It’s hard to believe that Cloverfield, the monster attack movie that swept social media and become a viral sensation is now eight years old, but even more surprising is that it’s taken this long to get anything even close to a sequel. Well, it’s finally here. Sort of. Watch the trailer and read on.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saHzng8fxLs?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&w=920&h=460]
We know what you’re thinking. What was that? Well, here’s the story. That girl in the trailer is Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and she’s had a car accident. When she wakes up, she in an underground bunker with a pair of men played by John Goodman and John Gallagher Jr. She thinks they are survivalists since they refuse to go outside and won’t allow her to either. They’ve told her that a massive chemical attack has devastated the world and their only hope for staying alive is to remain where they are. You think it’s truth? We bet not.
Directed by Dan Trachtenburg, formally of The Totally Rad Show and produced by J.J. Abrams, the filmmakers promise that the film will be a dark and strange story. Based on this trailer, they aren’t kidding. There’s no confirmation that it is a direct sequel to the monster movie with the same name, but are told is it a “blood relative” of that film. Take that as you want, but it sure sounds like a play on words, meaning an actual blood relative of the beast that attacked New York City eight years ago is here. The tone of the trailer is supremely effective with a 1950s atomic bomb bunker feel to it, and the impression that this is a family making it all work out. The shift to panic, and her final stare out the window has us jittering with excitement.
This will be Trachtenburg’s film debut, though he made a splash a few years ago with a short film about the video game Portal, called Portal: No Escape. He has a real gift for setting up tension, and as that short film proves, doesn’t need dialogue to move the story forward. Similar to that, the trailer is also mostly devoid of words, and tells us a lot with just the stirring images. There’s not a person who’s been to the movies lately who doesn’t know J.J. Abrams, having just directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the one of the creative minds behind the first Cloverfield. This is one to watch.
10 Cloverfield Lane open March 16, 2016.
What do you think of the trailer? Are you a Cloverfield fan? Let us know in the comments below.