Well made psychological thriller... but tenuously related to Cloverfield

Rating: 7/10 (26 March 2016)

Initially starting life out as a script titled "The Cellar", this inherited the title of Cloverfield after JJ Abrams' Bad Robot Productions became involved in the project. Even with the title though, the best way to approach this movie though is as a companion piece to the 2008 film rather than a traditional sequel or an of spin off.
The directorial debut of Dan Trachtenberg finds Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) waking-up in an underground bunker after a car accident. With her Howard (John Goodman), who she believes is her captor but he insists is Michelle's saviour as he brought her underground to protect her from the catastrophic event which has laid waste to humanity above. Also with her is Emmett (John Gallagher Jr), who believes in Howard's story of desolation. It is essentially a three-man cast and all are on top-form; in particular John Goodman, who uses his large frame in a claustrophobic setting to create menace rather than crossing the line into over-acting. The scenes are tense throughout as relationship between Michelle and Howard alternates from trust and distrust.
There are elements of Duncan Jones' "Moon" in this, in that we don't know whether we can trust the machine or person who has the most information. There also comparisons to JJ Abrams' TV series "Lost", particularly the first season finale where we were left to wonder what was inside the bunker, but this time in reverse.
The film's denouement is a slight letdown and feels oddly out of place in the context of the piece. It felt like the ending to a different film than to the one just seen. No matter, the real drama is in the interactions between the three characters in the bunker and it is this which makes it an enjoyable spectacle.