"Cloverfield" novel approach to monster movie

Science fiction and monster movie fans will be joined by reality tv aficionados in appreciating the first person immersive experience that is “Cloverfield”. Hyped by a viral marketing campaign of internet sites, word of mouth, and a purposely hush-hush plot, the action-suspense film actually lives up to the hype. Primarily shot with a handheld camera by members of the cast, along with some improvisational work amongst the little known actors and first rate special effects, going to see this movie will be more of a theme park ride than watching a film. Since the camera is put within the action, the audience has no relief from the activity on screen, giving us the impression that these actors are regular people, the incident filmed is real, and we are smack dab in the thick of things. “Cloverfield” is an intense and original experience that is be best appreciated on the big screen.

“Cloverfield” is the code name for an incident that occurs in New York City and the tape recording made of that incident by the people who were there. The story of a small group of friends starts a little earlier, at a going away party for Rob Hawkins. In a wink to the filmmakers of “Godzilla“, Rob is moving to Japan for a job. His brother, Jason, Jason’s fiancee’ Lily, and Rob’s best friend Hud put the party together and invite several friends. Watching as Rob’s on again/off again flame Beth shows up with another guy, helps create an interesting sub-plot about the characters before the lights go out. The party heads to the roof, to see if the whole city is effected by the rumbling of the ground and power loss. They can see in the distance, some large explosions and people start to panic. Is it a terrorist attack, a natural disaster or something else?

It isn’t clear early on what’s happening but the fear of the unknown helps add thrills and chills to the story. The audience gets to learn at the beginning who the main characters are and their relationships to each other. This helps enhance our emotional attachment to the characters as the city startles crumbling around them. Out of the cast of unknowns, Lily as the sweet, responsible sister-in-law and Hud as the funny, good-natured camera-operator shine through. The real intensity of the story comes from the action exploding all around the characters. Depending on where your fears lie - watching the buildings and streets be torn apart as an unknown entity thumps through the metropolis, sneaking in the dark through a subway tunnel with the feeling something is following you, or climbing through destroyed buildings hoping they won’t collapse with you inside - “Cloverfield” has something for everyone.

There is some jiggling of the camera as the characters need to run to stay alive. People used to a stationary 3rd person viewing experience may not enjoy watching the camera bob along with the action. I did expect more camera shake than there was and the audience does get to see most of what is transpiring due to well thought out framing of the scenes. One of my few criticisms is that the film may have limited re-watchability due to the novelty of the approach. Also, “Cloverfield” may have gone on a little too long, like being on a roller coaster with one too many loops. But that doesn’t mean its not worth taking the ride.

Rated PG-13 for violence, terror and disturbing images.