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Saturday, March 29, 2008

Cloverfield

Cloverfield
2007 -- Rated R
Director: Matt Reeves
Michael Stahl-David, Jessica Lucas


    Cloverfield, the monster flick from J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias), is an intensely crafted work of art that succeeds on every level of keeping you on edge and tense. Filmed entirely from the point of view of a hand held video camera (a la 1999's Blair Witch Project), Cloverfield begins with filming a going away party for Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David - The Black Donnellys) at his New York City apartment when a sudden violent shaking of the building and subsequent blackout sends everyone to the roof top to see what's going on. From there the mayhem ensues and the camera continues to roll as Hud (T.J. Miller) leaves the camera on throughout their frightening night.
    The creature that has suddenly appeared in New York, lays waste to the big city in horrible fashion, knocking buildings over, beheading the Statue of Liberty, destroying the Brooklyn Bridge and on and on. The monster is not seen clearly through all of this, though it's size is definitely on an astronomical scale. Not until the very end do we get a good look at the behemoth and then not in its entirety due to its size.
    The one downfall of Cloverfield is that the filming style can become annoying at times and can cause you to feel nauseous. Even with a cast of unknowns it is largely due to the style of filming that this movie succeeds. You "feel" the tension, the anxiety and the fear as the creature and its smaller "offspring" devastate and devour.