Not what I was expecting

Rating: 7/10 (13 March 2016)

I'm at a loss on how to rate this film. I'm usually easy to please, so my ratings are often a 7 or higher. For this I was tempted to go below a 7 because it was not what I was expecting, and there were parts that were not needed. In fact, without them it would have been close to a 10. Therefore, it had to be a 7.
Caution: This is not a sci fi movie... except for a fraction of it. It's mostly drama with a little thriller.
I'm going to add some spoilers further along, but not yet. First I'll say that if you have seen the preview you at least know that for a while there are some people in a small area/room/place. This part of the movie is great. In fact, that is where I would rate the movie at its absolute strongest. The characters interacted well, the drama was there, the small intense parts were enjoyable, and there was mystery to what was going on.
Now for the spoilers: The people were down there for a little too long if they wanted this to be related to Cloverfield in any way. They should have been down there for no longer than 45 minutes of the movie, then the real movie should have began. However, because they were down there so long, then maybe Cloverfield should not have been in the title so as not to confuse people? If you watch this movie you will not be seeing a movie with an alien presence... mostly. And (here comes the big spoiler) when she finally escapes just end the movie. We're done, no more was required. The strange unexplained 10 minutes of alien presence was useless. Silly. Strange. Sure we now know what sent them underground, but it was not needed. Leave it for the sequel maybe?
Overall, yes, see the movie and enjoy it as a dram a with some frantic chills. Don't expect any real info on the alien invasion. Enjoy John Goodman's performance.