Good found footage monster movie

Rating: 7/10 (3 November 2012)

When Hudson 'Hud' Platt gets roped in to film his friend Rob's going away party in Manhattan he doesn't expect that he will end up documenting the destruction of the city. After about twenty minutes the party is disturbed by what appears to be an earthquake. Wanting to see what has happened they all head to the roof and learn it certainly wasn't an Earthquake; they see buildings collapsing and what appears to be flaming meteorites crashing down into the city. Realising the danger they rush downstairs into the street and are stunning when part of a very familiar monument crashes into the ground in front of them! With the danger clearly extreme they head for the Brooklyn Bridge but it is destroyed as they try to cross. When Rob gets a call from the girl he loves saying she is unable to move in her apartment he decides that he must help save her; his friends go with him and along the way they encounter further dangers.
Having managed to avoid major spoilers I was intrigued to see this film as I remembered all the hype in the run up to its release. The most obvious feature of this film is the way the camera is constantly moving around; this does serve to make it look as if it was really filmed by somebody caught up in the events but it is quietly to cause a degree of motion sickness if watched on a larger screen. The feeling of realism is increased by the use of an unknown, at least to me, cast. The cast did a good job, meaning that for the duration of the film I could believe they were caught up in this terrible situation. The special effects were also pretty good; it helped that we didn't see too much of the creatures till near then end. The DVD case quoted a review that said it was 'truly terrifying' but despite enjoying it as a gripping thriller I didn't find it particularly scary; I certainly didn't find it anywhere near as frightening as that other found footage film 'The Blair Witch Project'. At seventy minutes, excluding credits, this film is very short but this can be justified by the fact that it is meant to be recorded on a single tape this idea is reinforced by occasional gaps in the filming where we see what was on the tape before. Overall I wouldn't call this a much see film but it is worth watching if it is on TV or picking up if you see the DVD in the bargain bin.