There's been talk of a Misery remake - a terrible idea that must never come to hideous fruition - however, 10 Cloverfield Lane quietly rips off the horror classic (written by Stephen King and brought to life by a Rob Reiner during his epic winning streak that spanned Spinal Tap to A Few Good Men) in a way that won't besmirch the good name of its inspiration.

It's nice to see a relatively patient, claustrophobic thriller with a powerful central performance. Goodman's imposing frame and trademark heavy breathing are put to rare, terrifying use. Like Annie Wilkes, you never know whether he's going to be nasty or nice this time...

Where it falls short of its muse is when it panders to the short attention span of modern audiences - rushing through and adding 'stuff' when it would be more effective to really sit patiently and breathe and find more tiny details. It works well enough, though, and the neat mystery of what the hell is outside that door is really effective.

Shame then, that the film can't help itself and crowbars in an action scene that thoroughly rips off War Of The Worlds and deflates much of the suspense and awe that we feel when Michelle finally escapes. I can almost forgive it because the film does try to give her a journey from someone who stands by and watches people get bullied, to someone prepared to die to do the right thing. It kinda works.

The pluses easily outweigh the minuses, though, and I recommend this film. 4/5.