An amazing mystery thriller, undermined by its ending

Rating: 8/10 (11 March 2016)

I'll get this out of the way early, I firmly believe using the word 'Cloverfield' in the title was solely to sell tickets. There was no real need to draw comparison to 2008's Cloverfield. This movie could have been its own thing (and it probably would have been better for it).
As for this movie, it's pretty damn great! John Goodman is fantastic here, he's already got the body size to scare any sensible human being but his acting is certainly on point. He is a walking, talking, tension radiating, thug. At any single moment he can snap and the movie plays with this notion a lot! And to balance that out, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is the likable, vulnerable damsel in distress if you will. Together the make a great duo for a very, very engrossing cat and mouse game.
Outside the praise of Goodman, it is the script that shines. There are some serious 'oh my god' moments that take things to the next level. Just when you think everything has been solved, the movie throws you another curveball to keep you guessing. Once the first 'bomb' (not literally) is dropped, the movie goes from a mild thriller to a bone-shaking puzzler. It's at this point of no return that the movie is most enjoyable as we watch the characters piece together their situation and we just sit back and watch the mayhem take over. I hope I'm not over-selling anything but the movie really does keep you on your toes!
10 Cloverfield Lane really came out of nowhere and that's always nice to see. It's certainly reminiscent of Joel Edgarton's The Gift. Not story wise, but both are a directorial debut featuring a mystery/thriller narrative. And they both received good reviews and critic response (eerily similar scores if you really break it down). It's really a pleasure to have modest expectations for a film, only to be blown away. This is one of those films, as long as you go into the movie knowing it's only a 'blood relative' to Cloverfield and nothing more.