Watching 10 Cloverfield Lane can be likened to running through a field with bombs being dropped all around. The field is open and clear, yet the bombs keep forcing you to zig-zag to avoid being hit.
We’ve seen 10 Cloverfield Lane on many occasions. In fact, the idea of being trapped in a bomb shelter for the duration of a film sounds awful to me, which is probably why I never really jumped aboard the hype train. Shit, I even started preparing myself for complete and utter disappointment. Yet, after my initial viewing of Dan Trachtenberg’s claustrophobic thriller, I find myself bowing to the new masters of tension.
Josh Campbell and Matthew Stuecken’s story (Damien Chazelle co-wrote the screenplay with the duo) takes a tired concept and zig-zags. With Trachtenberg’s masterful directing and explosive performances by John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and John Gallagher Jr., 10 Cloverfield Lane becomes an unrelenting thriller for the ages.
Forget the Cloverfield connection, what we have here in a masterclass in suspense that can only be described as Alfred Hitchcock and Richard Matheson’s lovechild.
10 Cloverfield Lane opens with Michelle (Winstead) leaving her boyfriend. As she hits the road, she’s blindsided by a truck and wakes up chained to a bed. Howard (John Goodman) enters the room, offering little explanation, but providing some food. Michelle acts quick, thinking she’s been kidnapped, and attempts to escape. The film’s pace in unrelenting, never taking a real moment to breathe. It’s told through Michelle’s perspective, and the audience almost immediately learns the “truth.” What’s so surprising is how quick Trachtenberg and the writers drop a reveal, and how often they continue to shift the narrative.
Trachtenberg’s biggest feat, though, is his ability to show a story, keeping the exposition to the bare minimum. 10 Cloverfield Lane is carried by an explosive score and vicious sound design, letting the viewer experience Michelle’s paranoia to the fullest extent.
Speaking of, whether or not the world has ended is only one layer; Michelle must confront the reality that she may be trapped in a bomb shelter with a psychopath.
John Gallagher Jr. and Winstead’s outstanding performances will unfortunately be overlooked because Goodman hits God-level. Goodman is having a renaissance career; his character walks a fine line between sympathetic and terrifying in what could be his coup de grâce. A mic-drop if you will. The early Oscar chatter? Fully warranted.
Whether or not 10 Cloverfield Lane was pigeon-holed into the Clover-verse is inconsequential. Forget all about Cloverfield and just soak in the immense claustrophobia and paranoia that’s so unrelenting you’ll have to dig your nails out of the theater’s armrests.
