I love the whole Cloverfield franchise and I hope that we do get that fourth film someday. 10 Cloverfield Lane is the best movie out of the three for me. The first one is a monster found footage movie, the third is a sci-fi movie and this one is more of a thriller type movie. Yet all three of these movies connect and make sense in a shared universe.
How to Download 10 Cloverfield Lane
10 Cloverfield Lane was released on March 11, 2016, You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
Cast and Performance Highlights
We have a fairly small cast here with Mary-Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, and John Gallager JR making up the main and pretty much only cast in this movie. I have to say that John Goodman is phenomenal in this movie, I know he has a ton of great acting credits to his name, but this is perhaps my favorite performance of his. It is crazy to think that some people still just see him as Dan from Roseanne!
The Plot Unfolds
Michelle is driving in her car after splitting with her fiancé and she crashes. When Michelle wakes up, she is chained in a bunker and meets a man called Howard. Michelle as anyone would is terrified and thinks that she has been kidnapped by this man and she tries to fight her way out.
The Bunker’s Mystery
Howard explains to her that she cannot leave and he unchains her. Howard tells her that she is in a bunker underground that he built and that there has been an attack and the air is contaminated. He tells her that he does not know who attacked, but the air is not going to be safe for at least two years!
Survival and Suspicion
Thankfully, Howard is a prepper and his bunker is stacked with enough resources to keep them and also another person, Emmett alive until the air is breathable again. Now, you get major red flags from Howard right from the start. You think that he is just crazy and that he has kidnapped these people, but Emmett explains that he came here on his own after the attack.
The Climactic Reveal
This makes Michelle believe him and the three start to get along! Well, it does not take long for Howard’s crazy side to show and that is when the tension really ramps up. John Goodman is such a scary and unstable dude in this movie, he truly does a wonderful job here.
The way that the movie keeps you guessing if Howard is crazy or if there really was an attack is done so incredibly well. I do not want to go into spoilers, but the reveal of what was really happening outside the bunker is awesome. You know, this may be one of my favorite reveals/twists that I have ever seen in a movie. It is just so well done and it got me pumped up to know more about this Cloverfield world.
Final Thoughts on 10 Cloverfield Lane
There is literally nothing I would change about 10 Cloverfield Lane. It even stands on its own as a movie without watching the other two. Yes, this is one shared universe, but this movie can be watched without any prior knowledge of the other two. For example, my wife loved this movie but did not like the other two Cloverfield movies. My only complaint is that the 4K release did not feel like a huge step up from the Blu-Ray.
