S10 Review's 'Cloverfield' (2007)

Rating: 8/10 (18 January 2008)

Its 1-18-08. The virally advertised monster simply known as 'Clover' has finally been loosed upon the cinema screens. Good old fashioned monster stomping has joined the 21st century.
Suckered into taping testimonials, Hud (T.J. Miller) blinders his way around a party interviewing attendees of Rob's (Michael Stahl-David) farewell party before he leaves for his new Vice-President Job in Japan tomorrow. Just as the personal drama reaches its crescendo the fun begins. A loud boom shakes the Manhattan apartment like an earthquake. As people make their way to the streets and roofs they are witness to a building exploding barely in the distance. Debris rains down from the heavens and with more explosions and panic the shocked crowds see Lady Liberty's head skittering down the avenue. Through the smoke and haze, shaky hand-held camera and news reports we learn that out of the Atlantic has come a monster and those unlucky enough to to be caught on the island maybe in for a war the likes no ones has seen.
First up if the shaky camera-work of 'The Blair Witch Project' made you want to hurl than this one won't be for you. Once the monster action begins it gets really shaky and hectic at times. The characters of the film in the end are irrelevant I mean after all what we want is destruction right? But they do manage to create some decent characters in the first 25 minuted before the maelstrom. They even manage to generate sympathy for their plight, a key ingredient for a disaster flick. Script-wise you can't really say much. Due to its nature most of the dialogue was probably improvised and much the same can probably said for the direction. Told with a hand-held camera 'Cloverfield' adds the 'Blair Witch' element to a typical 'Godzilla' style romp. It works too. The final hour has plenty tension and suspense and quite a few excellent setpieces. The sound design is phenomenal. All the gunplay and bass grop you smack dab into the action. The creature {which I won't spoil for you) is nicely done and you wisely see only bits and pieces of it until the end. Let's just say that it doesn't stray too far from your typical city stomping monsters, ias a matter of fact fans of classic monster flicks like the Harryhausen films and 'Godzilla' will notice all sorts of familiar parts. The CGI worked well too.
In the end I had a grand old time. Monster movie fans should have a blast provided the camera work isn't a problem. It is definitely played for terror and an interesting discussion may be had in the post 9/11 world. You can debate it to dust but 10 years ago an Americanized 'Godzilla' put the smackdown on New York City and hardly was not half as effective. 4/5