By Kellie Abrahamson
Grade: B+ Rated PG13 90 min
Internet hype is a funny thing. It worked amazingly well for 1999’s surprise hit The Blair Witch Project but last year’s Snakes on a Plane bombed despite the all buzz. It will be interesting to see how the new JJ Abrams-produced monster movie Cloverfield fares this weekend. After seeing the film, I suspect it will be somewhere in between.
Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) is about to leave New York City and head to Japan for a big promotion. His going-away party is going swimmingly until an earthquake surges through the city causing the power to go out briefly. The partygoers head to the roof just in time to witness an explosion in the distance. Thinking the earthquake is actually another terrorist attack, the group rushes out of the building and into the street where Lady Liberty’s flaming head is soon hurled. It’s then they realize this is no terrorist attack or earthquake. A massive monster has made its way to Manhattan and their only choice is to run for their lives. This strategy, however, gets thrown out the window when Rob gets a call from his best friend/lady love Beth (Odette Yustman) who is trapped in her high-rise apartment. With the help of his brother Jason (Mike Vogel) and friends Lily (Jessica Lucas), Hud (TJ Miller) and Marlena (Lizzy Caplan), Rob makes the perilous journey past the giant monster, its dangerous offspring and several tanks full of military to rescue the woman he loves, documenting the events on a camcorder along the way.
The big problem with most modern day monster movies is the CGI often looks so out of place and off that the audience can spot it a mile away. A film like Cloverfield hinges on its gigantic antagonist being realistic and scary and thankfully it is. In fact, nearly all of the effects used in the film, from the monster to its spawn to the destruction they do to the city, are top notch. I think there was only one moment where I spotted the use of green screen and the monster wasn’t even in the vicinity. The use of the handheld camera helps bring a sense of immediacy to the audience, but also helps hide any flaws in the CGI. It’s actually a pretty brilliant strategy when you think about it and, as long as the audience doesn’t suffer from motion sickness, fans will certainly appreciate it.
Like Abrams’ hit TV show Lost, there are plenty of lingering questions that are sure to bug the heck out of the average moviegoer. Where did the monster come from? How did the human race stop such a formidable beast? Did New York ever recover? We’re told at the beginning that this is “recovered footage” we’re watching, so it’s a given that none of that stuff will ever be addressed. This could be seen as a big issue for some and was a problem for at least a few of the people at the screening I attended. I suspect those who want to know more about the monster’s origins and the aftermath of the attack will be able to find some answers online, where at least four official Cloverfield-related sites have been discovered so far. If the massive viral marketing campaign Abrams used with Lost is any indication, new chapters of the Cloverfield story will be available to those with an Internet connection and several hours to kill. Lazy movie-lovers probably won’t want to deal with the extra work, but those willing to put in the time will most likely get more out of the film in the end.
But the real question is “Does it live up to the hype?” The answer is yes and no. If you can get past the camera work, and that is a big “if” considering I never get motion sickness and my stomach was turning at certain points, there’s a great thriller to be found. Like all good thrillers the characters make stupid decisions and often time survive the impossible, but we, the viewers, go with it because what they’re going through matters to us. In this Cloverfield succeeds. Yes, there are plot holes, missteps and some seriously shaky logic in this particular tale, but at the end of the day it shocks, startles and entertains so much that those flaws seem minimal in hindsight. Cloverfield is perfect popcorn cinema.
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