"Misery" goes apocalyptic!

Rating: 8/10 (20 March 2016)

What can I say about 10 Cloverfield Lane? Well, um..... Think the 90s film "Misery" but far more terrifying with an apocalyptic setting and aliens. So more-or-less a crossover between "Misery" and "War of the Worlds".
If you don't like horror movies, this is CERTAINLY not your cup of tea, in understatement. I would be lying if this movie didn't have the potential to emotionally scar anybody for a long while. I mean, the guy who voiced Sully in "Monsters Inc." is in it, so that should take the edge off, right? Well knowing that lone fact only made the film MORE intense.
There are only a handful of human characters seen in the film, one of which is our protagonist, Michelle, our on-and-off antagonist for the former 95% of the plot, Howard, and a secondary character acting as a friend to Michelle, Emmett. The acting was superb, and there was no apprehension in displaying both emotion and situational severity. Michelle and Emmett are both very well-written, and they displayed a very high degree of intelligence and cleverness as well. Howard's character is a bit more difficult to discuss, because his real motive was never really expanded-upon or made clearer than it actually was (on one-hand, he WAS trying to protect the other characters from the calamities outside his bunker, but he quickly became a lunatic whenever he is disrespected. But needless to say, he was absolutely crazy, and the writers did a terrific job in ensuring that he remain compelling, albeit frightening. Whenever he was on-screen, a general feeling of uneasiness just radiates off of the screen.
As previously-stated, this film was beyond intense! It actually eclipsed the general levels of intensity that one would associate with the film "Misery" (which, if you have seen that film before, is the same basic premise: an individual is injured in a car accident, they are taken into a refuge after being found, owner of said refuge is an on-and-off psychopath, injured individual formulates an escape method, etc). And it is for this reason alone that I will never see a film like this one again in theaters, despite it generally being an enjoyable/solid watch. There were jump scares present, but they just sort of "occurred" for a lack of better words, and they took you by surprise with little or no buildup. For example, one can consider the moment where Howard shoots Emmett, in which case an argument between the two is supposedly resolved and then BOOM! There was a tad bit of suspense in there, but it wasn't exactly what one would define as a suspenseful film, rather a horrific thriller. Interestingly, the underlying plot is actually within Michelle's mind: does she desire to escape from Howard's clutches and risk exposing herself to the apocalypse outside which may or may not actually exist, or does she want to spare her life albeit within Howard's bunker where she is being held hostage? That alone was an intriguing plot- piece.
What stole the show for me, however, were the extraterrestrials that showed-up at the very tail-end of the film (as in, the final ~5%). After dealing with Howard and taking her chances with a makeshift hazmat suit (that she and Emmett designed in efforts to create an escape plan), she exits the bunker at last, only to be met with a massive alien aircraft and what appears to be a worm-like quadruped just minutes later. This was perhaps the most drastic/sudden transformation in any plot that I have personally witnessed, and it was fantastic: one moment a character is escaping the clutches of a psychopath, and the next an alien scout is attempting to exterminate her. This is the very reason why this film can be described as "95% Misery, 5% War of the Worlds".
As a compilation of my thoughts, this was generally an enjoyable movie. But this said, the intensity level was too much for my liking, and I still cannot fathom that what I just watched was so terrifying. It is this reason that I would rate it a good 8/10.