Interestingly Different

Rating: 7/10 (23 March 2016)

Although '10 Cloverfield lane' has been package as a late sequel to 2008's Si-fi movie 'Cloverfield', this is by far a different breed of movie. In-fact on watching this movie you can't help but get the feeling that the movie studio's had only added the 'Cloverfield 'tag in an effort to attract more of a audience for this interestingly different Si-fi/horror movie, as they didn't know what they were dealing with in terms of their audience. This is also reflected by the fact that the movie has also been rated with a 12A certificate which somehow seems like another attempt by the film studio's to bring in a wider audience, but they needn't have bothered on both accounts as this movie is a little gem that would have stood out on its own whatever its title.
However, adding the 'Cloverfield 'tag kind of spoilt the movie for me to a large degree as the mystery of what exactly was going on in the movie had already been shattered by the fact that I knew that the first movie was about an Alien invasion, but you would have to go see this movie to see exactly where I'm coming from there.
When I said that this is by far a different breed of movie from its predecessor, I meant that in a good way also, as gone is that annoying hand-held camera found footage fad, and the amateurish acting that made the first movie such a chore to watch, to be replace with steady camera angles and Stella acting (most notably from 'John Goodman' who gives a very menacing performance).
The special 'Alien' affects in the movie are also very well done, although you only get to see them in the last 20 minutes of the movie. I also noted however, that the Aliens in this movie looked nothing like thoughts in the previous movie, which kind of adds to the point that I was trying to make in my opening paragraph.
As for the 12A certificate, well hardened Si-fi/horror fans needn't worry as this movie (although lacking in blood and gore), has a few well place jump scares that will please most audience members.
Also note, that 90% of this movie is set in an underground bunker, which gives this movie a very claustrophobic atmosphere which only goes to add to the tension of the situation that the characters find themselves in. This is the kind of atmosphere I love in my Si-fi/Horror movies, i.e. 1979's Alien, or 1982's The Thing for example.
The movie itself wasn't without its faults i.e I sometimes found myself thinking, well that's stretching things a bit, but all-in-all the movie was (like I've already said), interestingly different and very entertaining, and a breath of fresh air to the Si-fi/horror movie genre.