Who cares where it came from; it's big, ugly and mean, and that's all that matters.

Rating: 8/10 (29 September 2009)

The impressive teaser trailers for Cloverfield revealed some stunning footage of the destruction of New York, but refused to reveal the film's title, creating much conjecture and discussion about the true nature of the project amongst film fans. Ironically, it was this well orchestrated hype that made me give this one a miss at the cinema, for I had fallen for this kind of marketing ploy before and wasn't about to be duped again. It's a shame, because for once, the film lives up to the hype and I would have dearly loved to have seen this in all of its big budget, blockbuster glory on the silver screen.
Written by J.J. Abrams, the man who created compulsive but confusing TV series Lost, Cloverfield has been described as The Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla, a summary that proves to be very accurate: utilising hand-held POV camera-work (video footage supposedly shot by one of the characters) to achieve a sense of naturalistic realism, the film follows several 20-something New Yorkers as they try and escape from Manhattan after it is attacked by a huge and very destructive monster.
Director Matt Reeves imagery is deliberately reminiscent of footage taken during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and instantly brings to mind the horror of that unforgettable event; this connection with something so real and terrible makes Cloverfield all the more harrowing. Add to this Abram's well constructed script featuring credible and occasionally witty dialogue (my favourite lines: What was that? I don't know... something else, also terrible), an impossibly good looking but largely unknown cast who all give very plausible performances, and superb special effects that merge seamlessly into the live action, and the result is a surprisingly enjoyable experience from start to depressing finish (like REC, Cannibal Holocaust, and The Blair Witch Project, which also used the documentary style to great effect, Cloverfield ends on an extremely downbeat note).