'Cloverfield Lane' Is Way Different From The First

Fans of Cloverfield are already tossing around conspiracy theories and big questions about 10 Cloverfield Lane, the companion piece to the 2008 horror-sci-fi blockbuster: What's up with that bunker? Will there be a monster? Is John Goodman the coolest actor of our time? While producer J.J. Abrams has confirmed that there will be a monster and a slew of other similarities to the first movie in the series, he's called the follow-up film a "spiritual successor," not a sequel, according to EW. Could he keep things more vague? Ugh. Yet one of the few facts Abrams has revealed is that 10 Cloverfield Lane will not be found footage, which has its pros and cons.

You might remember how movie theaters issued warnings before screenings of the first Cloverfield — not because the movie was so terrifying, but because of the film's found footage format. The rocking, wobbly camera made some viewers queasy, and a few outlets predicted that this would negatively affect ticket sales. Of course, found footage isn't going away anytime soon — In 2013, according to Deadline, president of Paramount Adam Goodman said that he believes the technique is "something that's here to stay... it just makes for a much more visceral experience for the audience." Yet it won't be part of the new Cloverfield.

While it's unclear if the technique's wobbliness is the main reason for 10 Cloverfield Lane to not have found footage, the filming technique's absence in the sequel makes a lot of sense — the sequel, while similar in ways to the original, is clearly going to be original. As Abrams told Entertainment Weeklyin the above interview,

This movie felt like we had an opportunity to do something that was similar, surprise the hell out of people. The movie is so creepy. It’s so well told. [Director] Dan [Trachtenberg] did an amazing job on this. The actors are great. This movie, I think, deserves this association. I think that it’s a special movie.

So, if this new movie isn't made with found footage, how exactly will it match up with Cloverfield? That sounds like mystery best solved by a trip to the picture show when 10 Cloverfield Lane opens on March 11.

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