One of the Most Surprising Sci-fi Movies of the 2010s Is Hiding on Prime Video (And It Should Have Changed Hollywood)

Prime Video remains a go-to destination for sci-fi fans. Not only is the streaming service home to countless original TV shows that operate in the genre, with the likes of The Boys and its spinoffs, plus Fallout, but it also has an untold number of movies available to stream. Beyond Prime’s original sci-fi movies like The Vast of Night and The Tomorrow War, the streamer is home to some of the best in the genre. The live-action Transformers movies can be found on Prime Video alongside The Terminator, Tremors, and even Alfonso Cuarón’s masterpiece, Children of Men. Dig deeper, though, and you’ll find an even better film, one part sci-fi and one part intense thriller.

Tucked away among the many sci-fi movies on Prime Video is none other than 2016’s surprise movie, 10 Cloverfield Lane. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg and starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr., and John Goodman, 10 Cloverfield Lane is not an actual sequel to the 2008 movie but was dubbed a spiritual successor, something with a tonal similarity to Matt Reeves’ movie that lingers in science fiction doors and peers through thriller windows. It’s a rare movie not only in that respect, being loosely connected to something else without being a sequel, but also because it works entirely on its own merits.

10 Cloverfield Lane Is A Solid Continuation of Something Special

10 Cloverfield Lane unfolds as a magic trick. The film begins by introducing us to Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Michelle, who leaves her New Orleans apartment after an argument with her fiancé. While out on the road, her vehicle is hit, but when Michelle comes to, she’s not still in her truck or even in a hospital; she’s chained to a wall in a bunker. Though the dynamic seems clear when her captor, Howard (a transformative performance by John Goodman), reveals himself, that’s just the first of 10 Cloverfield Lane‘s many surprises. Howard isn’t holding her hostage for nefarious intent; he claims that he actually saved her after the air outside has become unbreathable following an unknown attack.

The mystery of 10 Cloverfield Lane only evolves from there. How much of what Howard says is true? Are the circumstances of how Michelle came to be in the bunker even what she thinks? And what is even going on outside of the bunker, if anything? For anyone who hasn’t seen it, 10 Cloverfield Lane remains a noteworthy entry in the genre, one that has a peculiar place in the larger realm of Hollywood.

10 Cloverfield Lane Should Have Changed How Hollywood Does Things

Production on 10 Cloverfield Lane, which was shot under the name “Valencia,” took place at the end of 2014. Like most modern movies, it was shrouded in secrecy, but news still came out about who would star in the movie and who would direct it. The biggest secret of the movie, however, that it’s a spiritual successor to 2008’s Cloverfield, was a secret that wouldn’t even become known to the filmmakers until they were making the movie. In retrospect, as the movie evolved into its final form, its biggest secret was one that surprised everyone making it.

But that surprise connectivity and retrofitting into the Cloverfield “franchise” isn’t where the movie should have changed Hollywood perspectives; that is, in how the movie was revealed to the world. 10 Cloverfield Lane was scheduled to be released on March 11, 2016, but the title for the film wasn’t revealed to the world until its first teaser trailer was released in January of that year. A short viral marketing campaign tying it to Cloverfield would be rolled out over two months

In the modern landscape of Hollywood, this is unheard of. Movie titles are often announced years in advance, triggering a hype machine by studios hoping fans will latch on for an extended period of time. Even the trailer rollout sometimes begins as far back as a year, so not only no marketing but not even a title until 60 days before the film’s release was a huge gamble on the part of the studio. Lucky for them, it worked, and the reported $15 million cost of 10 Cloverfield Lane brought in over $100 million at the global box office.

Just for a moment, though, imagine it, a world where movie titles, plot details, and an endless barrage of marketing are not only limited but discouraged as part of the plan for the movie itself. Preserving the mystery of the film was a major boon for 10 Cloverfield Lane, but preventing audiences from getting tired of the movie before it even premieres is something not every film is able to accomplish.

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We Can Thank 10 Cloverfield Lane for Even More Great Sci-Fi

As a result of the success of 10 Cloverfield Lane, sci-fi fans have been blessed in a major way. The film marked the feature debut of director Dan Trachtenberg, who has been able to stick in the genre in a major way, completely reinventing the Predator franchise with 2022’s Prey, the period-set movie of the series that quickly became the best-reviewed in the series. The success of Prey has given way to Trachtenberg, largely taking over the entire Predator franchise, directing this summer’s animated anthology movie Predator: Killer of Killers and the upcoming Predator: Badlands.

Trachtenberg also took his talents and love for sci-fi to television, directing the pilot episodes of Prime Video’s The Boys and even an episode of Black Mirror on Netflix. His name will also be seen in the credits for the final season of Stranger Things. Suffice to say, it’s not that 10 Cloverfield Lane fully paved the way for Trachtenberg to continue operating in and delivering great titles in science fiction (his shorts in the 2010s years before became his calling card there), but the movie put him on a major path forward that has only been for the better of the genre.