10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

[Olivia Bauer]

Okay before I even start this review I need to clarify something super important. If you decide to watch this movie please shut it off at "1:26:50". That timestamp is where the movie should have ended.
I need to give a long f**k you to J.J. Abrams who took this amazing film and felt the need to turn it into a Cloverfield movie. This film has nothing to do with the Cloverfield franchise until the ending that J.J. Abrams felt the need to shoe horn in. Specifically he and Bad Robot would have pulled funding for this film if they didn't give in to his demand. Gotta love production company meddling ruining a perfectly good movie. Anyway the only damage they did was pretty much throw an unnecessary epilogue in at the end so, y'know, whatever. It's kinda like when you order food at a restraunt that sounds really good but the menu neglects to mention one of your most hated ingredients in it but it doesn't taint the flavor much so you can just pick it out and you're fine. If you don't want the film to be ruined by Abram's bulls**t then just shut it off ten minutes early. Let me clarify again in big letters...

TURN THE MOVIE OFF AT 1:26:50

Anyway, the film itself was absolutely amazing and is one of few films to actually make my heart race and make me genuinely scared for the well being of the main character in a horror film. Let me mention that the main protagonist is not an idiot like in a lot of other "scary" movies. She actually has a lot of really brilliant and creative ideas to get herself out of trouble and is one of the most likable heroes in any thriller I've ever seen (Not as cool as Lt. Ripley in Aliens but still pretty awesome).

Also I need to say four words that I never thought I'd ever put together is one sentence. John Goodman is scary. This isn't a joke. Every scene with John Goodman made me extremely tense since it seemed like he's ready to snap at any second. I don't really know what it is but he's really friggen' imposing in this film and is constantly making me nervous. Not since Robin Williams played a serial killer in Insomnia have I ever seen a primarily comedic actor play a very convincing psychopath. His character is a lot like another one he played, Walter Sobchak from The Big Labowski. Except Walter was hilarious and his madness was played for laughs. Even when he pointed a gun at somebody for stepping over the line in bowling I was laughing. But every time Howard in 10 Cloverfield Lane gets mad he makes me s**t my pants.

The premise is essentially that two people are forced to live in a fallout shelter with an unhinged, insane, war veteran (John Goodman). Obviously if they leave they'll die from the radiation outside so they're forced to live with an extremely unstable man putting them between a rock and a hard place. Take your pick, certain death, or living with a maniac that might blow your brains out for drinking milk out of the carton.

Despite the unnecessary tie in to Cloverfield I thoroughly enjoyed this film and I'd go as far as to call it one of the best thrillers I've ever seen. Maybe even one of my favorite movies.
I considered docking it by one star for the garbage ending but since it was little more than an addendum I can just discard it altogether since it has no real effect on the film's overall quality. That and I refuse to let Abrams ruin my fun. If you're interested in watching it the film is on hulu.

10/10

By the way if you want a terrible film to laugh it for how bad it is check out The Cloverfield Paradox on Netflix.

[ER]

Could not agree more! Exactly how I felt. Abrams ruins what he touches (Lost, Star Trek, Star Wars, Super 8) but does seem to have this odd habit of taking a great idea and not quite knowing where to go with it past just getting it out there. His second acts (or in this case the last....however minutes) nosedive. I wish he'd fall from popularity. John Goodman was great here.

[Rev. Powell]

Huh, I liked the ending. Not at the time I saw it in the theater, but on reflection, I'm not sure it could have ended any other way.

[Olivia Bauer]

Huh, I liked the ending. Not at the time I saw it in the theater, but on reflection, I'm not sure it could have ended any other way.

If the movie just ended at the time stamp I gave it would have been fine. It's already a good ending, it didn't need the additional Cloverfield themed garbage.

[Rev. Powell]

Huh, I liked the ending. Not at the time I saw it in the theater, but on reflection, I'm not sure it could have ended any other way.

If the movie just ended at the time stamp I gave it would have been fine. It's already a good ending, it didn't need the additional Cloverfield themed garbage.

Looking it up I think you'd have to go a little farther than that, like 1:27:15, to get the shot of the horizon at least. Ending it where you did with her just taking off the helmet would have been abrupt and ambiguous, which isn't always bad, but I prefer some variation of the "Cloverfield-themed" ending. Now, could he have toned it down the action in the epilogue some? Probably.

There are two ways to look at it. You didn't like the ending because of what it meant, plotwise? I can't help you there, I greatly prefer the plot choice the movie made and would have found the alternative a letdown. Could the ending have been executed better? Probably.