10 Cloverfield Lane : A prepper discussion

[Source : Epic Times]

On my last a prepper discussion article, Fear the Walking Dead : A prepper discussion, I talked about how Hollywood likes to portray preppers in a bad light. Whether they are considered crazy or evil, there are never any good preppers. 10 Colverfield Lane tries to blur the line between a good person and a bad person, but goes ahead an throws in the new old trope that is; all people who prepare, are bad.

Also, it would seem, they are also bad at preparing.

SPOILERS : You've been warned.

Poor Communication

John Goodman, who I think is an excellent actor, plays Howard Stambler, the prepper. The first glimpse we get of Howard is at a gas station, where the heroine Michelle, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, catches a glimpse of this big scary man in an old pickup truck. Things happen and next thing we know, Michelle is in Howard's bunker.

Howard apparently suffers from social anxiety of some sort. He's not very good at talking to real people and I'm sure that's part of why his character prepares for the end. Because, nothing is better for a hermit, than to be the last person alive on the planet. Because of his inability to clearly explain things, which didn't prevent him from maintaining a career that allowed him to afford a bunker on a farm, he doesn't sit Michelle down to explain what had happened. See, if Howard had simply explained to Michelle what an atmospheric nuclear detonation would look like and why he was driving like a Bat Out Of Hades on a two lane road, then she might have been reasonably grateful for being a prisoner in his bunker. If he then had shown her the dead animals outside and explained other signs, she would might be even more grateful to her savior. At that point, Emmett, played by John Gallagher, Jr., could have explained his story and why he also sought refugee in Howard's bunker, which he helped build.

Yup, that would have taken less than 30 minutes to explain after she regained consciousness. Everything would have been hunky dory at that point. Well, except for Howard being an evil bastard looking for a young woman to pretend to be his daughter.

Not to give any advice to any budding sociopaths waiting for TEOTWAWKI, but trying to explain things to someone might be more helpful than trying to force them to do something without explanation.

The Entry

From the movie poster above, you would think that Howard's bunker is way underground. Well, you would be wrong.

[Source : Comic Book]

We can only piece together what the shape and size of the bunker is. But, we do know that there is a regular door with a doormat on the outside as the entrance to the bunker. There is a secondary door, but once you get through the first one, you would probably be able to get through the second one. I'm not going to guess at how sturdy the door is, but when Michelle climbs up to look out the window, she can clearly see the truck like she was looking out the backdoor of a house. If someone wanted to say....ram the bunker door... it would be fairly easy to do. But, kudos to Howard for providing a landing area on the inside of the first door, so people can stand outside of the elements while they ponder how to get down to the main level.

The Concealment

It isn't like Howard didn't have an option to conceal the bunker. There is a building being used as a barn (and the entry), so why not go full out and conceal the entire entry inside of the barn. At one point, there is an issue when you can hear a car driving over the bunker. This actually doesn't make much sense, but gives a reason for them to go upstairs and solidify that something has happened as the neighbor's face is peeling off.

[Source : tumblr]

Frankly, the better choice would be to conceal the entry underneath the house. Sure, the house was exploded by the aliens in the end, but the bunker would have still been intact and hidden. Most modern bunkers have doors that have hinges built for pushing off heavy objects that would fall on top of them. If Howard was really into this and hadn't built this bunker in young Emmett teenage years...wait.

The Right Design

[Source : phase9]

That's right. Emmett, who was in his 20s, maybe, is responsible for helping Howard build the bunker. The bunker hasn't been around very long at all. So, Howard would have known about better bunker designs than one from 1950s nuclear fear time. Because, you know, that would make Howard like 100 or something. Goodman is old, but come on!

I know that the old half-circle air hanger design is a good design. The Romans made very good use of the arch, I'm not going doubt the soundness of that decision. But, his bunker is not just this arched area. There is a room off to either side and another room on top for the air ventilation. That would mean that the arch strength has been compromised by the holes cut out in the side of it. Howard didn't have to go shop at Rising S Bunkers, but at least he could have checked the web. Granted, he does have more room than a shipping container and it is probably better than that.

Maintenance

Well, except for the air ventilation. Howard has installed an air ventilation system in the area above the bunker. At one point, it breaks down and needs to be changed. So, he sends Michelle up through the vent in order to fix the issue.

[Pause for people to catch up on how poor this story line is.]

[Source : moviegique]

Yes, so either Howard was too worried in leaving Emmett and Michelle down in the lower part of the dungeon while he went up to fix the system or Howard built the system so poorly, that his fat butt could no way possible fix the system if it failed. A system, that as far as we know, had only been running for 2 years as that's the longest term any captive..errr.. resident had been in the bunker. And while Michelle is up there, we find that the place is a mess as Howard never bothered cleaning up the place after he disposed of the last occupant. Clean the place up folks!

Say what?

After some more discovery drama and attempt to get outside, Emmett meets his end at gun point and then Howard dissolves him in a barrel of perchloric acid.

[Source : collider]

Let's rewind. The bunker has an iffy ventilation system and you're going to dissolve someone with the possibility of the acid exploding and causing more harm? Moving on.

There are some good points.

Entertainment

Howard did manage to provide entertainment in his bunker. Not only is there a TV with a bunch of old movies to watch, he has a jukebox and board games. They play the Game of Life so that J. J. Abrams can be ironically funny.

[Source : bloody-disgusting.com ]
Also, Howard has a bunch of old magazines he got for his last female captive and a bunch of Popular Mechanics magazines. This comes in useful as while Emmett, who sleeps in the food racks and Michelle, who resides in an empty room that a normal person would have full of supplies, plot to make an environmental suit to see if the outside is really toxic. The plan is for one of them, Michelle (because the suit fits her), can run and find help, if the air is indeed, not toxic. Not plan for if the air is actually toxic and she is now covered in particulates that Howard has not planned away to get washed off without the affected person walking through the entire bunker. Yes, that already happened at this point in the movie.

Education

The one good thing about Michelle's character is that she doesn't just sit back and claim defeat. She uses her skills as a budding seamstress to create an environmental suit based on information she got from the Popular Mechanics magazine. When she finally manages her escape, by watching Howard and predicting his actions, she is able to leave with some sort of security that she won't die immediately. She does however, manage to blow up Howard's bunker, so there is no turning back. And there really is no turning back as the aliens blow up the farm house and try to capture Michelle via War of the Worlds method, truck and all. A truck, which was probably chosen or kept because of it's age and ability to withstand an EMP (Electromagnetic pulse). I will just assume, since I didn't figure out the age of it. It is definitely pre-1990s. Of course, Michelle also learned a little about Molotov Cocktails and manages to take down the alien craft and escape.

[Source: SciFi 4 Ever]

In the end, the movie was J.J. Abrams entertaining. If you leave half of your brain at the door, you'll be wildly entertained. Seriously, just don't think about the plot holes.

As for learning from this, I think it is a good start for the basics of what you need to prepare. Just ignore the whole kidnapping dysfunctional anti-social thing. Just focus on the thoughts about how would you live an everyday life stuck in a bunker for an unknown amount of time.

Give me your thoughts. If you like this, I will review other movies.

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Let the positive energy sing!

More Power to the Minnows!!