that Howard has apparently lost his daughter and are later transformed into part of a staged performance (to reinforce the illusion that Michelle is like Howard’s daughter) and finally into a source of important information that is needed for survival. Every piece of the puzzle is justified sooner or later and it is thus appropriate that even putting the puzzle together turns from being a pastime for the characters into a disturbing clue for the viewer when Emmett ambiguously points out that a few pieces are still missing. And indeed – at the given moment we don’t yet know the whole truth, as will soon become apparent, which makes for a brief, undramatic interlude during which the source of the threat is seemingly lurking just outside. The word-guessing game has a similarly unsettling subtext, using the limiting of the narrative point of view to Michelle – we thus do not know what Howard really knows and, like his two “adopted offspring”, we can’t determine if he’s still playing or maliciously telling them the truth. The seemingly time-killing scene in which Emmett and Michelle talk about their missed chances in life is then absolutely crucial to the film’s meaning, and 10 Cloverfield Lane owes it a lot for the emotionally very powerful and yet – like the whole concept on which the plot is based (three people in a bunker, at least one of whom has a dark secret) – refreshingly simple ending that makes one quickly forget about the unnecessarily spectacular (and, given the tidy confinement of the world in which we had previously found ourselves, disturbing) climax. 85% (04/08/2016)

The sophisticated story structure that releases just enough information to keep the viewer entertained is textbook level. Thanks to the fact that Johnny Be Good(man) can be equally terrifying as he is a nice guy, and that there’s always something to look at (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Lots of powerful moments and cruel twists. Overall, it seems like a costly beginning to a series that we’ll probably never see. The finale works, even if you have an inkling of what is in store, but sweet ignorance is again more preferable. (07/30/2016)

Something between Take Shelter and War of the Worlds. Interesting in the characters and their confrontations and development. Also atmospheric, suffocating and immersive. But I'm not sure whether not know what the hell is going in inside or outside is for the better. All the while, though, you pray that they mostly don't get both at once and mentally beg for a sophisticated denouement. But it ends in such a way that it looks like there’d be at least five more episodes. John Goodman is by far the best thing about the whole film. (06/10/2016)