Short Review: Cloverfield (Matt Reeves, 2008)

Cloverfield, directed by Matt Reeves (Let Me In) and produced by J.J Abrams (Lost), is a vicious attack on the senses. The use of the shaky, hand held camera, while it gives us seemingly minutes of footage of the characters shoes, creates unparalleled realism that even caused some audience members to experience motion sickness. We witness the startling invasion of an enormous unidentified creature on New York City and Manhattan from the point-of-view of a group of friends, who are having a party at the time of the attack. As they try and flee the destructive creature, battle the surging crowds and leave the city, the shocking footage and relentless carnage at the hands of the creature is captured through Hud's hand-held video camera. The most impressive feature of this film, despite the slim running time of 85 minutes, is the massive scope of the adventure. We follow the small band of characters as they journey through the underground subway tunnels, attempt to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, and ultimately scale the 57th floor of an apartment complex to reach safety. A much better film than i expected, Cloverfield is an intense thrill ride with some truly outstanding visual effects. 

My Rating: 3 1/2 Stars