Review: Beware — your nails may not survive '10 Cloverfield'

If you're like me, which is to say easily creeped out by unbearable tension and constant fear, not to mention intense claustrophobia, then I strongly suggest you either bring your own snacks, an old sweatshirt or a good friend's arm to chew on.

[...] this film, directed by Dan Trachtenberg, is not a sequel to the 2008 Abrams-produced "Cloverfield," though it does share a similar vibe, not to mention part of a title — which hints at a franchise (Abrams has mentioned a "bigger plan.")

[...] there's a car crash, shocking in its intensity — and the opening credits haven't even finished yet.

[...] Michelle thinks Howard (Goodman, in all his imposing girth) is up to something bad.

There's that whole chained-to-the-wall thing, plus that huge lock on the heavy metal door of her cell.

An amiable neighbor, Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.), who insists he hurt his arm not trying to escape from Howard but trying to get IN; he supports Howard's story of a catastrophic attack.

Smartly, Trachtenberg and the screenwriters (Josh Campbell, Matt Stuecken, and Damien Chazelle of "Whiplash") find a way to break the tension — ever so briefly — with a bit of humor (watch for a random Santa Claus reference) and a bit of music, too.

10 Cloverfield Lane," a Paramount Pictures release, has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America "for thematic material including frightening sequences of threat with some violence, and brief language.