Cloverfield Lane’s Dan Trachtenberg Directed a Portal Fan Film You Should Watch Immediately

Jill Pantozzi | January 15th, 2016

Dan Trachtenberg is the director of the surprise J.J. Abrams production 10 Cloverfield Lane but how did he get the gig? Check out his Portal fan film No Escape.

Trachtenberg, director of several commercials at the time, was unknown to me years ago. So when this Portal fan film was released in 2011 I was really blown away. One, because I love the video game, and two, because it was just really, really good! (In 2011 it topped the Viewfinder list, similar to the Black List.) Between the actor who portrayed Chell, Danielle Rayne, the visual effects and soundtrack it was a spectacularly impressive short. It’s no wonder Trachtenberg caught the attention of Abrams.