Much has been written about the new Bad Robot flick, 10 Cloverfield Lane. Set in the same sort of downplayed, alienified universe as the original Cloverfield, the new film features a small cast of characters hiding out the apocalypse in a tiny bunker. But what do you do if you suspect one of the people you are hiding with is a monster?
10 Cloverfield Lane is an excellent film to watch if you enjoy suspenseful thrillers. Further, the director, Matt Reeves, makes good use of the enclosed environment and keeps you stuck in the head of the film’s main character in ways other filmmakers don’t bother with. For virtually all of the film, we follow Michelle (played to great effect by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) shot-for-shot with the camera echoing her own sense of attention to detail. This helps ratchet up the feelings of nervous anxiousness, particularly in an early shot (shown in the trailers) of the three bunker inhabitants eating at a dinner table. What plays out afterward is a delightful blending of paranoia and weirdness until the film’s explosive climax.
Like the original Cloverfield, once you’ve seen the movie, you’re left wanting more. So here’s a list of five movies to hold you over until the next non-sequel installment in this sci-fi series comes out (fingers crossed it’ll be soon):
Alien (1979)
By the end of 10 Cloverfield Lane, sci-fi fans have been introduced to another badass heroine. Like the original Alien, from director Ridley Scott, Michelle doesn’t become a kick ass hero because she was always prepared to be one. Instead, her situation forced her to be both creative and tough. It’s a trait played to much effect in Alien and only one thing that the two movies have in common. A second is that both films take place within tight confines, further putting pressure on the characters involved. 10 Cloverfield Lane is as much a spiritual prequel to Alien as it is a sequel to Cloverfield.
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