Movie Loner

This movie got a lot of pub due to the gag order placed on cast and crew by wunderkind producer J.J. Abrams. Leave it to the creator of Lost to be vague. Everyone knew Cloverfield was a monster flick but the creature’s appearance was kept top-secret. Amazingly, in this information age, spoilers were kept under wraps until right before the release date. The film opened big but was quickly sucked into the pop-culture vacuum with little fanfare. No matter because this is an entertaining monster mash sure to spawn at least one sequel.

The story is told via a videotape recovered from Central Park after a surprise attack on Manhattan. The tape opens a month prior with longtime friends Rob and Beth basking in post-coital bliss. They playfully record one another while planning a day trip to Coney Island. Flash forward a few weeks to Rob’s ‘Moving to Japan’ farewell party. His brother Jason and Jason’s girlfriend Lily prepare for Rob’s arrival. Jason passes off the video camera to Rob’s best pal Hud and instructs him to shoot goodbye testimonies from the guests. Hud eagerly accepts his role as documentarian and commences annoying party goers. Rob arrives in a less than festive mood. Beth shows up later with a date. A frosty reception by Rob leads to a tense hallway confrontation between he and Beth. A shaken Beth quickly leaves.

The lover’s quarrel and slammin’ party is interrupted by a loud tremor. A check of the television confirms a possible earthquake in Manhattan. The gang head to the roof for a better look. In the distance a building explodes pouring a shower of flames across the city. Party over, dude. A panicked crowd flees the apartment building. Something is attacking the city. Lady Liberty’s head is hurled into the streets followed by a massive cloud of collapsed building dust. Soldiers and tanks race toward midtown to engage a 300 foot tall monster with a nasty disposition. Rob desperately tries to reach Beth. She is hurt and trapped in her midtown apartment. So Rob, Lily, a girl named Marlena, and cameraman Hud dash on foot to rescue Beth from the belly of the beast.

Memories of 9/11 can’t help but be conjured after seeing images of dust-covered people wandering in a daze after a terrifying attack on the city. This may be a monster movie but it’s an accurate depiction of the events of that fateful day in 2001. The herky-jerky handheld POV camera perfectly captures the frantic pace of this frightening tale. The Jaws method of less-is-more applies; we only get sporadic glimpses of the creature until the very end. The unknown cast does a credible job maintaining their fright throughout. The movie would’ve fallen apart if the characters didn’t seem genuinely freaked out. Cloverfield isn’t Alien but in a genre that lacks originality it proves to be a welcome entrant capable of delivering some good scares.

A kick-ass scene from Cloverfield: