10 Cloverfield Lane Not Really a Sequel, Getting Great Reviews

This week's most-talked-about new movie, 10 Cloverfield Lane, is, despite all the talk, a film that comes to the screen from mysterious origins, and it's bound to take many moviegoers by surprise. That's exactly what the film's creators, including executive producer J.J. Abrams, want.

The first surprise is that, regardless of the middle word in the film's title, 10 Cloverfield Lane is not, strictly speaking, a sequel to 2008's Cloverfield, which was also produced by Abrams. The new film bears no resemblance to the earlier movie. 10 Cloverfield Lane is a subtle pyschological thriller set mostly in a very small space, while Cloverfield was a bombastic Godzilla-esque monster movie. Cloverfield also was positioned firmly within the then-popular found-footage subgenre of horror films, but 10 Cloverfield Lane is much more traditional stylistically.

Because of the lack of similarities, 10 Cloverfield Lane might disappoint fans of Cloverfield who go to the theater expecting more of the same, but according to critics' reviews of the new film, moviegoers with more open minds are likely to enjoy 10 Cloverfield Lane. Critics have been consistent in praise of Josh Campbell's original story and Dan Trachtenberg's direction, as well as the performances of John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The film currently has a strong 91% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.