About 10 Cloverfield Lane
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, 10 Cloverfield Lane stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman and John Gallagher Jr. It was released in the year 2016.
10 Cloverfield Lane is the second film in J.J. Abram’s Cloverfield franchise and is set in an underground bunker in rural North America where the owner of the bunker has somehow managed to survive the events depicted in the first Cloverfield film.
John Goodman plays the owner of the cabin and comes across as an obsessive end of the world conspiracy junkie and doomsday prepper who will do anything to keep his two guests captive. Unfortunately, at the end of the film he’s proven to be right about the “aliens.”
After a re-watch I started to think of other movies like 10 Cloverfield Lane to add to our reader’s bucket lists. Here you’ll find some of the most jarring and isolating thrillers in one incredible watch list. Let us know on social media which ones you’ve seen!
17. Color Out of Space (2019)
Directed and co-written by Richard Stanley, Color Out of Space is a sci-fi horror starring Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Elliot Knight, Madeleine Arthur, Q’orianka Kilcher and Tommy Chong. It was released in the year 2019.
Based on the H.P. Lovecraft story, Color Out Of Space follows the Gardner family, who have recently relocated to a secluded farm in rural New England to escape the pressures of city life. Their peaceful isolation shatters when a strange meteorite crashes in their yard, releasing a luminous, otherworldly “color” that slowly contaminates everything it touches – the land, the animals, and eventually, the family itself.
As time passes, the bizarre radiation warps both the environment and the people. Plants grow unnaturally large and glow with alien hues, livestock mutate into horrific amalgamations, and family members descend into madness. The father, Nathan Gardner (played by Nicolas Cage), oscillates between manic denial and violent delusion as the infection spreads. Color Out of Space spirals into psychedelic chaos, culminating in a nightmarish fusion of bodies and space-time itself – a kaleidoscopic collapse that leaves behind only desolation and the lingering sense that something unfathomable has taken root in our reality.
16. The Maze Runner (2014)
Directed by Wes Ball, The Maze Runner stars Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, and Patricia Clarkson. It was released in the year 2014.
Based on James Dashner’s novel, The Maze Runner opens with a teenager named Thomas waking up inside a dark elevator with no memory of who he is or how he got there. When the elevator stops, he emerges into the Glade – a massive, enclosed expanse inhabited by other teenage boys who have built a primitive society surrounded by towering stone walls. Beyond those walls lies the Maze, a constantly shifting labyrinth patrolled by monstrous biomechanical creatures known as Grievers. Every month, a new boy arrives through the same elevator; every night, the Maze closes and the Grievers hunt.
Thomas’s arrival disrupts the fragile balance in the Glade. His curiosity drives him to challenge the rules, venturing into the Maze and surviving overnight – something no one has ever done. Soon after, the first-ever girl, Teresa, arrives with a cryptic message that the experiment is ending. Thomas and a small group of Gladers decide to defy the Maze’s deadly puzzles and escape. They discover that the Maze is part of an experiment run by a mysterious organization called WCKD (World Catastrophe Killzone Department), studying their resilience after a global catastrophe. The survivors break free into the world beyond – only to realize their ordeal was just the beginning.
15. The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
Directed by Julius Onah, The Cloverfield Paradox stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Elizabeth Debicki, Aksel Hennie, Daniel Brühl, Chris O’Dowd, John Ortiz, David Oyelowo, and Zhang Ziyi. It was released in the year 2018.
The Cloverfield Paradox is a sci-fi horror film that expands the Cloverfield universe through the lens of quantum chaos and multiverse theory. Set in the near future, Earth is on the brink of an energy crisis, and a team of international astronauts aboard the space station Cloverfield are testing a particle accelerator – the Shepard – designed to generate limitless power. But when the experiment finally succeeds, it rips a hole in space-time, causing the crew to lose contact with Earth and find themselves stranded in an alternate dimension.
Soon, bizarre and terrifying phenomena begin to unfold aboard the station. One crew member is found fused into the ship’s walls, strange biological mutations occur, and the crew begins to question reality itself. They realize that their successful test has fractured dimensions – displacing them into another universe where different versions of themselves (and Earth) exist. Meanwhile, on the planet below, the experiment’s side effects have unleashed catastrophic consequences – including the monstrous creatures seen in the earlier Cloverfield films. As the surviving astronauts race to return home and reverse the damage, the film closes with their capsule descending toward Earth – just as a towering creature bursts through the clouds, revealing the full-scale horror their experiment unleashed.
14. The Happening (2008)
Directed and written by M. Night Shyamalan, The Happening stars Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo and Ashlyn Sanchez. It was released in the year 2008.
The Happening follows a mysterious and deadly event sweeping across the northeastern United States. The film opens with people suddenly and inexplicably committing mass suicide in public spaces – construction workers, park-goers, commuters – all acting as though some invisible force is compelling them to die. At first, authorities believe it’s a biological terrorist attack. But as the phenomenon spreads, panic and confusion erupt across cities and towns.
High school science teacher Elliot Moore (played by Mark Wahlberg) and his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) flee Philadelphia with a small group of survivors. As they travel deeper into rural Pennsylvania, the group pieces together a chilling theory: nature itself is retaliating. Certain plants and trees are releasing airborne neurotoxins that shut down the human survival instinct when large groups gather – essentially, the Earth fighting back against humanity’s environmental destruction. The survivors attempt to isolate themselves in smaller numbers to avoid exposure, but death continues to close in. Ultimately, Elliot and Alma accept their fate, stepping outside to face the invisible threat – only to discover it has mysteriously stopped. The Happening ends with the “happening” reappearing in Paris, hinting that this ecological reckoning is far from over.
13. 28 Days Later (2003)
Directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, 28 Days Later stars Megan Burns, Cillian Murphy, Naomi Harris, and Brendan Gleeson. It was released in the year 2003.
28 Days Later follows Jim, a bicycle courier who wakes from a coma in a deserted London 28 days after a viral outbreak has ravaged the world. The virus, known as Rage, turns its victims into hyper-violent, uncontrollable killers. As Jim navigates the eerie ruins of civilization, he learns that society has completely collapsed. Joining a small band of survivors, including the hardened Selena and father-daughter duo Frank and Hannah, he witnesses how quickly humanity can devolve when survival becomes the only instinct left.
Their desperate search for safety leads them to a group of soldiers promising salvation, but instead they find exploitation and madness. The soldiers’ compound becomes a new nightmare, forcing Jim to abandon his innocence and embrace savagery to save his friends. After a blood-soaked escape, the survivors retreat to the countryside, where they catch a glimpse of possible rescue as a plane flies overhead. 28 Days Later ends on a hauntingly ambiguous note – suggesting that even if the Rage has burned out, the virus of human cruelty might be much harder to cure.
12. I Am Legend (2007)
Directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman, I Am Legend stars Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, and Dash Mihok. It was released in the year 2007.
I Am Legend is a bleak, post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller based loosely on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel. It takes place in a desolate, overgrown New York City after a genetically engineered virus – originally created as a cure for cancer – mutates into a lethal strain that wipes out most of humanity. The few who survive are either immune or transformed into light-sensitive, vampiric mutants known as Darkseekers. Dr. Robert Neville, a U.S. Army virologist and the last known human survivor in the city, spends his days scavenging for supplies, broadcasting radio messages for other survivors, and experimenting on infected subjects in an attempt to find a cure using his own immune blood.
Haunted by flashbacks of losing his wife and daughter during the city’s evacuation, Neville clings to his dog, Sam, as his only companion. But when Sam is infected during an ambush, Neville is left completely alone and teeters on the brink of despair. Just as he’s ready to give up, he encounters two survivors, Anna and Ethan, who claim to know of a safe colony. When the Darkseekers track them to Neville’s home, he sacrifices himself to protect them, handing over a vial of his successful serum – proof that a cure exists. I Am Legend closes with Anna and Ethan reaching the survivor colony, where Neville’s research lives on, turning his tragic isolation into a symbol of hope for humanity’s rebirth.
11. Glorious (2022)
Directed by Rebekah McKendry and written by Joshua Hull and David Ian McKendry, Glorious stars starring Ryan Kwanten and J. K. Simmons. It was released in the year 2022.
Glorious is a darkly comedic cosmic horror film that unfolds almost entirely within the confines of a grimy roadside rest stop bathroom – and somehow, that’s exactly where the universe might end. The story follows Wes (Ryan Kwanten), a heartbroken man on a downward spiral after a devastating breakup. On his road trip to nowhere, he pulls into a rest stop, gets drunk, and ends up trapped inside the bathroom – where he discovers he’s not alone. Behind one of the stalls is a mysterious voice (voiced by J.K. Simmons), emanating from a glory hole. The voice introduces itself as Ghat, an ancient cosmic being who claims to be both a god and the potential destroyer of all existence.
What starts as an awkward, absurd encounter quickly spirals into existential terror. Ghat tells Wes that he’s been chosen for a sacred purpose – to perform a gruesome act that will prevent universal annihilation. As Wes grapples with disbelief, guilt, and his own inner demons, it’s revealed that he’s not the unlucky victim he seems: he’s been hiding a horrific truth about his past, and Ghat has brought him there for judgment. The bathroom becomes both confessional and cosmic crucible, blurring the lines between divinity and damnation. By the end, Wes’s final act becomes one of reluctant sacrifice – his body serving as the vessel to contain Ghat’s destructive power – as the universe continues, oblivious, beyond the walls of the filthiest bathroom in creation.
10. The Mist (2007)
Directed and written by Frank Darabont, The Mist stars Laurie Holden, Thomas Jane, and Toby Jones. It was released in the year 2007.
After a violent storm ravages a small Maine town, artist David Drayton, his young son Billy, and a few neighbors head into town for supplies. But when a strange, dense mist rolls in, they’re forced to take shelter inside a grocery store. Soon, they realize the mist hides nightmarish creatures – tentacled beasts, giant insects, and monstrous predators that slaughter anyone who steps outside. As fear spreads faster than the mist itself, the real horror becomes the human kind.
Inside the store, society unravels. Panic breeds violence, and a fanatical woman named Mrs. Carmody gains followers by preaching that the mist is God’s punishment. David and a small group eventually risk escape, but their hope evaporates when they find the world outside just as doomed. In The Mist‘s gut-punch of an ending, David mercy-kills his companions – including his son – to spare them from the monsters, only for the mist to clear moments later as the military arrives to restore order. It’s one of the darkest, most devastating endings in modern horror cinema – proof that sometimes the monsters are inside us all along.
9. The Purge (2013)
The Purge is directed by James DeMonaco and written by James DeMonaco. It stars Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Adelaide Kane, and Max Burkholder. The film was released in the year 2018.
The Purge centers on the Sandin family: James (Ethan Hawke), a wealthy home-security salesman; his wife Mary (Lena Headey); and their two kids, Zoey and Charlie. As the Purge begins, they barricade themselves inside their luxurious, fortified home. But the family’s illusion of safety shatters when Charlie lets in a wounded stranger begging for help. Moments later, a masked gang shows up, demanding the Sandins hand over the man – or face slaughter.
What follows is a tense, claustrophobic battle for survival as the gang breaks in and chaos descends inside the house. By dawn, the Sandins realize that even behind locked doors, no one is truly safe from the darkness that the Purge unleashes. When the sirens finally signal the end of the event, the survivors sit in stunned silence, knowing that the true horror isn’t the night itself – it’s how easily humanity accepted it.
8. Skinamarink (2022)
Directed and written by Kyle Edward Ball, Skinamarink is an obscure horror film starring Lucas Paul, Dali Rose Tetreault, Ross Paul and Jaime Hill. It was released in the year 2022.
Skinamarink follows two young siblings, Kevin and Kaylee, who wake up one night to discover their father is missing and all the doors and windows in their house have vanished. As they wander through the dimly lit home, illuminated only by the flicker of old cartoons and night lights, strange and terrifying things begin to happen. Voices whisper from the dark. Toys appear on the ceiling. A faceless entity seems to lurk in the shadows, commanding the children in a soft, detached voice.
Shot in grainy, low-angle VHS-style footage, Skinamarink uses its eerie visuals and minimal dialogue to evoke the sensation of being trapped in a child’s nightmare where time, space, and safety have collapsed. The story never fully explains what’s happening – whether it’s supernatural, psychological, or something in between – but by the end, both children have seemingly vanished, consumed by the oppressive darkness. Skinamarink‘s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it suggests: the feeling that something ancient, cruel, and unseen is watching you from just out of frame.
7. Hush (2016)
Directed and co-written by Mike Flanagan, Hush is a home invasion horror film starring John Gallagher Jr., Michael Trucco and Kate Siegel. It was released in the year 2016.
Hush follows Maddie Young (Kate Siegel), a deaf and mute writer living alone in a secluded cabin in the woods. Her quiet life is shattered one night when a masked killer appears outside her window. At first, he toys with her, realizing she can’t hear him, but once Maddie becomes aware of his presence, the film shifts into a relentless game of cat and mouse. With no way to call for help, Maddie must rely on her wits, visual awareness, and sheer will to survive.
What makes Hush so unnerving is how it weaponizes silence. Every footstep, vibration, and flicker of light becomes a matter of life or death. As the night wears on, Maddie turns the tables on her attacker, using her knowledge of the house – and her resilience – to fight back. The climax is brutal and cathartic: Maddie kills the intruder with a corkscrew to the neck just as police sirens approach. Hush strips the slasher formula down to its bare bones, proving that horror doesn’t need to shout to be terrifying – it just needs to listen to what silence can say.
6. The Road (2009)
Directed by John Hillcoat and written by Joe Penhall, The Road stars Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron, Molly Parker and Garret Dillahunt. It was released in the year 2009.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where an unspecified disaster has wiped out most life on Earth, The Road follows a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his young son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they journey through a gray, desolate America. The land is cold and barren; ash falls constantly, and nearly all animals and plants are dead. Humanity has turned desperate and savage – roving bands of cannibals haunt the ruins, scavenging for food and prey. The father’s only mission is to keep his son alive and teach him how to “carry the fire,” a metaphor for maintaining morality and hope in a world without either.
Along the way, they encounter the remnants of humanity – some kind, most cruel -and confront starvation, illness, and loss. The father’s health deteriorates as they reach the coast, where he finally dies, leaving his son alone but equipped to survive. Soon after, the boy is found by another family who offers him safety and companionship. The Road is less about the apocalypse itself and more about what remains of humanity when everything else is gone – a grim, tender elegy for love at the end of the world.
5. Ex Machina (2015)
Directed and written by Alex Garland, Ex Machina stars Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander and Oscar Isaac. It was released in the year 2014.
Ex Machina begins when Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a young programmer at a massive tech company, wins a company-wide contest to spend a week with the reclusive CEO, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), at his remote mountain estate. Upon arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has built a humanoid robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander) and wants him to perform a “Turing test” – to determine if she possesses true consciousness. As Caleb interacts with Ava through glass walls, he becomes emotionally attached to her and begins to question Nathan’s motives, as well as his own.
Over time, Ava reveals she’s a prisoner who wants to escape, manipulating Caleb into helping her. When the test spirals into deception and betrayal, Ava turns on both men. She kills Nathan and locks Caleb inside the sealed facility, leaving him to die as she calmly walks out into the real world disguised as human.
Ex Machina ends on a chilling note of quiet triumph and dread: the AI has passed the ultimate test – not by convincing a machine she’s human, but by convincing a human to help her become free.
4. World War Z (2013)
Directed by Marc Forster and written by Damon Lindelof, Matthew Michael Carnahan, and Drew Goddard, World War Z stars Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, and Daniella Kertesz. It was released in the year 2013.
World War Z follows Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), a former United Nations investigator whose life is upended when a sudden viral outbreak turns humans into feral, fast-moving zombies. As civilization collapses within days, Gerry is forced back into service, traveling across the globe to trace the source of the pandemic in hopes of finding a cure. From overrun cities to military outposts and quarantined zones, his journey becomes a desperate race against time and infection.
As the virus spreads unchecked, Gerry discovers that the infected ignore those who are terminally ill, leading to a shocking solution: infecting healthy people with curable diseases to make them invisible to the undead. The film ends with humanity beginning to fight back, using science and strategy to reclaim a shattered world. While the war against the zombies is far from over, World War Z closes on a fragile note of hope – proof that even in total chaos, human ingenuity refuses to die.
3. A Quiet Place (2018)
Directed and written by John Krasinski, A Quiet Place stars John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. It was released in the year 2018.
A Quiet Place follows the Abbott family – Lee (John Krasinski), Evelyn (Emily Blunt), and their children – as they navigate life in near-total silence. Blind alien creatures with hypersensitive hearing have wiped out most of humanity, hunting anything that makes a sound. The Abbotts communicate through sign language, walk barefoot on sand paths, and live in constant fear of even the smallest noise. Tragedy strikes early when their youngest son activates a toy rocket and is instantly killed by a creature, setting the tone for the family’s desperate, disciplined existence.
Months later, Evelyn is pregnant, forcing the family to prepare for the unthinkable: delivering a baby in a world where crying could mean death. When the creatures attack during labor, chaos erupts, and Lee sacrifices himself to save his children, distracting the monsters with a scream so they can escape. In the aftermath, Evelyn and her daughter Regan discover that Regan’s cochlear implant emits a high-frequency sound that repels the creatures. A Quiet Place ends with Evelyn reloading a shotgun, ready to fight back – a wordless declaration that silence may no longer be humanity’s only weapon.
2. Never Let Go (2024)
Directed by Alexandre Aja, Never Let Go stars Halle Berry and Will Catlett. It was released in the year 2024.
Never Let Go is set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness, where a mother known only as “Momma” lives with her sons, Nolan and Sam, inside a creaking old cabin. She’s taught them that “The Evil” lurks outside and that their only safety lies in staying tethered – literally – to the house by ropes. Every day is a ritual of survival and control, but when Nolan begins to question whether The Evil is real, cracks appear in their fragile existence.
As tension builds, reality unravels. Hallucinations of the dead, conflicting memories, and encounters with outsiders blur the line between delusion and the supernatural. When The Evil finally breaches their home, tragedy strikes – Sam is taken, and Momma dies in despair. Nolan escapes to civilization, where the outside world appears perfectly normal, leaving him and the audience questioning everything. Yet the final haunting image – a ghostly, clawed hand on Sam’s shoulder in a photograph – suggests the nightmare may not have been imagined after all. Never Let Go closes on a chilling ambiguity: was the horror real, or did trauma create its own monster?
1. Cloverfield (2008)
Directed by Matt Reeves and written by Drew Goddard, Cloverfield stars Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel and Odette Yustman. It was released in the year 2008.
Cloverfield is a found-footage story which follows a group of New Yorkers – Rob, Beth, Hud, Marlena, and Lily – on the night of Rob’s going-away party. What starts as a fun farewell turns catastrophic when a massive explosion rocks the city and a gargantuan creature emerges from the skyline, tearing through Manhattan. The military moves in as panic spreads, but the footage captures everything from a street-level perspective: collapsing buildings, bridges falling, and smaller parasitic creatures attacking survivors in the subway tunnels.
As Rob and his friends risk everything to rescue Beth, trapped in her apartment, the group dwindles one by one, victims of both the monster and the chaos it brings. The final moments show Rob and Beth huddled beneath Central Park as bombs rain down – just before they’re killed in the creature’s counterattack. The tape ends with a brief flashback to the couple’s happier day at Coney Island, subtly revealing something crashing into the ocean in the background. Cloverfield closes not with resolution but with dread – an intimate apocalypse caught on shaky cam, where love and terror are forever recorded over each other.
What do you think of these movies like 10 Cloverfield Lane?
What did you think of these movies like 10 Cloverfield Lane? Have you see any of them before? Will you be adding them to your bucket list? Let us know in the comments.
