10 Apocalypse Horror Movies That Don't Involve Zombies
2. 10 Cloverfield Lane
The spiritual sequel to 2008’s Cloverfield, 10 Cloverfield Lane thankfully dismisses the ever-nauseating shaky cam, but instead provides a sickening look at taking advantage of the vulnerable during inescapable circumstances. After a car accident, Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Michelle wakes in a concrete bunker, leg broken and chained to the wall, only to be told by her captor-and-or-rescuer that there has been some kind of alien invasion, it is unsafe to leave, and everyone outside is likely dead. Yikes!
The film plays with themes of truth and mistrust, as during the opening minutes both the viewer and Michelle are unsure if this proposed invasion is real, or if a lunatic has simply kidnapped her. While the apocalypse does turn out to be legit in a typical Cloverfield monster fashion, the dynamics between the three individuals trapped in the bunker, two of whom are injured, quickly become volatile.
Faced with the impossible choice between which is the greater danger: the unknown outside, or the known inside, the characters’ interactions and plan to escape provide far more tension and horror than the late-entry alien lifeforms. Turns out it's really your fellow humans taking advantage of you that you should be scared of.