10 Cloverfield Lane
4 Waffles!

10 Cloverfield Lane quickly became one of the most buzzed about movies of the year when its trailer appeared out of nowhere firing up the imaginations of moviegoers everywhere as they surmised all sorts of theories about its plot and possible ties to Cloverfield.

Yet, it is so amazingly written, you couldn’t predict what was going to happen no matter how hard you try, and that’s what makes it such an entertaining and thrilling movie.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as Michelle – a woman who has broken up with her boyfriend and set off for destinations unknown. Along the way, she gets in a horrible car accident, and wakes up chained to a pipe in an underground bunker owned by Howard (John Goodman).

Howard tries to explain that some sort of attack has occurred outside, the air has become poisonous and the bunker is the only safe place, but Michelle has her doubts and concerns (especially since she is kinda chained to a pipe and talking to a crazy dude).

What is the truth?

What is Howard up to?

Director Dan Trachtenberg fully takes advantage of the claustrophobic situation as Howard, Michelle and another “survivor”, Emmett (John Gallagher, Jr.), find themselves in the tiny bunker without any windows and no communication with the outside world.

The writing team of Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken and Damien Chazelle expand upon the simple premise by expertly revealing little bits and pieces of each character’s story about how they ended up in this place, which only humanizes our heroine even more, but does a much better job raising suspicions about Howard and Emmett that add to the amazing tension.

In essence, these three writers have created a mystery within in the middle of the movie, and it fits perfectly to help continue the unsettling ambiance.

Of course, 10 Cloverfield Lane wouldn’t work without the creepy, unbalanced, yet, weirdly charming performance by Goodman. Within a simple sentence, Goodman is able to make you hate, love and question Howard all at once as his emotions seem to sway between off-kilter and completely understandable.

His delivery is ominous, unsettling and frightening without too much effort, but delivering the right inflection, the right pause, or the right emotion when needed to show some weakness or uncontrollable rage. Goodman has given one of my favorite performances in years.

Winstead is fantastic as the understated heroine feeling a mix of confusion and anger as she worries about what situation she has found herself in, which helps her channel the audience’s emotions and suspicions at each and every turn.

10 Cloverfield Lane is the most surprising movie of the year so far with an awesome climax that will have you shaking for a week.

10 Cloverfield Lane is rated PG-13 for thematic material including frightening sequences of threat with some violence, and brief language.

105 Minutes