Cloverfield Synopis: On the eve of his departure for Japan, Rob (Michael Stahl-David) sees his going-away party as an opportunity to confess unresolved feelings and tie up loose ends. His agenda takes an unexpected turn when a jolt shakes the revelers. The crowd quiets down to watch news reports of an earthquake, then rushes to the roof to assess the damage. A fireball explodes on the distant horizon. A power failure follows. Confusion gives way to panic as the partygoers stumble through the blackout and into the streets. Amid the human screams and one inhuman roar, Rob and his friends must traverse a landscape that has changed, overtaken by something otherworldly, terrifying, monstrous.

Cloverfield Review: The scares are of the “gotcha!” variety, but that is to be expected given the use of the handheld camera, which, by the way, is your POV the entire film, so those with easy motion sickness be forewarned. there are some pretty funny one liners delivered by our cameraman to offset some of the tension with levity. there are certain plot devices which require a large suspension of disbelief (esp in regards to cell phone usage), but then again, if i’m going to buy in to the fact that a giant monster is ransacking my hometown, who am i to draw any line?

Overall i thought it was solid, definitely not great, and certainly not a genre redefinition. then again, my expectations were very high going in, so i might not be the best person to ask. my major critiques were:

1) it was somewhat predictable, and, as i stated before, the scares in the movie are less of the “creeping dread” variety and more of the “gotcha!” type.

2) again, i don’t want to end the hypothesizing fun, but the monster isn’t given much of a backstory or explanation. it just starts tearing NYC a new one one night.

Cloverfield Trailer: