Paramount+ Sci-Fi Thriller Leaves You Guessing Until The Very End

10 Cloverfield Lane is positively jam-packed with talent both in front of and behind the camera. The thriller was written by Whiplash filmmaker Damien Chazelle, based off a story by Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken, and directed by Dan Trachtenberg in his feature length directorial debut.

Since successfully helming 10 Cloverfield Lane, Trachtenberg has gone on to direct the latest installment in the Predator franchise, titled Prey, as well as a landmark episode of Black Mirror, and the pilot episode of The Boys.

Though 10 Cloverfield Lane is a small and mostly self-contained film, the few actors who do appear on screen bring their absolute A-game with some of the best performances of their respective careers.

The cast of the film includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr., Silicon Valley‘s Suzanne Cryer, and a brief but notable vocal appearance from Bradley Cooper.

Though it serves as a follow-up to 2008’s Cloverfield, the plot and characters of 10 Cloverfield Lane have almost nothing to do with the original movie. Apparently this film was originally written as a standalone project titled The Cellar, until J.J. Abrams purchased the rights and made some slight adjustments to retrofit the material into the Cloverfield franchise.

Abrams would later do the same for the third installment in the series, 2018’s The Cloverfield Paradox, leading to mixed reviews from audiences and critics alike.

Regardless of the film’s origins, the final product of 10 Cloverfield Lane is absolutely spectacular, and arguably serves as the best outing in the entire franchise. The film’s plot centers on a young woman named Michelle (Winstead) who gets into a major car crash as she flees from her boyfriend’s apartment in New Orleans.

The last thing Michelle remembers before the crash is a broadcast over the radio which details a number of rolling blackouts which have been impacting major cities in the area.

When Michelle wakes up from the crash, she comes to discover that she has been transported to an underground bunker, owned by a mysterious man named Howard (John Goodman). Howard explains that there has been some kind of chemical attack on the area, leaving the outside world irradiated or poisonous, and tells Michelle that he abducted her after finding her unconscious on the side of the road in order to save her life.

As the narrative of 10 Cloverfield Lane continues, both Michelle and the audience are left to wonder if Howard can be trusted, and if his tales of doom and destruction are true, or simply a disturbing front to keep Michelle from mounting an escape.

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I won’t give away any more than that, as 10 Cloverfield Lane is one of those movies that’s best enjoyed without knowing much about the plot beforehand. If you’re interested in checking the intense thriller out, 10 Cloverfield Lane is currently streaming on Paramount+. Just be sure to keep your window shades open while you stream this film, so you can periodically monitor the state of the outside world.