Fresh idea! Heart-stopper, creates real panic!

Rating: 9/10 (23 January 2008)

*** SPOILERS! ***
The beauty of this flick is that it bridges the gap between trendy "reality" entertainment and classic sci-fi. If you take exception to silly plot machinations or suffer from a heart condition or seizures, then steer clear. But if you are like me -- able to suspend disbelief, easily entertained, and a CGI addict -- then this is a MUST SEE!!!
Start with a surprise going-away party for Rob (the lead character who got a job offer in Japan) with maybe forty well-dressed yuppie-types and all the typical social drama/humor. Hud, Rob's befuddled best friend, is asked to video-tape goodbye wishes from the guests. When Beth, a hot, recent one-nighter of Rob's, shows up with a guy, Hud gets Rob's emotional crash on film. Rob had wanted more from Beth, but had held off due to his imminent departure. Rob forces a smile, then goes off by himself to sulk. Beth leaves. With Hud secretly recording, Rob's friends try talking sense into him outside on the fire escape, when -- BOOM!!!
Out of nowhere there is an "earthquake", which sends the men scrambling to the roof to see what happened. Suddenly there is a huge explosion a few streets away which rains flaming debris down on their building. The guests run screaming down the stairs and outside. Amid ominous, thundering roars and impact tremors -- and the Statue of Liberty's rolling head -- scattering people are still shouting "What's happening?" No view of the source yet, as the handy-cam is flailing aimlessly. Hud then tries to get some footage, and he catches a fleeting shot of a giant leg stepping between buildings. He tries to tell everyone what he saw, but everyone is too stunned to listen. From the party, only Rob, his brother Jason, Hud, and two female friends are able to regroup. From here on out, it's all chaos, noise, and terror -- in a documentary format.
With the streets all blocked, the masses try to get out of the city on foot. Meanwhile, the unidentified enemy (still unseen by the audience) is apparently destroying NYC. Eventually, the group gathers around a TV in a local gadget shop, and are appalled to see CNN's sketchy live footage through smoke and flames of a giant creature crushing buildings, as thousands of dog-sized, spider-like creatures rain down from it and pounce savagely on people. The group is torn away from the TV by sudden machine-gun fire, scrambling Army tanks, and RPG's whizzing by overhead.
Rob gets a cell phone call from Beth, saying she is trapped in her building and can't move. Rob wants to try to rescue her. The group decides to stay together and they attempt to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on foot, but the creature slashes it in half (which Hud gets partial footage of), killing hundreds, including Jason. The group has no choice but to go back and try to use the dark subway tunnels, which they find are crawling with rats fleeing from the spider-things. In a terrifying night-vision sequence, one of the women is bitten badly while beating a creature off Hud. When the group escapes the tunnels and finds themselves in a military field command post, they ask the soldiers for answers. The unidentifiable creature is winning. The government will be nuking NYC within hours. The group is given directions to a chopper evacuation site. Suddenly, the bitten girl says she doesn't feel well, starts bleeding from her eyes, and then basically explodes, apparently from the weird toxins in the bite she got. The survivors push on towards Beth.
In the ensuing sequence, we get our first decent view of the creature, sort of half lizard, half monkey, with beady eyes, savage claws, and huge fangs. It may have extra limbs or tentacles, but that aspect is unclear, as the handy-cam is always shaky and the glimpses are very short. (Brilliant fake cinematography!) Beth's building is found precariously leaning over against an adjacent building. Rob knows she is on the 39th floor. They climb the stairs of the adjacent building and cross over to the roof of Beth's building, then they are able to crawl down and locate her, unconscious, cell phone still in hand. She is pinned through the shoulder by a piece of protruding rebar. They tear her loose and carry her down, fighting off more spider-things.
They reach the military helicopter lift site by dawn. They get on choppers, apparently saved. Beth, Rob, and Hud get on one, the remaining girl from the party gets on another (I think hers gets out OK). Rob's chopper has to fly by the monster, and Hud films it clearly for the first time, cheering as bombs hit it. But it decides it wants some chopper for breakfast and it suddenly turns and clips them. They scream through a frantic, spinning free-fall and crash, but they survive and crawl for cover. That's when the camera looks straight up as the monster spots Hud and says hello in person. It looms in and chomps him. Supposedly bitten into pieces, we lose Hud. The monster moves on and the camera falls back to earth. Rob grabs it to give his final testimony in case the film is ever found. Amid giant roars and the sound of jet bombers, he and Beth crawl under a foot bridge in Central Park. Rob states his name, Beth states her name. They start crying. Explosions, getting closer. The camera drops to the ground, pointing at nothing. We hear Rob tell Beth he loves her. She tells him she loves him. Then there is a final huge explosion and the film immediately cuts to a previously-recorded day at an amusement park with Rob and Beth out on their only date. They tell the camera they are having a great day.
End.