10 Cloverfield Lane- my take on the movie with spoilers!

PLOT SUMMARY: When Michelle gets into an accident and wakes up in a bunker, she is told that she has been saved from an alien attack. But can Michelle truly trust her saviour?

In times of disaster, we all hope that there would be someone to save us from the perils: be it the armed forces or the humanity and bravery innate in some people. When the apocalypse hits, though we will fear the event, somehow, we also know that a saviour will rise.

There has to be someone, right? Someone who has predetermined the event? Someone who has also made preparations to safeguard themselves and maybe kind enough to help others?

I usually avoid movies that centre on disasters that could claim the world or a movie set in a dystopian future. The only reason I did eventually pick the movie was because of its clever marketing strategy: to not announce the movie until two months before its release. Literally, no one knew this movie existed or was being made. The plot wasn’t revealed and there was so much secrecy surrounding it that my interest was piqued.

I can’t say I’m disappointed by my curiosity.

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE Movie Plot

Michelle, the lead, is escaping her life with her boyfriend and ends up getting hit by a truck. When she opens her eyes, she finds herself in a strange room, an IV drip on her arm and her leg in a cast….and she is shackled to the wall!

It isn’t long before a man enters her “room” and tells her how he saved her.

Michelle, certain that she is a victim of kidnapping, begs him to let her go. That is when she hears a remarkably shocking story: while she had been immersed in her relationship problems, the world was facing an attack from otherworldly forces.

Like anyone who is sane and has a modicum of sensibility, she suspects she is being lied to and whittles the end of her crutch to use as a weapon. However, Howard- the captor- deftly dodges her attack and subdues her.

Upon reawakening, she finds that there is someone else in, what she realizes is a bunker, with her. A man called Emmett is living in the adjoining room and has an arm in a cast. He tells her that he got hurt while trying to get in after the attack happened. Michelle is still suspicious, but when she takes it upon herself to find the truth, she is shocked to find the surprises waiting for her outside.

While the concept was intriguing, I had to wonder to myself if there was too much being crammed into a one-hour forty-five-minute movie. There’s the relationship issues, Michelle’s attempt to escape her captors, Howard’s twisted past and aliens.

Yes, aliens!

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE Ending Explained with Spoilers!

The earth is being attacked by aliens while Michelle has to escape the man who is a possible paedophile and murderer. For some reason- not explored fully in the movie- Howard thinks of Michelle as his daughter and intends to make her dutiful by making her do chores. Apparently, she wasn’t the first victim of his delusions as Michelle finds a distress message carved on glass with blood and then a photograph of a missing girl who Howard claims to be his daughter.

So here we have it: when the world is about to be destroyed by aliens, of all the people, the one who “saved” Michelle was a dangerous man, confirming the fact that humanity will not survive even when the world needs it to survive.

Howard couldn’t have been just another good Samaritan. He had to be the one who purposely crashes Michelle’s car and then locks her up in a room.

But here’s another way of looking at it: Perhaps Howard wanted to have a family. He knew he had screwed up his relationship with his own daughter and was thus trying to make amends before the world ended. In his mind, he was helping Michelle by not only providing her with a roof over her head but also protecting her and taking care of her. His interaction with her was more fatherly and protective.

However, this does not justify the fact that he refuses to let her leave or even breathe fresh air. He lies to her and he kills Emmett when he takes the blame for creating a bio-hazard suit to escape. Howard never once is truthful to Michelle and that makes him a psychopath.

As for the climax, I have to say that it was the most WTH? climax ever! Blink, and you will miss the attack by the alien ship. Blink again, and suddenly Michelle is capable of assembling a molotov cocktail and thrusting it into the alien’s mouth, thus destroying it.

It is true that Michelle became courageous when she defeated Howard, but he was a known enemy. Michelle was hardly shocked by the alien invasion and never once hesitated to see if the “bomb” would destroy the alien or not.

Then, at the very end, when she has to make the choice to either escape or fight more aliens, she chooses to use her newly-found combat skills and fight more aliens. Perhaps she has the taste for blood now?

The absurdity and abruptness of the climax are what took away some of the enthusiasm of watching this movie.

Was this movie scary? Not in the least?

Was it a good thriller? Somewhat. Howard was creepy.

It is a movie for those who enjoy sci-fi thrillers and aliens. Not for ones who are looking for a decent horror movie that has a satisfying climax at least.  

Scare Scale: 3/5