Cloverfield - 2008

Paramount Pictures, Bad Robot

Directed by Matt Reeves

Cast:

• Marlena Diamond – Lizzy Caplan
• Lily Ford – Jessica Lucas
• Hudson 'Hud” Platt – T. J. Miller
• Rob Hawkins – Michael Stahl-David
• Jason Hawkins – Mike Vogel
• Beth McIntyre – Odette Annabele

Story: Shot from the perspective of a personal video camera, we follow five young adults through a night of sheer horror. Rob Hawkins, the older brother of Jason, is leaving tomorrow for Japan for his job, and his friends decide to throw him a going away party. We see moments leading up to the party, as well as some personal footage (they borrowed Rob's camera to shoot the memento video and forgot to change the tape) between Beth and Rob. While the party is in full swing, Beth shows up with another guy, and Rob and her argue, some of it on tape. Beth and her friend leave the party, and Rob is off sulking when an explosion rocks the building and the power flickers on and off. The guests quickly leave the party and go out into the street to see what is happening, when the head of the Statue of Liberty comes sailing through the air and lands in the street. They quickly learn the Army is battling a creature of unknown origin in the streets of Manhattan, and trying to evacuate civilians. Rob, Hud, and Lily head out to find Beth, who is injured and in her apartment. Along the way they discover Marlena, and together the four try to rescue Beth and make it to the evacuation area before the Army obliterates Manhattan.

Review: An interesting take on the horror genre, Cloverfield was not my first “recovered footage” film. I have to admit, once I got through the first 20 minutes of the film, it moved pretty well. The dialogue was interesting and the actors played their parts well. Since the entire film is comprised of “recovered classified footage”, the film is not of the quality you would expect from a big budget production. But the story is both plausible (except for the creature, which is never fully identified) and real. How would you react to that level of chaos and panic? This is an interesting character study which looks for the best in the participants, who are willing to sacrifice their lives to save another. While certainly not a huge collectible for the mainstream, I think this will be a favorite of lovers of the Blair Witch Project and Apollo 18. Rated PG-13 for terror, violence and disturbing images, I think this is one time you should heed the warning and watch this one after the little ones are asleep.