Found Footage Monster Bash

Rating: 7/10 (5 January 2019)

The thing with found footage films is that I tend to equate them with low budget attempts to break into the film and television industry - like with films such as The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity (though I'm not all that sure how well such directors go after that initial attempt - as far as I can see Hollywood is still very much a closed shop union town). This actually isn't the case with Cloverfield, since it actually appears to be a big budget monster movie (if $25 mill can be considered big budget), yet done in a way that happens to be a found footage film.
I guess such a style does add an extra dimension to what is going on. Basically we are watching events unfold from the point of view of a small number of characters, and particularly we really only know what they know. The film starts of, well, sort of strangely because we have the main character Rob, and this girl Jesse, as they go on a day trip of Coney Island. However, it turns out that somebody recorded over this for a going away party for Rob. Basically, he has just scored a job in Japan. There are a few other things going on, but a sudden shaking brings the party to an end, and then an explosion in the harbour brings about a new danger - a monster.
The rest of the film is them basically attempting to escape New York City - sort of. The Brooklyn Bridge is destroyed by the monster, and then Rob learns that Jessie is still trapped inside the city, so they decide to go and rescue her, much to the displeasure of the military. Another interesting thing is that this monster is also carrying parasites, which start to fall off it resulting in more nasties running around the city.
I guess the thing about this film is that it sort of gives a new dimension to the found footage genre, and sort of goes further in it being somewhat more professional (that is with a professional studio behind it as opposed to a couple of people attempting to break into the scene). Another thing is that this does suggest the modern world's propensity in basically recording everything, but then again I suspect that this has more to do with the price of technology not only coming down, but also getting a lot smaller.
This film, well, it isn't too bad. At first I was hesitant in watching it because, well, I really don't like found footage. Sure, it was a new direction back in the late 90s, but to me it is still very much in the realm of experimental, and honestly, I really hope it doesn't go too mainstream. In a sense, it is one of those genres that really should be used sparingly, though I am sort of wandering when somebody is doing to do this using a simply moble phone camera?
As for the film, well, it is basically your typical monster movie, though making it found footage certainly adds a different dimension to it. Further, by having the main characters as simply ordinary people means that there is a lot of mystery surrounding what the monster is or where it came from. Sure, there are hints as to its origins, but nothing is ever said about it outright. In a way I thought the film was good, and somewhat enjoyable, but I would be hesitant in saying that it was great.