Movie News: 10 Cloverfield Lane

I've always thought that "Doomsday Preppers" were interesting in a funny kind of way but no one is laughing in J.J. Abrams' psychological mystery thriller "10 Cloverfield Lane". Which is about a woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who finds herself trapped in a doomsday bunker, waiting out the apocalypse with the neighborhood survivalists (John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr.)

I appreciate that they've managed to keep a good deal of the film under wraps, so much so, that the official synopsis to the film just reads "Monsters come in many forms". 

Described as a “blood relative” to the 2007 smash hit “Cloverfield,” the new film stars John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher, Jr. So far, the official synopsis only reads, “Monsters come in many forms.”

Dan Trachtenberg directs “10 Cloverfield Lane” from a screenplay by Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken. Trachtenberg explains to Empire Magazine how the new film became a “blood relative” to “Cloverfield”:

“`Cloverfield’ was a familiar genre that was told in a very unique way. Similarly, we are a familiar genre that’s also told in a unique way. It’s not the same way: the first `Cloverfield’ had that awesome hook of being told in this found-footage experience. We have something else going for us that makes it unique. I think our structure’s very interesting and there’s things in it that you have to experience.”

“10 Cloverfield Lane” connected with American audiences in its opening weekend March 11 to 13, earning a whopping $25.2 million from 3,391 locations. That’s a strong debut considering that the film cost only $13 million to produce.

Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore credited Bad Robot chief J.J. Abrams with coming up with the concept for the twisty thriller while he was in production on “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” He said the key was to make sure that none of the advertisements revealed any of the film’s surprises.

“We wanted to give people just enough clues to keep them excited, interested, and wanting more,” said Moore. “That’s rare in this day and age, when so much [information] is given out so early.”

“10 Cloverfield Lane” also benefitted from positive word-of-mouth and rave reviews, averaging a high 90% score in reviews-aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes. The critics' consenses was: “Smart, solidly crafted, and palpably tense, `10 Cloverfield Lane' makes the most of its confined setting and outstanding cast -- and suggests a new frontier for franchise filmmaking.”

Opening across the Philippines on April 06, “10 Cloverfield Lane” is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.