Cloverfield Review

If Hollywood can be relied upon to produce anything it’s a disaster movie, and despite months of internet hype behind Cloverfield it was difficult to see how this offering would differ. Nevertheless, from the start things were unlike past attempts. Filmed from the perspective of Hudson Platt (T. J Miller), Cloverfield depicts the devastation caused by the untimely arrival of a giant monster in Manhattan. The reasons for the creature’s arrival are unclear, and it’s this fact, coupled with the Blair Witch-esque camera angles that give Cloverfield a sense of realness that it’s previous competitors have missed. Director Matt Reeves decided not to go with a star studded cast but instead opted for the lower-budget fresh talent of Lizzy Caplan and Michael Stahl David, something that he surely does not regret because both deliver solid performances.

Déjà vu is evoked at certain times (Godzilla anyone?), but nevertheless Cloverfield brings a certain intelligence that previous attacks on New York City have lacked. What is particularly striking about the film is the sense that you are part of what goes on, being embroiled in the chaos and dizziness seems to bring on a real sense of nausea. Add the clever juxtaposition of a past and present relationship by means of a video camcorder, and you’ve possibly pushed this genre to the limit of what it can achieve. Critics and commentators have drawn parallels between the unknown monster and the terrorist threat that New York faces but this sort of conclusion gives the movie a facet that it doesn’t possess. Instead it’s better to view Cloverfield as what it actually is, namely a cracking Saturday night at the cinema. So not quite a modern classic but well worth a watch.

By Lee Crouch