10 Cloverfield Lane - What did you think? (full spoilers)

I just saw it. I don't know what to think of it.

I loved the original Cloverfield simply because I thought it did found-footage properly, albeit in a somewhat silly fashion. I liked how it showed cool imagery but continuously amplified the mystery of what was happening. I liked the weird easter eggs, like the one with the Dharma logo and the end with something falling from the sky.

What did you think of this films ending? JJ has said that the Cloverfield monster wasn't in it but to end it with an equally ridiculous monster is odd. I truly do hope there is a solid connection between this and the original and not just a "spiritual connection".

Pros:

- Sense of mystery around the outside world was neat.

- Sick woman smashing her head on the vault door was appropriately intense.

- All 3 main actors were great.

- Scene where the 3 mains hear noises and fighting above ground.

- When Mary gets out and sees the flying alien for the first time.

- Metal dog alien encounter was stupid... but fun-stupid.

- The ending

Cons:

- John Goodman was great, but his story was boring and pretty obvious.

- Mystery around John Goodman was emphasized but not paid off.

- The denouement of Goodman's story was ridiculously stupid and just turned into a slasher film.

I loved everything about the first 90 minutes of this film, and even though I enjoyed the alien reveal, I thought how it played out was pretty dumb. If Winstead's character had just beaten the dog-alien thing, then I would have been fine with that. For her to destroy that gigantic ship with just a single molotov cocktail, though, was kinda dumb and implausible. I only say that because the rest of the film feels so real. The ending is a cool reveal, but almost too ridiculous.

Fantastic film, otherwise. All of the leads were great, especially Goodman. The charades scene is phenomenal.

I kind of loved it. Once the credits roles, I was kind of befuddled by the last few minutes and found that stuff to be super silly. But I was engaged throughout, felt uncomfortable at times, and eventually felt pretty impressed by the tight pace. The acting was top notch, as I've always been a fan of John and Mary. Just a solid, unique movie.

And yeah, it's not a sequel to Cloverfield. But just like that movie (which I really, really liked), it left me wanting more.

The surprise was that the music didn't seem to fit in places. I really like Bear but it seemed overly dramatic for such an intimate movie.

What I'd like to know is if the rumors I heard about this movie are true. Like, was it originally just the story about the 3 people in the bunker, which ended when the woman ran outside, no reveal to whats out there just that, which the studio kinda sat on thinking it would do poorly. Only to then decide to stick the Cloverfield name too it, reshoot some stuff, add a ending and thus turn what was going to be a movie purely about the bunker story into one they could sell based on the cloverfield license?

Like, I don't follow movie scuttlebutt enough to know if that rumors been going around for awhile..and don't trust everything you hear on reddit but. I'm curious, if that were true, if the original movie had the ending cut before she went outside, do you all think it would have made for a better movie? Does the post-bunker stuff seem tacked on or superfluous to anyone?

I'm of mixed ideas on this myself, and I had heard that rumor going in (not so much a spoiler but the 'this was a different movie, cheap cash-in on the clover field license) bit, so. My reaction was kinda tainted going in, I am curious what people who hadn't heard that stuff thought of the movie.

@redbullet685: I agree with the molotov cocktail scene. it was silly.

The more I read about it, the more Im seeing people liking the Goodman stuff, which I found fairly boring. I think its more that my expectations were based around the spectacle that was the original Cloverfield, where the mystery came from something outside of what can be understood by the protagonists. The Goodman story seemed fairly straightforward, which is why it was a low point for me.

@bladededge: Pretty sure the Cloverfield stuff was tacked on much later. I don't blame them, the marketing made it clear it wasn't a big monster movie so why not give a film like this some easy exposure?

As for the end, I wanted to see a reveal about the surface. Leaving it open to interpretation might be the artsier way to go, but seeing "it's fucking aliens" was silly but made Howard look less crazy.

@csl316: It was confirmed that this was always a Cloverfield movie and never anything else by JJ and the director Dan.

I really liked the movie. I think it would be really cool if this was a twilight zone type series of movies all by first time out directors.

Absolutely fantastic thriller. Ending sequence is a bit disjointed but I didn't care. I was glad to see something like that in the movie. I hope it is connected to the first. I have my theories

I thought the movie was good, however, I was also really disappointed. I was excited about a new movie in the Clover field world but this really seemed like it had nothing to do with that.

Interesting, as I've read sourced articles saying just the opposite. It was a wholly original screenplay, then had some rewrites to fit whatever they want this Cloverfield thing to be. I've also seen that it's a completely different universe from the first movie.

In any case, doesn't really matter. Now that they've sort of freed themselves from Cloverfield needing to be a big monster movie, they can do some risky stuff with various directors. Like a "Cloverfield presents..." concept.

I really liked it. It felt like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone. I felt the ending was appropriate for this story and was okay that the Cloverfield monster wasn't in it. It was a great stand-alone film that really makes me excited for the Cloverfield franchise to essentially become a cool anthology series.

I think the script wasn't a Cloverfield movie, but by the time the director came on and way before shooting it was a Cloverfield movie. Though being a Cloverfield movie we know the world is fucked up outside which brings a very different feel than the typical "what's outside" movie.

I enjoyed it. Most interesting thing about it was how competent Winstead character is. Like Die Hard level of problem solving. My favourite scene was the dinner one. I agree about the molotov finishing off the big one being too crazy. I didn't get the last tiny bit. At no point do we get any context for that choice besides a very shitty conversation.

I hope the Cloverfield franchise is basically an anthology series about an alien invasion.

So all in all a good small movie.

I think the reason why the alien/spaceship was so easy to destroy because it was using an aerosol version of the same acid that John Goodman's character was using? I seem to remember something blowing up once it did its flyby with the stuff so I guess she was able to put two and two together. Still, pretty ridiculous.

I thoroughly enjoyed it though. Even though people said it had nothing to do with Cloverfield, I was still waiting for some connection.... Oh well. Also, if they make Cloverfield into a monster franchise with new directors every time, I'll be fine with that.

I do like to think of them as being connected.

I'm so down with the idea of different events surrounding this apparent alien invasion. (I'm assuming now the monster in the first movie is an alien)

I really enjoyed it. Its a fun ride. I did want to see more connections to the first Cloverfield, but if the series is just connected through it being in the same universe, I'll settle with that. I really want another one.

Also, that twist was hilarious but still had me captivated.

Saw this yesterday and had a great time. A tense, well-crafted thriller with strong performances from all players.

I'm a big advocate of knowing as little as possible about a movie before going in, and this definitely applies to 10 Cloverfield Lane so I was glad to have been kept mostly in the dark on this one.

As ridiculous as the final ten minutes are, the huge dorky grin on my face was enough for me to recommend this to anyone.

4 out of 5 stars!

I loved it. Tense, suspenseful, shocking, jarring. The end sequence in the cellar was a bit of a let down but did not take away from the film as a whole. I really think this is a very special film.

I love the idea of a Cloverfield series being about different perspectives of an alien invasion.

My partner and I really liked the film. I was really impressed/surprised that what was shown pre-release was pretty much all from the first 30 minutes of the film. Really good job keeping us in the dark on the whole thing.

Lots of tense moments, and just plain good acting. I'm curious to see if they take this further and continue setting movies in this universe, and if they do, if it will continue to be entirely different creatures. Because really, aside from the Cloverfield name, there isn't that much of a connection to the original film.

@anonymous_jesse: Well, Winstead does have that Die Hard connection of playing Lucy McClane.

I liked it a lot. John Goodman is an acting god. I want more movies that are about small groups during alien invasions like this and Attack the Block.

I love the idea of the Cloverfield name being an anthology like The Twilight Zone. I also like Howard being both crazy AND right. Those things are mutually exclusive in most films.

Right? It's really cool, and I hope it keeps going in that direction if they make more.

I haven't seen it but just read a bunch of these posts to spoil myself. I wasn't sure I wanted to see it, honestly.

Does this exist in the same universe as the first movie or just in name?

@jjbsterling: Just in name. At least there are no real hard connections between them.

I liked the movie. Laughed a bit at the end with the reveal along with the main character having a "are you kidding me" moment. I felt that scene went a bit too over the top but I did appreciate the fulfillment of the payoff.

I didn't really read anything here, because of spoilers, but I probably want to see this movie more than I normally would just because of the director, Dan Trachtenberg. I loved watching The Totally Rad Show when it was around. It's really cool to see him get to direct a big movie like this, even more so since people seem to be liking it.

So, did Howard have a daughter or not? It seems obvious he kidnapped the girl in the photo, but maybe he did that to "replace" the daughter he really did lose when she and his wife left for Chicago.

This film is almost--almost--perfect, and then it hits the final ten minutes. There, the tone shifts dramatically, the quality of the cinematography plummets, and the pace undermines the character arc the story is hoping to complete.

People in our screening were actually laughing out loud during the molotov sequence, and others threw their hands up in disbelief during the final shot when Winstead's character chooses to continue the good fight in Houston, instead of running to Baton Rouge.

I think the cast couldn't have been any better. And I simply don't think you can write a much more compelling character than Goodman's Howard. But for a movie that trades so well on subtlety and character, its breathless final minutes are a critical oversight.

Really liked it, just like Cloverfield. Goodman was so freakin' good. All the leads were strong, but it was just good to see him in a main role in a more mainstream genre movie.

Also, for those wanting connections, the primary one is that Howard, Goodman's character, works for the company that was responsible for the satellite falling into the ocean and awakening the monster from the first Cloverfield.

This is what I liked most about the movie; that it's not really about monsters, but about the situations stemming from monsters. The best zombie movies do this same thing, where the outside pressure of whatever horrible thing pushes the social situations to their breaking points. I'd love to see more Cloverfield movies in this same vein if they continue to not worry about monster-continuity and having the monsters be the main focus.

I liked it, even though if you start to linger on any given plot point for too long it starts to unravel. They do a lot of smart things with subverting expectations, even the trailers ended up not being an exact representation of the actual film. I did not mind the ending since there was such a build it would have been a disappointment if it was not at least a little over the top.

Has anyone figured out the meaning of the envelope from Japan?

And the thing about this movie is that the threat has absolutely no affect on a majority of the movie. So if it was the monster it would still be Howard, Michelle, and Emmitt. Russians, it's still Howard, Michelle, and Emmitt. Aliens, same thing.

I like the fact that they had a reveal at the end, but you're right, it was all about the people. It's like a zombie story, but without the actual zombies there making you go "eh, zombies AGAIN?"

Went into this with no expectations and loved it. Performances were great throughout and they got a lot of mileage from that one location. I agree that the ending felt like a mini-film unto itself that sort of doesn't completely fit with what came before, though I enjoyed it as a badass coda for her character.

Not much more I can add that hasn't already been said. Really enjoyed it. Only slight bummer was hoping for some kind of direct connection to Cloverfield, but I also knew that probably wasn't gonna happen. Also molotov cocktails are OP plz nerf.

@csl316: I was so nervous that it was going to end up being zombies. It's always zombies.

Seemed like a solid movie that had a pointless ending slapped on during post production. I'm not even sure what it had to do with cloverfield.

A lot of the filmmakers have come out and said there isn't a direct thread linking the two films. Some easter eggs scattered here and there as fun throwbacks, but nothing overt to imply this is even the same universe as the one featured in the 2008 monster attack.

@inevpatoria: I figured. Haven't followed it closely. I think a series of entirely unrelated monster movies could be fun. I'm kind of rooting for any more sequels to not build off of this one in the same way that this one didn't build off of Cloverfield. I kind of love how mid-budget these movies are. The first cynical, big budget actual sequel will make me lose interest right away.

I absolutely loved it. The alien reveal made me chuckle, but in a good way. Yeah, it's a bit silly how Michelle took down the spaceship, but everything else was so good, that's easy to forgive.