Raw terror in New York

Rating: 8/10 (18 February 2008)

CLOVERFIELD is first of all something unique; it twists a well-known genre and creates something new - and it with 85 minutes of hand-held camera-work from a buddy named Hud as he, his main-dude Rob and two beautiful girls becomes the closest thing we'll get to heroes here. The movie had an enormous amount of hype throughout its marketing, the minimally teaser trailer kept people barely waiting for what's to come; surprisingly it's not about the big secret that makes Cloverfield such an exciting and vital experience, it's the simple and smartly pulled-off invention of it. Never before has a monster-movie been so frightening; terror and chaos isn't filmed by professionals all the time, in this day of age it's just as likely captured by a DV-camera or a phone-camera - and this creates a unsettling realism into the whole experience. Just as the main characters, we in the audience know nothing about why this monster attacks us and why nothing can stop it - the only thing to do is to save your life.
Receiving mixed reviews because of its visuals by always shaking, rolling, running, tumbling and jumping camera-work many reviewers left Cloverfield nauseas. And the political subtexts may be many; but the main thing about Cloverfield is that it's so unique and so incredibly thrilling - a must-see for any cinema fan.