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10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) - Review


10 Cloverfield Lane is a psychological thriller and acts as a directorial debut for Dan Trachtenberg and produced by J.J Abrams. This movie was kept a secret till earlier this year when it was suddenly revealed so near its release date, which is a feat in itself. And since then, I really wanted to watch it, and it didn't disappoint.

The movie is about a girl who finds herself in an underground bunker and the guy in-charge claiming that the world has ended and he has saved her. The whole movie follows this dynamic and goes back and forth between it, and creates this air of ambiguity. You are not sure whose right or what is really happening until the movie unfolds. And this premise adds a claustrophobic factor in the movie as well. Just like the characters, you feel trapped in the bunker with them, and I liked that.

There are only three actors in the whole movie, and they gave great performances. Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the lead was great, and so was John Gallagher Jr., the other guy in the movie. But the one who steals the show is John Goodman as the owner of the bunker. He was crazy good. He was intense. He nailed his role perfectly. And its great to see him acting in roles like these. Great actor.

Now, it is weird saying this for a movie like this as the pacing already is slow paced (slow burner) but I wish it was longer. I felt like the tension could have been better, and so could the claustrophobic feel. The characters could also have been developed a bit more till the release. A 15-20 mins more duration could have helped the movie a lot in my opinion as it just didn't hit the necessary high notes that I wanted it to.

Still, the notes it did hit resulted in a great watch nonetheless. Don't go into this movie thinking it will be like Cloverfield, cause its not. It is a totally different thing. And after that ending, NOW I WANT A SEQUEL ASAP!!

8/10
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