'10 Cloverfield Lane'begins by following "Michelle" (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as she is packing up to leave her boyfriend.
When nightfall descends, Michelle is involved in a severe car accident leaving her broken, bruised and unconscious. To her horrific surprise, she awakens in a dirty, underground cellar with an I.V drip in her arm and a cast that chains her leg to the cellar wall.
After a failed attempt to escape, Michelle comes face to face with her captor, "Howard" (John Goodman), who claims that he saved her life twice.
Not only did he rescue her from the car accident but he is offering her safety from an apocalyptic event that has left the world uninhabitable.
According to Howard, the outside air is toxic, and the only survivors are himself, an acquaintance named Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) and now Michelle. But, Michelle is in disbelief about the outside world and thus begins her journey for the truth and an opportunity to escape.
Watch the '10 Cloverfield Lane' Movie Trailer
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
If you are familiar with 'Cloverfield', a 2008 monster footage film produced by J.J Abramsand directed by Matt Reeves then you've probably been anticipating the long-awaited follow-up.
But, '10 Cloverfield Lane'is not a sequel and more of a distant relative to the original film. It takes place in the same realm but goes in a completely different direction.
First off, director Dan Trachtenberg decided to ditch the found-footage method which gained popularity a few years back. Instead, he opts for a closefocused technique throughout the confined bunker that induces a feeling of claustrophobia.
The movie tagline: "Monsters come in many forms" suggests that monsters exist outside of the cellar and within.
Throughout the movie the audience will struggle to trust John Goodman's character, "Howard," a conspiracy nut trying to hold back explosive fits of rage and violence.
"He manages to gain Emmett's trust, who blindly goes along with whatever Howard says, but Michelle knows better.
After some sleuthing Michelle discovers Howard's dark secret of kidnapping and abusing a girl."
She herself survived abuse at the hands of her father only to be thrust into the scenario once again.
When Michelle and Emmett finally team up to outsmart Howard their plan crumbles, and he literally eliminates Emmett by first shooting him in cold blood then discarding his body in an acid bath.
After a bitter fight to the death against Howard, Michelle eventually escapes only to encounter the threat we've all been anticipating.
But wait, there's more! Once Michelle does find herself at odds with the aliens, it seems late upon arrival, and the end is cheesy.
It's like the film is taking on too many plots, and it's hard to swallow. '10 Cloverfield Lane'would've been more appealing just as a psychological thriller focusing on a fight for survival from a violent abuser, instead of an apocalyptic alien invasion.
