Cloverfield: Shaky but suspenseful

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2008)

Why do movie monsters always seem to go for cities like New York with huge skyscrapers? King Kong, Godzilla and now the monster from Cloverfield. The plot revolves around four people at a going-away party who witness a huge explosion in the distance. They soon find out that a monster is rampaging through the city, destroying everything in its path.
The film is shot entirely on a camcorder and poses as actual footage filmed by one of the main characters, just like The Blair Witch Project. Cloverfield does this very effectively, although I found myself thinking "why the bloody hell is he still filming" many times. Of course this way of filming leads to the camera shaking A LOT which sounds annoying but it actually helps with the suspense and sometimes hides the monster, adding to the mystery.
The special effects in Cloverfield are fantastic and look realistic. When I first heard about this I didn't think they would be that great due to the way it was filmed but when I saw it I was pretty damn satisfied. The film does a good job of hiding the creature from clear view and I would have preferred it if it stayed that way, but there is a scene near the end where you get a very detailed and close up view of it which kind of took away its mysteriousness.
The cast give very convincing performances which help with the realism of the movie. With the way it was filmed, strong performances were necessary and this cast certainly doesn't disappoint. The main character, Hud, (T.J. Miller) who holds the camera for most of the film, provides a lot of humour throughout.
I found myself getting slightly impatient for things to kick off for the first twenty minutes during which the party is held. I think it just took too long for something interesting to happen such as the monster appearing. Maybe it's just me but I didn't enjoy watching footage in which someone goes around a room filming people. Also, if someone was to walk into that party they would have thought it was a party for the world's top models. Is everyone really that good looking in America? Anyway, Cloverfield is very exciting and the special effects are fantastic. I give it 8/10.