A really good sci-fi thriller that only reveals its huge secret at the very end

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Cloverfield is the giant monster that roams around New York in the 2008 film of the same name. However, 10 Cloverfield Lane doesn’t have much in common with Matt Reeves’ great found footage blockbuster, which benefited massively from his exciting marketing at the time.

In the thriller directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the main character wakes up in a bunker and from now on has to ask himself whether the brawny resident is the savior in need or a dangerous psychopath.

Sci-Fi Thriller: That’s what 10 Cloverfield Lane is all about

The main character is Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who gets into a car accident at the beginning of the film. She then wakes up chained in a room where she is greeted by Howard (John Goodman). He explains to her that they are in a well-protected underground bunker, since there is a chemical or nuclear attack should have given, because of which the outside world may no longer be entered.

You can watch the trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane here:

In the bunker, Michelle also meets Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.), who is her age and who helped Howard build the underground facility. But soon what is happening in the bunker is getting stranger and stranger. Is Howard, who guards an arsenal of weapons and is not averse to conspiracy theories, trustworthy or is the real monster hiding behind him?

10 Cloverfield Lane is a gripping chamber play filled with claustrophobic horror

Due to the suspenseful uncertainty of what’s going on outside the bunker and how safe the main characters are within the four walls of the menacing Howard, 10 Cloverfield Lane quickly becomes a captivating chamber play.

The individual rooms of this manageable setting become one maze of uncertainty, in which constant tension, rapid changes in mood and carefully shifted sympathy factors alternate with each other. And then there’s the ending, which literally puts the film in a whole new light.

In addition to the great music, which alone creates a quivering carpet of suspense, the claustrophobic horror of 10 Cloverfield Lane lives above all from John Goodman’s powerful performance. The charismatic actor lays his Howard superbly between gentle teddy bear and crazy psychowithout making the character prematurely transparent.

a notice: We published this article in a similar form in January 2021.

*. .

What’s your favorite Cloverfield movie so far?