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10 Cloverfield Lane |SPOILER THREAD -OT-Hybrid| It’s still not Voltron

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The final act somewhat killed the movie for me, the whole alien fight felt like it belonged in a separate movie especially with the molotov.
 
Jarmel said:
The final act somewhat killed the movie for me, the whole alien fight felt like it belonged in a separate movie especially with the molotov.
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Is it only the Molotov scene you didn't like? Did you mind the ufo encounter and alien dog scenes?

I do like the character development and whatnot but I think I would've liked to see her get eaten by the ship and die. Maybe even have her light the car on fire while she was getting eaten then have the ship get destroyed.
 
Defect said:
Is it only the Molotov scene you didn't like? Did you mind the ufo encounter and alien dog scenes?

I do like the character development and whatnot but I think I would've liked to see her get eaten by the ship and die. Maybe even have her light the car on fire while she was getting eaten then have the ship get destroyed.
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Honestly no, I didn't like the UFO encounter as a whole. The alien dog scene was somewhat tense so I was okay with it.

They should have just comut to her seeing the alien dropship and either ended the film there or cut the UFO fight and just go straight to her heading to Houston.
 
What city was she in in the beginning? New Orleans? I thought it was Chicago (got confused by what I heard about the old script), but then they're in Louisiana, which I also remember being mentioned in some of the marketing.
 
Loved every minute of the movie and since I HD the big end twist spoiled for me, I feel like maybe that dulled the sting for me? I kind of felt like an episode of The Twilight Zone to me. I really enjoyed it.
 
Defect said:
Is it only the Molotov scene you didn't like? Did you mind the ufo encounter and alien dog scenes?

I do like the character development and whatnot but I think I would've liked to see her get eaten by the ship and die. Maybe even have her light the car on fire while she was getting eaten then have the ship get destroyed.
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I think that would have been too dark for her to overcome this huge hurdle just to be swallowed by the alien ship

I get that people dislike the tonal shift. But the more I think about it, the more I love the boldness of it. Maybe it's because I'm a huge Twilight Zone fan. Honestly, I can't think of the last mainstream film that would took such a risk, especially when it didn't have to.

Because I think that's the intention. By the end, I really BOUGHT that Michelle was able to handle all the insane alien shit because it was PEDESTRIAN (which is why the more ridiculous, the better the contrast worked) compared to Howard and the hell he put her through. Prior Michelle would have ran away and died. Present Michelle takes down an alien ship with a Molotov before driving to Houston to fight more alien scum. Fuck yeah.

The year is young, but this is easily my favourite movie thus far.
 
I can't remember the last time my heart was pounding so hard while watching a film. And it actually occurred a few times during this movie.

Very enjoyable.
 
Jarmel said:
Honestly no, I didn't like the UFO encounter as a whole. The alien dog scene was somewhat tense so I was okay with it.

They should have just comut to her seeing the alien dropship and either ended the film there or cut the UFO fight and just go straight to her heading to Houston.
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That makes no sense. It's not just a dropship, it's actively seeking out human life and fumigating (among other functions). There's no way it would ignore a noisy car barrelling down the road.

The ending shot with her on the way to Houston not only gave a glimpse of a much larger ship, but also what looked like red lights attached to stalks, I couldn't really tell. It definitely looked like she would have some more obstacles on the way there.

If they're radio'ing that they need random people to fight the aliens, and the alien invasion blankets the entire world, humanity is basically fucked, barring some War of the Worlds-esque cop-out where Earth's atmosphere is inhospitable to them.
 
BorkBork said:
I think that would have been too dark for her to overcome this huge hurdle just to be swallowed by the alien ship

I get that people dislike the tonal shift. But the more I think about it, the more I love the boldness of it. Maybe it's because I'm a huge Twilight Zone fan. Honestly, I can't think of the last mainstream film that would took such a risk, especially when it didn't have to.

Because I think that's the intention. By the end, I really BOUGHT that Michelle was able to handle all the insane alien shit because it was PEDESTRIAN (which is why the more ridiculous, the better the contrast worked) compared to Howard and the hell he put her through. Prior Michelle would have ran away and died. Present Michelle takes down an alien ship with a Molotov before driving to Houston to fight more alien scum. Fuck yeah.

The year is young, but this is easily my favourite movie thus far.
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This is what I realized after my second viewing. It doesn't matter that it was aliens. It could've been anything - zombies, Russians, whatever. All that matters is that she could handle it. In the beginning, she's scared and running away from her relatively normal, everyday problems. And then, for the whole movie, she's been dealing with the situation with Howard, and because of that she can handle this insane situation like it's nothing. It's corny and cliche to say, but in the end, Howard was a worse and more threatening monster than the legitimate monsters, and that's the whole point I think.
 
Just saw it a second time.. The car accident is so fucking loud/jarring even though I knew when it was about to happen.
 
Saw it tonight. I thought it was delightful.

Obviously gotta talk about the ending. I personally dug it. That molotov was ridiculous of course but at that point I was down for Goofy Catharsis Time. The movie did such an excellent job with tension throughout the bunker sequence, it's not like there was much (or anything) to gain by ratcheting that up any higher.

It is as sort of like... an apology? Or a conciliation? "Hey congratulations, you made it! Now here's a thing to cheer for because cheering is good and you didn't get to do that at all yet."
 
Yeah, the molotov scene was dumb. Easily the worst part.

It's also kind of strange how she'd been there but hadn't used the washroom at the start. I know she was unconscious for a time, but it seemed like maybe a day passed between when she got up and when he let her piss.
 
I loved this movie.

Completely different movies - I know - but I consider myself lucky to get one movie I just *adore* every couple years. The last movie to fall into that category, if my memory serves me correctly, would probably be The Raid 2. I just can really appreciate leaving a theater just absolutely satisfied with everything I just saw.

The first Cloverfield, for me, is good - but nothing incredible. It's a fun romp. But this? This is one of the best psychological thrillers I've ever seen.
 
Arkeband said:
That makes no sense. It's not just a dropship, it's actively seeking out human life and fumigating (among other functions). There's no way it would ignore a noisy car barrelling down the road.

The ending shot with her on the way to Houston not only gave a glimpse of a much larger ship, but also what looked like red lights attached to stalks, I couldn't really tell. It definitely looked like she would have some more obstacles on the way there.

If they're radio'ing that they need random people to fight the aliens, and the alien invasion blankets the entire world, humanity is basically fucked, barring some War of the Worlds-esque cop-out where Earth's atmosphere is inhospitable to them.
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Uh don't they say on the radio at the end that they've successfully fought off the aliens in many parts of the US? That's what makes her choice at the end so important. She could easily drive to the safer areas, but she chooses to go and fight back instead.
 
Croc said:
Uh don't they say on the radio at the end that they've successfully fought off the aliens in many parts of the US? That's what makes her choice at the end so important. She could easily drive to the safer areas, but she chooses to go and fight back instead.
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I don't remember exactly if she says that, but I do remember her saying that they took back the southern seaboard.
 
The last 10 minutes were fine, but there is nothing as interesting going on then as what came before it. Howard is an interesting unpredictable foe. The aliens act like what we expect aliens to act like. And the solution to that is something we've seen a thousand times before: blow the damn thing up.

Michelle's character wasn't enriched in anyway by that. Her escaping from Howard was far more impressive and relied on her ingenuity. Blowing up the alien was luck, her surviving that fall in the truck (without any apparent injury) was also luck (the alien actually lowers her down enough so that the fall isn't so bad). The best thing that last act has going for it is that I really liked Michelle and wanted her to live. So there was tension there, but it felt to me a foregone conclusion that everything was going to work out.
 
Saw it. Really liked it. They did more at the end than i was expecting. But they did a better job with Goodman being a crazy fuck. Gees he was creepy. Im actually not sure, i think Howard was intentionally abducting her before he even knew the attack was happening. His truck seemed very calm at the gas station which doesnt back up his accident theory. Plus i think the guy that fought his way in was the one that told him the most about what was going on. Howard was already locking everyone up before he got in.
 
The ending was bothering me until she made the choice to go to Houston. I thought they had abandoned her arc in favor of total alien action, but that stitched everything together nicely. Wouldn't have minded if she only fought the alien on the ground and we saw drop ships in the last shot, but not a deal breaker.
 
Symphonic said:
From reddit

"Okay, now that that's out of the way. Everything you think you know about Emmet and Howard is a lie. Howard built a doomsday bunker to protect his family with help of a local contractor named Emmet. Over time, Howard gets the uneasy feeling that Emmet has inappropriate feelings for his underage daughter. One day about 2 years ago, Megan disappears and Howard's mental state begins to crack. His wife leaves him for Chicago because she blames or even suspects him of kidnapping their daughter. In truth she has been tucked away and duck taped in a small alcove of the bunker that can only be accessed by someone small enough to climb through a ventilation shaft. Someone who helped build the room and had it padlocked from the inside. Emmet.

Megan's body is never quite found (though something is blocking the latch to the air filter...) Cut to present day. Howard rescues Michelle over guilt about driving her off the road. He wants to protect her the way he was unable to protect her daughter. When he returns, the man he suspects but can't prove killed his daughter is waiting for him and fights his way into the bunker. Howard is insulted when Michelle flirts with his daughter's likely killer (and Emmet makes sure to drive the pain home by staring at him tauntingly throughout the exchange).

When it is clear that someone will need to climb through the ventilation shaft, Emmet volunteers in order to protect his secret, but his arm sling prevents him. When Michelle returns with evidence of his crime, Emmet makes up a story about some other girl named Brittany knowing he can frame Howard as the unstable one. The girl in the photos really is Megan, but Michelle trusts Emmet's story. When Howard finds the scissors and the duck tape, he suspects Emmet intentions for Michelle are the same he had for Megan. Having heard one lie too many he murders him and finally gets his revenge. Unfortunately, he does not account for Michelle's perspective of events.

Evidence:
  • Howard's attitude towards Emmet
  • Howard's 'no touching' rule
  • Emmet's casual suggestion of braiding Michelle's hair
  • Emmet built the bunker and is the only one small enough to access the air filtration room if his arm weren't broken
  • Howard points out the picture of "Brittany"/Megan to Michelle. If he loved Megan so much, why would there not be ANY pictures of the real Megan?
  • Air filtration room is padlocked from the inside. Only a smaller character could have done that.
  • Howard says "I know traitors" during a tense scene
  • Howard's intense "I'm watching you" scene
  • Howard's annoyance at Michelle's defense of this man and why she isn't grateful for his protection.
He tells Michelle after the shot "You heard him. He was going to try to hurt us"
The entire final act is intentionally jarring different from what we were led to believe (just like we have been mislead by character motivations)

And of course, his final words to Emmet: "I forgive you" which has everything to do with Megan.

TL;DR Monsters come in many forms. Emmet kidnapped and killed Megan after hiding her in an inaccessible area of Howard's bunker. He took advantage of Howard's personality to throw off Michelle's suspicion. Howard'said generosity only goes so far and he murders him, but Michelle believing Howard is the monster burns him in acid and sets the bunker ablaze."
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WoW does that change the game a bit. Shit.
 
matt05891 said:
WoW does that change the game a bit. Shit.
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I think its a good theory but it is equally as good to say Howard intentionally planned the abduction all along. He made comments as such, like, 'this was the way it was always supposed to be' when he killed emmet, and how he immediately cleans himself up and acts all nice after he kills him. And how at the gas station he was seemingly calm and not crazy trying to get home.
 
~Kinggi~ said:
I think its a good theory but it is equally as good to say Howard intentionally planned the abduction all along. He made comments as such, like, 'this was the way it was always supposed to be' when he killed emmet, and how he immediately cleans himself up and acts all nice after he kills him. And how at the gas station he was seemingly calm and not crazy trying to get home.
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Yeah, if Emmet noticed the explosions from the attacks, then they probably happened after the car crash. Michelle may have been distracted by her breakup, but she was quite observant overall and would have seen the blasts if they occurred before the crash.
 
I didn't quite catch what was said on the radio at the end. Were people with medical or combat experience supposed to go to Houston?
 
That reddit post is nonsense as soon as you realize that howard was in the truck that pulled up behind her at the gas station. He was targetting her from the beginning. If anything you can propose that he never had a wife and daughter to start with.
 
Even with plotholes and whatnot, I like to believe that that reddit explanation is true. It adds a nuance to the background of the characters and makes Howard much more tragic.

nicanica said:
That reddit post is nonsense as soon as you realize that howard was in the truck that pulled up behind her at the gas station. He was targetting her from the beginning. If anything you can propose that he never had a wife and daughter to start with.
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Howard did say he was trying to pass her, so it's possible that he happened to be at the same gas station at the same time.
 
Jarmel said:
The final act somewhat killed the movie for me, the whole alien fight felt like it belonged in a separate movie especially with the molotov.
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Agreed. Having the ships in the storm silhouetted as the final scene, with just the broadcast would've been much more effective. Would be creepy and ominous, but still in keeping with the movie's tension and focused atmosphere.

Seeing the aliens up close was bland and uninteresting IMO. The reminded me a lot of the Batlle: Los Angeles designs too. Which is bad.
 
That Reddit theory really changes nothing for me. It's a fine interpretation but even so the story told in the film is fundamentally more interesting than the story the Reddit theory proposes. The theory reminds me of what the original "Cellar" was before it was changed. The og script is super boring and pretty poor character wise from what I've seen and read too.

And on the ending, the aliens appearance didn't bother me at all. I didn't necessarily find their designs interesting but they could have taken any appearance for me and still would have gotten the same reaction out of me because there is no set expectation to what they should look like. So the more ridiculous they look, the more unbelievable this situation looks to this world much like the original Cloverfield. I quite like the ending as it is.

Having an ambiguous ending would have been ok, to be honest, but if the movie had that kind of ending it would have felt like any other character drama that's not plot-focused. Maybe I respect the risk they took including this ending than the ending itself, but I have to admit there's a certain satisfaction to discovering the cause of this "apocalypse" through the character we've been following this whole time. I also appreciate that the film goes the extra mile in giving us an ending that's physically surprising to see, but really isn't thematically out of left field considering we just witnessed a story of this character escaping a "monster".
 
Like I said earlier in the thread that theory makes no sense because Emmett and Howard built the bunker together. Howard knew the air filter room was there and since all of the stuff with his daughter happened before the attack, there was no reason he couldn't have entered it from the outside as opposed to the air vent. There's no way it would have been his own daughter that would have been hidden there.

Not only that but then why would he just continue on living with Emmett when he suspects he killed his daughter.

Fury451 said:
I thought that was the kidnapped girl who he forced to dress that way
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And yeah, that's what I think it's supposed to be. You're supposed to juxtapose what he did with the kidnapped girl to how he's doing the exact same thing to Michelle now. That's why you see the girl in that outfit and it pans right up to Michelle in the same outfit.
 
Howard was wearing a wedding ring at the beginning. When he's first talking to Michelle he rubs his face wearily and shows it pretty conspicuously. But I lost track of it for the rest of the movie. Did he keep it? Or ditch it at some point?
 
The Wraith said:
I don't know how anyone else feels about John Goodmans performance but he put on an absolute clinic. In my opinion his best performance ever. Anytime he was on screen his presence was felt. I loved the movie from beginning to end. I would love to see humanity kick the shit out of some aliens in future Cloverfield movies.
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I'd say his presence was felt even when he was off screen. I think it might be why so many people feel a vague sense of disappointment at the film's final sequence. Goodman is a much more compelling villain than aliens, both in the writing and the execution.

I really hope the current Oscar buzz surrounding his performance isn't forgotten by the end of the year.
 
Just leaving the theater now. I absolutely loved this movie.

It was brilliant making it somewhat in the Cloverfield universe. Otherwise that ending would have been crazy. But going in expectating a giant monster running around opens your mind to aliens.

Great performances by the cast. Just so dang good.

10/10 from me.
 
nicanica said:
That reddit post is nonsense as soon as you realize that howard was in the truck that pulled up behind her at the gas station. He was targetting her from the beginning. If anything you can propose that he never had a wife and daughter to start with.
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There's a whole arg that fills up some backstory of Howard and his family . Reddit was all over that .
 
When will we get the fan theory explaining how Michelle was in a coma after the accident and everything that happened was in her mind?

Or maybe she woke up but was put in a psychiatric hospital and her trying to escape the cellar was actually her trying to escape the hospital.
 
Yeah, Goodman is lowkey my favorite living actor. This was one of his best roles. That underlying humor that tinges every role he's taken really threw the creepiness into sharp relief here.
 
Brakke said:
How fucked up was it when Howard showed up clean-shaven.

That was the secret-best part of the movie.
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Yeah, that took the creep factor to a new level. Such a simple thing that had so many WTF questions going on. I liked that there wasn't much attention on it. Just a close-up and Michelle's half sick/half "I need to leave now" reaction.
 
Brakke said:
How fucked up was it when Howard showed up clean-shaven.

That was the secret-best part of the movie.
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I loved that, with the tucked in oxford shirt and all that. Put himself in the father role again like with Megan, just him and Michelle. With all his teen magazines and 80s teen movie DVDs and soft serve ice cream and shower curtains with rubber ducks on them.
 
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