Film review: '10 Cloverfield Lane'

The tagline for the new mystery-thriller, "10 Cloverfield Lane," is "Monsters come in many forms." And that they do in this cleverly constructed nail-biter, guaranteed to please the most sophisticated horror aficionados. 

It all begins with Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) furiously packing a suitcase, leaving her keys and engagement ring on a counter and leaving the apartment to drive aimlessly. Her boyfriend (the voice of Bradley Cooper) calls to beg her to return, and suddenly, she catches glimpse of a pickup truck and crashes her car.

Upon waking, Michelle discovers herself in a windowless room, chained to a wall. Soon enters Howard (John Goodman), her overly creepy captor who informs her that he's sorry, but no one is looking for her. Claiming to have rescued her, Howard also has some shocking news, and it's not good.

Is Howard her savior or her kidnapper? We're as clueless as Michelle throughout the film. And that's what makes "10 Cloverfield Lane" so compelling. At every turn, the audience is caught off guard. In his directorial debut Dan Trachtenberg demands we vicariously live through Michelle's horrors. And he does so with deft precision. If the works of Stephen King and Alfred Hitchcock come to mind, don't be surprised.

"10 Cloverfield Lane" soars on every level. Winstead's doe-eyed countenance betrays her fear with such acuity that we're totally drawn into her performance. She speaks volumes without having to utter a word. And Goodman's sleazy, evil portrayal of a schizophrenic psychopath gets firmly under your skin, managing to make it crawl. He's an actor who never fails to deliver in every film he inhabits. This is one of his finest performances.

An intense score amplifies the terror, which permeates this electrifying piece of filmmaking. Some comic relief is provided by a jukebox that belts out oldies including, "Hey Venus," Tell Him" and "I Think We're Alone Now." Well-thought choices, to say the least.

It's difficult to avoid spoilers when writing about "10 Cloverfield Lane." A character was purposely excluded for just that reason. This a film that you have to see for yourself so it can work it's wicked magic properly on your psyche.