If you are not a claustrophobic person and have not become one during this year 2020 and if your escapist entertainments these days include horror movies you can try ‘10 Cloverfield Lane‘ (2016) directed by Dan Trachtenberg. It is the director’s first feature film and the only one that he has released on screens so far, but it is a remarkable debut under the careful producer guidance of J.J. Abrams. As in most films produced by Abrams, unexplained phenomena take place and the suspicion of extraterrestrial intervention hovers over this film, but the way the story is told makes us change our perspective all the time and wonder what we actually see on screen. Even the surprising final part, which some will like and others will like less, does not explain everything. The questions will continue to concern the viewers even after the screening of the film ends.
The three heroes of the film find themselves together in an underground bunker, after what seems to have been a catastrophic event that made life on the surface of the Earth impossible or dangerous, at least for a while. The air outside seems polluted, and our heroes are among the few survivors. Howard (John Goodman) has been building the bunker for years preparing precisely for such an event, because he is an adept of conspiracy theories and a survivalist. Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.), his younger neighbor, took refuge in the bunker in the aftermath of the disaster. Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) got there by hazard (or maybe not), following a car accident caused by Howard, who also saved her life. In the conditions of seclusion and isolation, the dynamics of the relations between the three characters will also develop with them, or rather with the young woman’s vision of the situation, because we, the viewers, see the story from her perspective. Does Howard tell the truth? What role does Emmett play – is he a friend or an enemy? Is this a true extraordinary situation or a pretext for a kidnapping? What really happened outside? An attack with atomic or chemical weapons? The invasion of an enemy army? An alien invasion? Or maybe nothing really happened? As spectators, together with Michelle, we will often change our points of view.
The movie works very well most of the time. It’s helped by the good acting, especially by John Goodman whom the role fits wonderfully, and by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, an actress that I also noticed and liked in season 3 of the Fargo series, which was distributed a year after this movie. The sets, both the bunker that creates a sensation that combines claustrophobia with a feeling of hesitating security as none of the heroes knows exactly what is happening outside, and the few scenes filmed outside, manage to create an atmosphere of tension, amplified by the soundtrack. Most horror and sci-fi fans will be pleased. ‘10 Cloverfield Lane‘ does not try to shock excessively or cross the limits of the genre, but skillfully combines familiar elements and themes and manages to provide more than reasonable entertainment.