REVIEW: Cloverfield

Well finally, after months and months of hype, Cloverfield has hit Australian cinemas last Thursday. The studios have been extremely tight-lipped about the film, with the only real information going out that it is filmed in a style much like The Blair Witch Project.



For those unaware, the movie is about a group of friends who are trapped in New York when ~something~ attacks the city. Filmed on a handicam by one of the members of the group, you get taken on a journey with this group of survivors as they try and escape the city, all while trying to dodge the rampaging monster that that is intent on destroying the brilliant skyline of Manhattan, and everyone who gets in it's way.

But let's get one thing straight - this is not Godzilla.

Cloverfield is the military name of the tape supposedly recovered from the area formally known as "Central Park". The real story begins with the filming of a group of friends who are hosting a farewell party for Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David). The footage shown is taken by his best friend Hud (T.J. Miller), capturing the party on tape so Rob can remember all of his good friends and good-times back home in New York when he leaves for Japan.

You get glimpses of the past before the party, which showed Rob on a date with his sort-of girlfriend Beth (Odette Yustman). This is shown through small "flashbacks", explained as original footage that was recorded onto the handicam's tape that Hud is unknowingly overwriting to film the party.

This goes on monster-free for about the first 20mins of the film. You get a fly-on-the-wall insight into the characters and start to genuinely care about them, all the while with a sense of foreboding - you are fully aware that these people innocently enjoying a fun party have no idea of just how drastically their world will be changing in the very near future. Purely about character development, this gives you a chance to really get to know the people in the film and see what makes them tick. They are socializing, having fun and, ultimately, very real and likable.


Before long inevitably the "thing" attacks without any real warning. You see the confusion and panic from this occurrence at a ground level. We follow - still all through Hud's camera view - the small group of friends as they attempt to get out of the city and survive.

Not nearly as easy as it sounds, Rob gets a call from Beth, who is trapped and injured at her apartment in the heart of the city. Plans to escape are put momentarily on hold as the friends launch a rescue operation and venture back into the city toward the monster.

The movie is suspenseful, believable and surprisingly scary.The way Cloverfield deals with showing it's monster brings to mind more classic horror thrillers like Aliens, where the "less is more" approach works to great effect.

You really don't see that much of the monster... just glimpses here and there as Hud operates his camera. He doesn't keep the camera steady when the action is on, which is entirely believable as Hud seems to be far more concerned with trying to make it out alive rather than getting an amazing shot of the attacking monster..

Some people have complained about the filming style of the shaky-camera. Admittedly while it does at first take a bit of getting used to. But as soon as you are gripped by the story then the shaky-camera is an incredibly effective immersive tool that turns the film into a full blown experience rather than just any other monster-movie.

Which brings me to what is so great about Cloverfield - it doesn't show these characters trying to stop the monster or even see it killed, as per the usual storyline in monster films.

You don't get all the answers and you really feel at times as nervous and scared as you probably can be in a cinema. It does a great job at not giving you all the answers so you can better understand the confusion and panic felt by these poor people who just want to live.

What a ride!

4.5 stars