10 Cloverfield Lane

Here's the deal: I did NOT like the first Cloverfield AT ALL. I also don't dig most horror movies in general. And I was feeling iffy as this one was going. About three quarters of the way through the movie I understood that whether this movie would get a positive review from me or not would ultimately boil down to if I liked the ending. And I did. And I hated the first film's.

It's an intriguing premise, and if it IS supposedly a spin-off of the first film, it raises a HELL of a lot of questions. Maybe when J.J. Abrams claimed it was a spiritual successor it didn't, but when he suggesting this film and the first are part of a larger cinematic Universe I am flummoxed. Which is good.

The premise is great. What if the person protecting you from the end of the world was more dangerous than the end of the world? It's not like Michelle is given a ton of options in the film. She even admirably tries to make it work for awhile. And the messed up thing is it does. Howard is a homicidal monster. But he would be a LOT easier to root against if he had no redeeming qualities. But he sometimes does. Which is part of the struggle for Michelle and Emmett, and finally just Michelle alone, after Howard goes Full Incel and kills him.

I liked the unfinished ending where you don't know what happened. It beats the entire cast being killed off in the first film. It's also interesting this is a Narrative instead of a mockumentary. It gives us more context than a found footage film can, but us having seen that footage gave us some added context the characters here did not have.

I liked it. Sue me. ****.