Chance's Corner: 10 Cloverfield Lane

Back in the mists of time (2008), producer J.J. Abrams took the horror sub-genre of low-budget found footage flicks and bolstered the concept with a big budget. The end product became the Godzilla-esque film called Cloverfield. The sub-genre of found footage is pretty divisive amongst film critics. Some say it has rejuvenated horror, while others think its pretty hokey. Whatever found footage really is, Cloverfield is still one of its crowning achievements.

Surprisingly, it's taken eight years for the sequel, 10 Cloverfield Lane, to be released - and boy, it just came out of nowhere! 10 Cloverfield Lane ditches the found footage concept and plays out like an actual movie in the confined depths of an underground bunker. Also, it really has absolutely nothing to do with the original film. I believe they are going for an anthology type set-up, but I'm not sure. All of these factors could have easily meant disaster, but it doesn't!

10 Cloverfield Lane opens with our leading lady, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, already running from something. It's not Godzilla or anything sinister. It's just life. Her escape is cut short, though, when she's run off the road by a truck. She awakens in a desolate place - a bunker - handcuffed and with a broken leg. She immediately jumps to the conclusion of abduction.  Then enters a grizzly John Goodman. He claims to have saved Mary's life, and he tells her stories of an attack above ground - and space worms. Mary doesn't buy what he's selling, and the suspicion continues to grow as the days and weeks pass by.

10 Cloverfield Lane is an incredibly suspenseful and claustrophobic thriller. You're not quite sure who or what to believe. I do know one thing, though. John Goodman is absolutely incredible. One minute you're suspicious of him - and afraid. Then, all of a sudden, you start to believe him and feel sorry for him. When the answers are brought to light, you're left to wonder who and what the true monster is.

My review sounds overly positive, doesn't it? Well, I haven't mentioned the ending of 10 Cloverfield Lane, yet. The ending really left a sour taste in my mouth. It undoes everything the first two acts of the film built. Everything just goes up in flames - literally. It's a shame. However, despite the disappointing ending, I'd still recommend anyone to watch 10 Cloverfield Lane, simply because everything else in the film is fantastic.

10 Cloverfield Lane is now available at the Franklin County Library!