10 Cloverfield Lane Review (WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS)

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A photo posted by 10 Cloverfield Lane (@10cloverfieldln) on Mar 23, 2016 at 5:18pm PDT

10 Cloverfield Lane breaks ties with the shaky first person horror genre of its predecessor and falls squarely into the territory of psychological thriller. Director Dan Trachtenberg takes us along a suspense filled ride from start to finish that at times can rival some of the best in the genre. After Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is involved in a car accident that leaves her unconscious, she awakes to find herself trapped inside a bunker with two survivors after an unknown attack on the United States.

Michelle’s supposed saviour Howard (John Goodman), a doomsday survivalist and seeming conspiracy nut, along with fellow survivor Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) are stuck in close proximity for what could be several years due to fallout radiation. With an agitated Howard taking command of his Americana filled bunker, questions start to mount if Michelle’s inclusion in the bunker was accidental. After a series of outbursts by Howard, and an escape attempt by Michelle, Howard’s story appears to check out.

With trust built between the three survivors, Michelle is sent through the air duct to fix an air filtration system where she finds Howard’s daughter’s bloody earring, along with the word “help” etched into the glass window from inside the bunker. Emmett and Michelle, unsure of whether Howard has killed his supposed daughter, decide to venture outside to get help by making a radiation suit from material inside the bunker. With the unstable Howard suspecting an impending betrayal, he finds the missing tools and questions Emmett and Michelle, with Emmett deciding to take the full blame.

After Howard coldly shoots Emmett unsuspectingly, Michelle is left alone with a crazed Howard and makes a break for the airlock. After successfully escaping, leaving Howard and the bunker in flames, Michelle finds herself fighting strange aliens and destroying a ship in what feels like the most out of place 10 minutes of any Sci-Fi film you’ll have seen in a while.

Although the last ten to fifteen minutes of the film feel out of place and extreme, the character development and performances of the entire cast truly make this film an enjoyable experience. Trachtenberg’s use of close up shots leaves viewers with a claustrophobic feeling adding tension to key dramatic scenes. In a year full of big- budget sci-fi releases, 10 Cloverfield Lane may just be the most surprisingly entertaining sci-fi/psychological thriller of 2016.