A surprisingly well developed and tense film.

Rating: 8/10 (17 June 2017)

I initially had no interest in seeing this film, I never saw the original Cloverfield film, and I wouldn't want to waste my time on a generic sci-fi film. Therefore, I never saw this film in 2016.
A year later and I see this film pop-up in many Top 10 lists, and I decide to give this film a chance after I heard that the film was actually good and didn't follow the story of Cloverfield. I was immediately surprised by the certificate given to the film; I expected the film to be a 15. Therefore, I knew that this film would be tame.
However, immediately after watching this film I can safely say that 10 Cloverfield Lane is the most brutal and tense 12 rated film I've ever seen. Although most importantly, 10 Cloverfield Lane is the most well-made and tense film I've seen this year.
The films' quality is ensured from the well developed characters and style. The film always places the perspective on Michelle, this is conveyed through the use of tense atmosphere and delivery that perfectly reflects our main characters' emotions.
The most important factor that ensured the quality of this film, was the character development and story. Instead of shoving a narrative down your throat through exposition, the film instead decides to play out naturally as you progressively map out the story in your head.
The film always catches you off-guard, this is due to the character development, this benefits the audience as they route for the characters, as they're given a reason to care.
The film uses sound and visuals to emphasise an impression of a character, however the film constantly flips your expectations. At first the film presents Harold negatively through the viewers expectations, however we soon change our opinion due to his devotion to ensuring safety. As an audience member you're against Michelle, although if you apply the information you've learnt later in the film you'll realise that the expectations you had at the beginning were right all along.
There are unfortunately a few problems holding this film back from being an excellent film. Despite the developed nature of the film, unfortunately 10 Cloverfield Lane devolves into the typical sci-fi alien action seen in many films, however what makes this segment forgiving is the realistic and serious tone.
I'd also like to point out that this film was surprisingly tense and shocking, especially for a 12 rated film, you see a man being broken down in acid, and a mentally insane woman deteriorating. All of which I expected in a 15 rated film.
Another problem is some of the decisions made by the characters, while the characters are human, some of there actions are a bit unjustified. No-one would immediately breathe in the air without precautions, despite this for the most part all seemingly dumb decisions are all answered with a reasonable excuse. One example of this is that Michelle constantly demands reminders for information she already knows this is explained due to the head wound.
Other problems are from the standard movie-making clichés. The film has a lot of moments that are unlikely to occur in reality, although the film also has a cliché sequel bate ending. This annoys me deeply as the fact that a studio wants more money is very apparent.
Nonetheless, this is now one of my top favourites of 2016, and I'm glad I saw 10 Cloverfield Lane. 8/10