85 Minutes
Written by: Matt Reeves
Directed by: Drew Goddard
Staring: Lizzie Caplan, Jessica Lewis, T.J. Miller, Jason Vogel, Odette Yustman, and Michael Stahl-David
Ocean is big, dude. All I’m saying is a couple of years ago, they found a fish in Madagascar that they thought been extinct for centuries. -Hud
Review:
Cloverfield was a monster movie like one you’ve never seen before. The entire film is shot from a first person camera and the entire feel of the movie retains that personal affect. The movie begins with a man video taping central park at 6:42 a.m. from the apartment of his girlfriends father. He claims it’s going to be a good day. There is interchange between the couple that suggests an obvious affection and then the camera is shut off. The next shot brings us to a new couple preparing for a going away party of sorts, and soon it becomes clear that they are taping over the tape that had previously recorded the couple and their day at Coney Island. The next twenty minutes or so are spent developing and establishing relationships between the people when suddenly the entire building shakes. After a mysterious news bulletin, it’s obvious that the quake is not local to them, but all of Manhattan. In a panic people crowd the streets in a fury when an all too familiar cloud of smoke floods the streets followed the head of the Statue Of Liberty. When more debris begins to come people seek shelter until it’s seems to pass, and run outside to see what has happened to their beloved city. The rest of the movie after this is followed by one beat after another that builds on the previous event, maximizing the amount of suspense and intensity of each individual event.
But was Cloverfield successful in utilizing this one shot camera trick? Did the special effects work and 
was the risk worth taking? There were inevitably some problems, but on a whole Cloverfield exceeded all expectations. To begin with, the first person camera shot works. It connects the viewer that much easier with the actors onscreen. There is a sense you are a part of what’s going on. The special effects shots were done so well, it would seem the creature did in fact exist and had destroyed all of Manhattan. One specific scene stood out and that was when the camera switched to night vision in the subway. It was the most genius and bone chilling use of the camera throughout the entirety of the film. The creative way the directer managed to convey his message without violating the camera was brilliant! And the sound was extraordinary, the most frightening and alive sounds heard on screen since LOTR.(Lord of the Rings) On a downside, some people did experience motion sickness during the film, and understandably so, but that was a risk the filmmakers knew they were taking.
The next interesting aspect of Cloverfield had to do with some of the homages it paid to particular science fiction and horror films. Obviously, it used The Blair Witches camera idea and multiplied it to the tenth power, but it also showed some likenesses to Alien and Aliens. The parasite type creatures that fall off the monster move just like the parasites that latch onto the humans faces from Aliens. While they visually resemble giant spiders more, the movement and even the sound was a perfect copy. Also, the girl who is bitten, and what precludes the bite also shadows Aliens.
Some of the problems involved the obvious mediocre acting. Most of the time everyone is fine, but occasionally it is distractingly bad, like when the girlfriend hardly shows a reaction to the fact that her boyfriend has just died. While the main reason Rob runs back for his girlfriend sells, but the rest of them following him just doesn’t make much sense. While they may still be intoxicated, it just isn’t reasonable for them to risk everything to go back.
Just an observation here, but since when does New York have a giant bulls-eye on it for filmmaking destruction? Specifically Manhattan? It seems to be the perfect playground for Giant Apes, zombies, monsters and all other atrocities that attack our world. New York is without a doubt the brightest beacon of our freedom and our country, but surely another major city could share the same kind of attention! Take out Philly, Boston or Detroit!
Cloverfield turned out to be an immaculate display of innovative thinking that turned a simple monster movie into a mysterious roller coaster ride. The intense build up of suspense to the very last minute of tape, that coincidentally ended at 6:42 a.m. in Central Park bringing the story full circle, was the best kind of fun scared experience a person can have at the theatre. Cloverfield may not be for everyone, but it won me over.
No offensive, Heather, but I was unimpressed with Cloverfield. I guess because the hype with deafening when the movie was released that when I saw it on DVD, I thought was amateurish. I love Lizzy Caplan. She is my girl. I had to question her participation in this movie.
I don’t think it was a movie for everybody, but I personally really appreciated what it attempted to do, and taking a step back from the overindulgence of effects these days was a breath of fresh air, especially when we did get the effects overload, it was appreciated.
WHAT???!!! 4 stars!!!
Kai B. Parker recently posted..THE HAPPY 101 AWARD
One of the few movies that actually somewhat scared me. Not really in terms of “Oh shit, I won’t be able to fall asleep tonight” but in the way of “what would I do in the same situation”
Castor recently posted..
I still don’t know if I want to, or if I want to see this. I loved Quarantine while every one else hated it, so I think like many of these cam recorded films.
Give it a chance, it’ll be worth your time, I assure you.
Quick question, have you watched (REC)? Just would like to get another comparison between the two movies. I loved (REC), so I’m hesitant to watch the American remake.
Nope, I sure haven’t,but I’ve had it highly recommended.
One of my favorite movies from the 2000′s. I’m crossing my fingers for sequels, it’s about time America got its own monster again.
I’m with you Jon. I’d actually like to see what happened after but the mystery behind it all still drives me bonkers! And I love it.
Damn, I need to see this again.
I do too. Posting this and all this discussion is reminding me how badly I do actually need to see it.
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!
Did you catch the monster falling from the sky in the background at the end… er… beginning… beginning footage shown at the end?
This is also the greatest trailer ever… I know it didn’t make your list but it’s making mine!
PS… People who get motion sick because of films like this and anything Greengrass shoots should just stab their eyeballs with pencils and stop watching films altogether… I understand it can be jarring but quit complaining… the films are still AWESOME!!!
Nope I didn’t. I guess I’ll have to watch it again.
It was a great trailer. Not going to argue there.
And frankly I get annoyed to the complaining about that stuff as well, the shaky cam and whatnot. It doesn’t always work, but the intention behind does add to the experience.
Watch the scene at the end, after they blow up [spoiler alert]… it cuts back to the older footage and they’re on the Ferris Wheel… in the distance, you will see something fall from the sky and land in the ocean. I missed it the first time and went back and it was AWESOME!!!
Oh gosh. I really do need to see it again.
Yup! That just happened.
Kai B. Parker recently posted..THE HAPPY 101 AWARD
Oh, and Lizzy Caplan is hot!
Yes, oh yes, she is.
Spot on review there, I thought this film was great – much better than the low bar I’d set it. Watched it with 5.1 surround sound on and the full effect is amazing. Every speaker is churning out scuttles, scratches screaming and perilous building noises! I guess there was a MASSIVE hype when it was released but I just sat down expecting a high-budget, no-heart flick.
Great film.
http://paragraphfilmreviews.com/2009/10/13/cloverfield/
I was so excited to see it via the whole mystery behind it, and while I hoped I didn’t think it would live up to my expectations and it did! And even with the hype and backlash, I still loved it afterwards and highly recommend it today.
While this movie was just okay watching it at home, it is right up there with 300 and LoTR as one of my favorite theatrical experiences of the past decade.
Gotta agree with you there. I have less DVD motivation for it, but it was incredible in the theater.
One of the best movie experience in “recent” memory, it had such a great atmosphere I was still being a bit creeped out thinking about the monster days afterward. A sign of a good movie! The characters themselves were a bit lame but I sort of tuned that out and focus on the first-person experience. Excellent review Heather
Thanks Castor. I know what you mean about it lingering the next day. I’ll always note a great movie going experience by the after effects. Sometimes those aftershocks are more powerful than anything. Just an awesome movie.
I really really liked this movie! I wasn’t expecting it to be that good. At the time I didn’t know who J.J. Abrams was (yes, I was living in a hole in the ground void of TV) but damn this was impressive. Funny that, similar to the story, I too had a friend named Rob who was leaving for Japan right about the time this movie came out.
Also I love the idea that the monster is not necessarily a “destructive just for the hell of it” monster, but a baby looking for it’s mother. Great concept and think of how big the parents must be:P
Like a giant RANCOR! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I have a love/hate relationship with these movies. Cloverfield falls into the latter. I saw [Rec] and Cloverfield at around the same time even though they weren’t released remotely near to each other. [Rec] worked for me – it was well made, good premise, well executed, scary. Crucially, it felt authentic. That’s what made Blair Witch so great too.
Cloverfield was made using a digital handheld camera but felt like a £100m blockbuster! The camera found the action at just the right time, the shots were perfectly choreographed, the acting hammy, and the special effects were almost too good. Great trailer, bad film.
Awesome trailer, and I have the feeling I may not have loved the film as much if my first viewing hadn’t been a theater experience.
I need to see Rec. This is getting embarassing.
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