The other day, while waiting for my car to be serviced, I had the chance to re-watch Cloverfield, this time on a much-smaller screen of a laptop. If you couldn’t stomach the big-screen version with all the shaking, you should catch up on this flick on the small screen.
Cloverfield is a monster destroying New York City. What makes this movie compelling is the cast of normal twenty-somethings who are suddenly thrust into a situation they don’t know and that they can’t get out of. At Rob’s going away party, Hud starts documenting his last day in New York City before he jumps in a plane and head to Japan. Rob’s brother Jason, and Jason’s girlfriend as well as Malena, a girl that Hud has a crush on, try to survive when something attacks New York and start destroying building after building.
Supposed to be a video footage of the group surviving the beast, the footage does look indeed authentically amateur with all the shaking, sometimes off focus and oftentimes without proper lighting. In dark alleys and even darker subway tunnels, pitch black screen and monsters hissing will send chills down your spine.
The movie starts slow as it focuses on the party and introduces all the relevant character relationships. However once the monster shows up, the movie doesn’t let its pacing down as the main characters scramble to get away, go find their loved ones, and just try to survive against both the monster and the military’s attacks.
Not everyone will find the ending satisfying, and at some points in time, the main characters choose a course of action that a normal sane New Yorker will never choose. They do betray the scripted nature of the movie: however, suspend your logic and you will find one of the best monster movies this side of the ocean.
Rating: 70%
Recent Comments