First look–Is J.J. Abrams’ next Cloverfield his take on the Shyamalan thriller?

J.J. Abrams has managed to monopolize entertainment news for months now because of his directing gig on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Now there is this very strange conversation going on about the first trailer out of the gates for J.J. Abrams’ next release, 10 Cloverfield Lane. Is it a sequel to his 2008 surprise sci-fi horror hit Cloverfield? Is it part of an anthology? Does it matter? Abrams is cagey as usual in responding. What if the title itself is the sleight of hand and the surprise is completely different?

Abrams seems to be set on making one of every possible major genre film type. With Cloverfield Abrams made his Godzilla-monster movie. He’s made his Star Trek, Mission Impossible and Star Wars interpretations. In Super 8 he made his Spielberg coming of age picture. He’s making his cyborg movie with his Westworld series. He’s done spies (Alias), rom com (Felicity), and survival (Lost) series.

But this first trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane looks like a different type of creepy thriller. Maybe a bit of The Happening, The Village, Signs, or The Lady in Water? Those special creepy sci-fi/horror flicks that don’t fit neatly into a sub-genre that before we thought only M. Night Shyamalan had cornered the market on?