According to Rotten Tomatoes, this is a horror movie. I had just stuck it in under sci-fi but it does have a lot of horror elements.Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is having a rough day. She has broken off her engagement and driven out to the middle of Louisiana in an effort to get away from her problems only to find herself involved in a car accident. She wakes up injured and handcuffed in a bunker, the prisoner of Howard (John Goodman), a doomsday prepper with a conspiracy theory for every occasion. Incredibly skeptical of Howard's claim that he rescued her from an apocalypse of some kind, Michelle confers with Emmett (John Gallagher, Jr.), another resident of the bunker, and learns that Howard may be telling the truth about the dangers outside. But "right" doesn't mean "not crazy."
I remember reading about this movie, including all the spoilers, because I had zero interest in seeing it. I didn't like the original Cloverfield and honestly, just the association was enough to turn me off. I probably never would have seen it if Christy hadn't given me her copy to burn onto my server. It is actually a decent locked room thriller, elevated by a stellar cast and (for fucking ONCE) a heroine who doesn't fall the fuck apart when presented with danger. Michelle is never presented as stupid or helpless, even when she is overmatched. She clearly feels fear but never lets it overwhelm her.
And it's tight. There's no time spent on useless subplots or trying to shoehorn in a romance or even hint at Stockholm Syndrome. The movie is focused on its goal and even as each twist presents itself, that goal just gets adjusted rather than replaced. I think bringing Damien Chazelle in for a script rewrite was absolutely the right call. The man knows how to craft a sharp story.
Pumpkin rating: 4.6/5
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