Cloverfield | REVIEW

J.J Abrams is known for his ability to reel in an audience using the elements of surprise and suspense. That's how LOST became a ratings hit worldwide, and also why it continues to be one of the most watched programs on television. Cloverfield is yet another one of his masterpieces that managed to gather an audience via viral marketing and trailers that left the audience with huge question marks in their minds. As you can see, the advertising was topped with a pretty ominous poster; a headless Statue Of Liberty. So what exactly is it that has everyone spooked?

I must warn you, the following review contains SLIGHT spoilers.

Known for a long time as the 'Untitled J.J Abrams Project', Cloverfield is directed by Matt Reeves and has a cast of relative unknowns. This makes the flick all the more realistic as it's meant to be a camcorder recording of a monster attack on Manhattan. The entire movie is shot in an aspect ratio of 4:3, meaning it isn't widescreen...which makes sense because as I said, the entire film was shot 'camcorder-style'. The story is simple. A group of people, one camcorder, and a hellish attack on Manhattan by a monster that apparently came out of the surrounding waters. The city goes into complete chaos and the American government orders an immediate evacuation, causing people to panic and rush towards the main exits of the city. All the while, we see the documentation through the eyes of Hud and the camcorder in hand, which belongs to the film's 'hero', Rob. It's a bit of Blair Witch and some elements of Godzilla which makes Cloverfield a very thrilling watch. It's amazing to get lost in the crisis of it all, completely forgetting that it's a movie and thinking that it's an actual documentation. J.J Adrams really nailed the realistic bits and didn't add needless CGI into the movie. There aren't many shots of the monster, though, only glimpses here and there right up to the end scenes of the movie when the beast can actually be seen in full. It's not all that rugged in style, but it's definitely frightening to look at.

There's obviously no music throughout the course of Cloverfield, but a soundtrack was composed for the movie. Pretty cool, eh? The music only starts to play during the credits and that's when you get to hear the monster's theme and what it would have sounded like.

Although I didn't experience this (thank God), a lot of people I know had a rough time watching Cloverfield because of the nausea and giddiness it caused. The shakiness of the camera and the fast panning causes somewhat of a spin on the head and almost every other person I spoke to regarding this movie said they couldn't stand it. Another downside to this movie is the bad acting of one or two actors, who are not able to pull of the whole 'traumatized citizen' feel. A f**kin' monster with tentacles just attacked their neighborhood and turned it into rubble yet their emotions seem to tell us otherwise. Don't fear though, the bad acting doesn't affect the film much.

I'd say Cloverfield is definitely worth a watch. Not only is it fun, it's also unique in the sense that it's shot differently and is a whole new experience altogether. It's like seeing what would really happen if Godzilla, an oversized T-Rex, Yao Ming, or some other oversized creature came to Manhattan. And no, Ultraman's not going to save the day this time, folks. It's nice to see a movie like this once in a while; something different without the usual story arcs and whatnot. Just make sure you're not easily nauseated when you rent this out with your girlfriend. And make sure she isn't either or you'll both end up puking all over the place. Now that's what spoils a good movie.
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Cloverfield gets my 4 stars out of 5 for being a worthwhile watch. It isn't corny, it isn't boring, and it isn't lame in any way. It's thrilling the first time around, and fun the next couple of times. But most of all, it must have taken J.J Abrams and director Matt Reeves a LOT of effort to pull this baby off, seeing as everything is shot as though it's a single take and it's all via a camcorder lens. Very, very nice. Oh, and just so you know, Cloverfield made $170,526,998 worldwide with a production budget of only $25,000,000. Now that's what I call p-r-o-f-i-t.