10 Cloverfield Lane: 8 Reasons The Marketing Was Genius

2. The Movie's Actually Really Good

I think this is possibly the most important factor in 10 Cloverfield Lane's marketing that stopped it from ever being manipulative or trite; the base movie it's selling is good. Like, really good. Dan Trachtenberg, on his first feature no less, shows off an incredible understanding of audience, conditioning you to keep total awareness of your surroundings, always aware of the various dangers, inside and out; the claustrophobic shooting style, coupled with a strong continuity in spacial awareness, put you right there in the bunker. And, fitting for the lauded actors involved, the performances (specifically the character interplay) is excellent; John Goodman has got a lot of deserved praise, although it's Mary Elizabeth Winstead's pragmatic Michelle who stands out. There's a couple of tonal blips later on, but even those fit within the bigger picture. If the movie had been middling or less, then selling it in this teasing way would have felt cheap; a way to boost box office receipts for a film that, without its stars, would have gone straight to DVD (given its first time director and slight budget). Instead, it becomes the trumpeting of fresh talent and cool ideas through incredibly invigorative means.