A modern monster movie for a modern audience.

Rating: 8/10 (28 April 2009)

During a going away party, a group of young New Yorkers find themselves shook up by earthquakes, tumbling buildings, fire and ash and one big bad mean monster. Travelling across town during an evacuation proves to be a difficult task, as they attempt to save a friend while the military is busy pushing everyone off the island in an attempt to cut their losses and destroy a monster that is bound and determined to level the city. Thankfully the group has a video camera in hand, and what "Cloverfield" presents itself to be is exactly what the disaster looks like through the eyes of innocent bystanders. Nothing more, nothing less.
Think "Godzilla" through the eyes of "The Blair Witch Project." What the makers of "Cloverfield" were going for was an American version of the infamous Japanese monster and to that end, they succeeded. Through the eye of a single camera, all the necessary tension and chaos is captured in a realistic manner. Forget the fact that the CGI on the monster is, well, unconvincing. In line with another like-minded movie – "The Mist" – the dodgy effects are redeemed by solid storytelling, tight pacing and shocking visuals. Lord knows, Hollywood loved destroying major cities on film in the past, and in a post 9/11 world, seeing buildings crumble and fire-balls raining down on the streets of New York City is all the more shocking. There's nothing overly glossy about "Cloverfield," which is a testament to its genius. If you can believe that a creature can actually exist that is capable of causing as much damage as a tsunami, then you'll believe "Cloverfield" to be a certified Monster-Movie classic.