10 Cloverfield Lane

Mirroring the journey of the main character, moviegoers might be lured into the trap of 10 Cloverfield Lane before eventually pondering an escape.

This post-apocalyptic mystery is more of a companion piece rather than a sequel to the found-footage science-fiction thriller Cloverfield, although this time, the concept works better than the execution.

It’s best to keep most of the details secret, but the story is an intimate three-hander in which Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up following a car accident in an elaborate concrete bunker underneath a Louisiana farmhouse. Her captor is Howard (John Goodman), an ill-tempered conspiracy theorist who insists he actually rescued her. “There’s been an attack,” he vaguely warns.

Yet as she learns more about Howard’s past, Michelle begins to doubt his claims. She also meets Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.), an apparent farmhand who’s joined their makeshift family in order to survive the doomsday scenario. Dynamics and loyalties shift as the three establish an uneasy reliance and try to decipher the truth about what’s really going on.

Winstead (Smashed) effectively supplies the emotional anchor for the audience as she sorts through clues and resourcefully schemes to take control of the situation. Goodman balances loose-cannon paranoia and uneasy sympathy in a character whose motives remain cloudy.

However, the idea probably would have worked better at about half of its current length. That would cut down the abundance of mundane sequences inside the bunker — assembling jigsaw puzzles, arguing over dinner — that feel like stall tactics and serve little purpose in terms of character or plot development.

Nor do they help develop much suspense leading up to the inevitable big reveal of the truth behind Michelle’s confinement, which ultimately is more calculated than chilling. Any broader social commentary is left open to interpretation.

The film does make the most of its claustrophobic setting, though, with rookie director Dan Trachtenberg demonstrating some visual flair as he builds moderate tension within the confined space. While preying on common fears, the screenplay adds some clever details and intermittent twists to keep things interesting.

Still, the payoff for 10 Cloverfield Lane can’t match the build-up, and it leaves too many unanswered questions along the way.

Rated PG-13, 103 minutes.