I don't think this movie would have worked nearly as well without the tie in with Cloverfield. This way we know what's outside. This frees us up to concentrate on the real point of the movie which is this question, which is worse for Michelle, the monsters outside or the one in the bunker.
shareI had mixed feelings about the connection.
It adds the dramatic irony that we (the audience) know that there are monsters/aliens outside, but Michelle doesn't (and shouldn't!) believe this. So part of you is rooting for her to escape, while another part of you is terrified about what might happen if she does get out. It's an interesting tension as an audience member.
But what I don't like is that I think it makes it easier for all the people who are like "Howard was a fine man and a savior and Michelle is an ungrateful b*tch who should have been shot in the head!!!!". If we don't know that the invasion is real, I think that the audience would be able to get into Michelle's head more. Is this guy for real, or is he a total psycho? I think that because some audience members knew that Howard was right about the invasion, it made them more willing to overlook his creepy and controlling behaviors.
There's another recent movie about a damaged dude holding a woman captive and claiming that he's saving her from an apocalyptic event (the movie is called Saving Grace). That movie waited all the way until the end to reveal the truth of the situation, and I liked it more (in that respect) than being 99% sure like I was with 10 Cloverfield Lane.
But I saw that as a critical point. Yes, Howard saved her life, but how much does that entitle him to?
"But what I don't like is that I think it makes it easier for all the people who are like "Howard was a fine man and a savior and Michelle is an ungrateful b*tch who should have been shot in the head!!!!"
Not all of the creepy people are in bunkers.
"But what I don't like is that I think it makes it easier for all the people who are like "Howard was a fine man and a savior and Michelle is an ungrateful b*tch who should have been shot in the head!!!!"
Not all of the creepy people are in bunkers.
"I used an example in another thread: suppose you were out at an ATM and someone robbed you and violently pistol-whipped you or something and sent you to the hospital with severe injuries. And that same night your house blows up from a gas leak. The guy who pistol-whipped you saved your life because he kept you from being in your house when it blew up, didn't he? So what do you owe him?"
Or, you're being robbed by someone who makes it clear that he's going to kill you, but another person pulls a gun and shoots him.
How much do you owe this guy? I think Michelle started acting grateful after she found out because of the woman at the door that Howard wasn't lying. It was after she started finding clues about what he intended to do that she started plotting. Howard kept talking about gratitude but I don't think that was all he was after. Once Michelle started acting nice, he got rid of Emmett.
I never saw cloverfield, so I was that much more engaged once I figured out what was really going on, and then again once I found out what was really going on with John Goodmans character. I never caught the tie in, I was just pleasantly surprised that this thriller took a turn and became sci Fi.
I watched 10 Cloverfield Lane because it looked like a thriller and John Goodman is a good actor. Having the word Cloverfield in the title and dealing with an alien attack made me think it could have been connected to Cloverfield but this style of movie made me think there was no connection so I watched not knowing 100% if the invasion was real and then seeing the message on the hatch took me for another turn. I still have never seen Cloverfield, but 10 Cloverfield Lane was a great watch and likely better if you have not seen the first
shareI knew this film was linked with Cloverfield so I guess I suspected that there might be aliens at some point.
It's that man again!!