The Unexpected Video Games That Inspired 10 Cloverfield Lane
The "Cloverfield" franchise has definitely had its fair share of left turns. Beginning with the found-footage monster movie stylings of the original entry, the series has since had a tense and intimate thriller in the form of "10 Cloverfield Lane" and a high-concept science fiction yarn with "The Cloverfield Paradox." Now, with another entry in the "Cloverfield" canon on the way, the possibilities of the franchise seem more expansive than ever.
As noted above, "10 Cloverfield Lane" is not the sequel most fans were expecting after the blockbuster scale, city-crushing action of the first film. Being a movie that barely even features the monstrous invaders that dominated "Cloverfield," the sequel is nonetheless the best-reviewed of the three movies (via Rotten Tomatoes), a factor that proves that sometimes going for a smaller-scale story can definitely work in a filmmaker's favor.
Considering the subject matter of these films, it's probably no surprise to fans that some elements of the series have been inspired by video games. However, the games that helped to inform the world of "10 Cloverfield Lane" are not the ones you would have likely guessed.
Dan Trachtenberg was inspired by some surprising games
While gamers might imagine the likes of maybe "Dead Space," "Resident Evil," or "Xenosaga" when guessing what games had an influence on "10 Cloverfield Lane," director Dan Trachtenberg offered some more surprising choices for his inspirations. Specifically, the filmmaker pointed to a couple of more low-key entries in the canon of modern gaming classics during a 2016 interview with IndieWire.
"In particular, all the great modern third-person action-adventure games are key. And also things like 'Journey' or this great game 'Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons' —that's one of my favorite games ever," Trachtenberg explained. "I'm so stunned by the design of those games, which can be very moving experiences that interact with your agency, where you're really feeling everything."
Both are very surprising choices in relation to "10 Cloverfield Lane," as "Journey" follows a nameless wanderer in a sparsely populated desert and "Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons" charts the medieval trek of two siblings journeying to save their sick father from death. Still, you can't argue with results, and Trachtenberg's film definitely succeeds at what it's trying to do.
"You want to know about a character, to assign how you feel about them and then relate to them, as opposed to them just being a blank canvas to project yourself on," the director went on to explain. "That's something I really wanted to impart in this movie by making it feel less like something you watch and more something you experience."