SampleReview

QUICK TAKE:
Suspense/Thriller: A woman must figure out whether a survivalist has kidnapped her in his underground bunker, of if he's truly saved her from an apocalyptic event in the outside world.

PLOT:
Michelle (MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD) is a young woman who lives somewhere in the southern Gulf states and is fleeing her engagement to her boyfriend. As talk of widespread power outages dominates the radio news as she drives along, a truck suddenly clips her vehicle, sending her into a bad crash.

When she comes to, she finds herself banged up and cuffed to a pipe atop a mattress in a cinderblock room with no windows. Enter Howard (JOHN GOODMAN), a large man who states he's saved her from a calamity in the outside world where he believes a nuclear or chemical strike -- or possibly maybe even an extraterrestrial invasion -- has left everyone dead.

Michelle initially doesn't believe that and is certain she's been abducted, especially after meeting Emmett (JOHN GALLAGHER JR.), also there in that underground, survivalist bunker and likewise submissive to Howard and his strict rules. But Emmett eventually tells Michelle that he fought his way into that bunker -- that he earlier helped Howard build -- after seeing a bright flash of light he couldn't explain, but made him believe the worst had occurred.

From that point on, Michelle tries to figure out what's going on, as clues and discoveries mean that either explanation -- that Howard did abduct her or that the end of the world has occurred above ground -- is plausible.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?:
It's a good bet many teens will be interested, especially if they liked the 2008 film "Cloverfield."

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13:
For thematic material including frightening sequences of threat with some violence, and brief language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD plays a young woman who's left her boyfriend, gets into a car accident, and wakes up to find herself chained to a bed by Howard in his underground bunker. From that point on, she must figure out what's really happened (if Howard saved her from a calamity outside as he claims, or if he's abducted her and is lying) and how to escape. She uses brief strong profanity, briefly drinks, and turns violent as needed to protect herself.
JOHN GOODMAN plays a man who appears to be a survivalist and one who claims he's rescued Michelle from the horrors of the outside world. But he has an easily damaged ego when he feels she or Emmett hasn't followed his rules or have otherwise disrespected him in some other way. He uses some brief profanity, briefly drinks, has violent outbursts, kills a person, and is suggested to have killed at least one other person in the past.
JOHN GALLAGHER JR. plays another man in the bunker with them who initially appears to be another possible abductee, but then admits he helped Howard build the bunker and fought his way in when he thought something horrible was happening in the outside world. He admits to having regrets of never having left his comfort zone and taking any chances in his life. He helps Michelle plot a way for them to escape, even if they don't know what they might be getting themselves into.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
Here's a brief summary of the content found in this suspense/thriller flick that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while a few other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. There's no sexual content, but a woman shows a bit of cleavage in a few scenes, is briefly seen in her panties in one, and a magazine photo shows a woman in a bra top.

SPOILER ALERT: Violence consists of a person shooting another person dead; a large craft crashing and exploding; a man falling into acid spilled from an overturned barrel and then having a shelving unit pushed down on him, a woman bashing a bottle into a man's face; and a car crash.

Some of that has fairly bloody/gory results, and those scenes, moments of peril, and the overall nebulous aura of the story and what's really occurring could be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to viewers. Bad attitudes are present, as is potentially imitative behavior. Some tense family material is present, as are various thematic elements/topics to talk about. Some brief drinking of vodka and beer occurs, a bottle of liquor is used for another purpose, and a scene from another movie briefly shows a person with what appears to be a cigarette in their mouth.

Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's fast camera movement in various directions as Michelle hurriedly packs in the opening scene. There's also some bouncy camera movement as she's next seen driving. Late in the film, there's some very bouncy camerawork as Michelle runs.