Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr., Bradley Cooper, Suzanne Cryer.
It was only ever going to be inevitable that the strikingly excellent film Cloverfield would eventually bring some sort of sequel, after all J.J. Abrams is not known for leaving a story alone when there is a glimmer of hope that it can be taken just that next stage further. The presentation of the sequel though would always be seen as a testing ground for just how far a story regarding an alien invasion and the destruction of the world could be taken; monsters in the end are everywhere in such a premise.
Monsters come in many form and whilst the experimentation of camera work and indirect association captured the imagination of the cinema goer during Cloverfield, the sequel, so secret in its development that nobody even knew it was on its way to be drooled upon until the first posters and theatrical advance notices surfaced early in the year, relies more on the good old fashioned technique of close quarters claustrophobic terror; it is a work of stealthy delivered art that makes 10 Cloverfield Lane such an embarrassment of cinematic riches.
Monsters come in every form possible but as Stephen King was more than able to prove time and time again, the monsters without fur are perhaps the ones to be more wary of, the ones who keep their teeth hidden the ones to be more afraid of and if there is anybody who can frame that terror in the heartbeat of a relaxed attitude then John Goodman, giving one of the performances of his long and illustrious career, is the best man for that job.
Whilst in effect a three hander for the vast majority of the film it is the relationship between Mr. Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead that captures the eye, the subtly of normality placed under the intense microscope of ever-increasing dread and realisation, is one of cinema’s greatest achievements, never truly replicated on stage but under the gaze of a single camera, one that hits home hard and with passionate fear.
The knowledgeable and intelligent J.J. Abrams utilises this perfectly throughout the confrontation within the film and allows just the barest glimpse of the world beyond towards the end of the process. The acknowledgement of a world beyond the scope of New York and the trappings of confinement are perfectly thought out and presented with deep satisfaction.
10 Cloverfield Lane works because it has no other choice, shrouded in mystery, wrapped tighter than a ball of wool in shrink wrap and swathed in excellent storytelling, a sequel in the finest traditions, one that only has the briefest of connections to the original; a film to feel the tense rise through sweaty palms and gritted teeth, superb.
Ian D. Hall