Without a doubt, extraterrestrials have inspired  countless movies. In fact, the premise of extraterrestrial infiltration has created its own cliche: otherworldly beings conquer the world and always leave survivors who end up fighting back. To many, this premise is known and has been seen too many times. However, 10 Cloverfield Lane delves deeper into the world of aliens and creates a different kind of experience than does the typical Sci-Fi Horror film.

10 Cloverfield Lane is the second installment  in the “Cloverfield” movie franchise, which tells stories about different people surviving with an alien invasion. In the first movie, Cloverfield, a group of friends in a major city tried to survive an alien attack. The entire movie was filmed from the characters’ point of view, as they used “found footage” from their video camera that they carried around amidst the chaos.

Unlike the first movie, 10 Cloverfield Lane had a rather unexpected appeal to it—its setting. The majority of the film was set in a bunker in rural Louisiana,  and showed the alien invasion from a radically different perspective, as compared to the first movie. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the movie was based less on  jump scares and running from a monster, and was more of a psychological thriller that made the audience question every move the characters made.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead played Michelle, a girl who was mysteriously taken to the safety bunker built by Howard (played by John Goodman). She is met by Emmet (John Gallagher), who managed to make his way into the bunker when the aliens attacked.

Throughout the movie, the audience is constantly questioning Howard’s true intentions, whether there really is an alien attack, and whether he rescued or kidnapped Michelle. We also see the unveiling of some of the character’s deep secrets as they spend more time in the bunker.

The overall premise was surprising, considering the first movie was based solely on aliens and fighting for survival. However, in this movie, the audience wondered if the only thing to be scared of was Howard and what his real intentions were.

It is understandable that many reviews harshly criticized this movie. After  the success of first movie, people flocked to theatres to see the second installment of the franchise. However, instead of an action-packed blockbuster,  audiences found a slow-moving film, filled with long pauses and intense dialogue, and almost no sight of aliens. In fact, throughout the entire movie, it is unclear whether or not aliens are even invading, or if it’s just Howard playing mind games.

Despite this, it is a movie that one must  watch with an open mind. The cinematography is absolutely incredible, as it really captures emotions and creates psychological suspense  Trachtenberg did a phenomenal job directing scenes that blurred the lines between truth and lies. At one point in the film, it seemed that the main character Michelle was crazy, and that there was going to be a twist that would turn everything upside down. But that wasn’t the case— there was no twist, no amazing ending, and almost no aliens.

Overall, the movie had potential to become  a powerhouse of a psychological alien thriller in the vein of Ridley Scott’s Alien, but unfortunately seemed to move in a straight line, never veering off the beaten path into the realm of groundbreaking cinema.