10 Cloverfield Lane

10 Cloverfield Lane is the debut feature length film from director Dan Trachtenberg and it was disappointing to put it mildly. Don't waste your money our your time on this two buckets of Killer Korn film, it doesn't titillate at all.













This movie was a big fucking mistake. Let me expound on that. Did you see Clovefield, the gem 'found footage' film directed by Matt Reeves that dropped back in 2008? It was a monster film set in NYC that centered around a break-up/moving away celebration/monster attack and it was highly entertaining. So when I came across the title 10 Cloverfield Lane and found out it was produced by J.J. Abrams production company Bad Robot, the company behind Cloverfield I became excited. That excitement was tempered when I saw the trailer but I still wanted to check it out. Like I said it was a big fucking mistake.


Starring John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and John Gallagher Jr. this movie should have been scrapped the second someone opened their mouths and spit out this premise. Three people living in a dated underground bunker where they play board games, finish puzzles, and watch movies on DVD and VHS tapes. Instead of making an all out monster movie that rivaled Godzilla or Pacific Rim where humans fight back against not an alien but monster invasion, it goes in the opposite direction. The movie is boring on so many levels until that last fifteen minutes when the character Michelle, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead has had enough and wants out. She then becomes a one woman wrecking crew and wants to fight back against the invaders.


Where the original Cloverfield takes place in NYC, in 10 Cloverfield Lane you have no idea where this story is happening at. John Goodman's acting is exceptional and the man proves there's nothing he can't do as far as acting is concerned (except maybe play a Black woman). I am a big fan of The Newsroom's John Gallagher Jr. but he is utterly wasted in this film. The score by Battlestar Galactica's Bear McCreary is almost wall to wall and a bit overdone for the premise of the film. He did his best to add to the atmosphere, to give the film more heft but it fell flat in my opinion. This is the first film of Dan Trachtenberg's career and sadly it's off to a rocky start. Here's hoping his next film, whatever it may be is a better film than this  waste of time. I'll see you at the theater.