10 Cloverfield Lane

The only people who have bomb shelters and doomsday vaults are the conspiracy-nut kooks, right? So, when the apocalypse hits, which it inevitably will, all the normal people will be dead and only the bomb shelter kooks will be left alive, right? That’s the premise of 10 Cloverfield Lane. John Goodman masterfully realizes his paranoid rube, kidnapping, but also pretending to protect his captors. As an audience, it really makes you want the characters to try their luck on the outside world rather than deal with this nutball. Besides, was there even an apocalypse? How can you be sure if you’re not even allowed to look out a window? The pressure builds and the suspense piles on as the small cast of characters philosophically speculate over the fate of the world. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is strong here; resourceful and not the least bit victimy. Credit goes to the writer (Dan Casey) for straying from female victim stereotypes. It’s a big, satisfying ending, thankfully not too J.J. Abramsy, who seems to be intent on jerking his audiences around lately with a lot of questions and cliffhangers. It suffices to say: there’s answers.