Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Suck it, Godzilla.

Review: Cloverfield



Last summer, every red blooded explosion lovin’ filmgoer lucky enough to catch the twisted metal spectacle of Transformers on the big screen got a taste of something much more ambiguous and beguiling before the title credits rolled-- a trailer featuring home video of hot 20-something New Yorkers at a party who experience serious buzzkill when something ominous and rumbly goes down. Viewers left knowing only three tantalizing facts: the threat was alive, huge, and able to pimp-smack the Statue of Liberty’s head clean off its shoulders. Yikes.

Now that Cloverfield’s fabled 1-18-08 release date has come and gone, did the finished product justify the hype? Pretty dang much. I can safely say that I have never been as scared at the movies as I was during Cloverfield. These weren’t just cheap, jump in your seat scares. These were scares of the deeply unsettling variety with a healthy dose of claw-the-theater-armrest intensity mixed in. And despite all justifiable comparisons to The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield’s engaging performances, near-flawless special effects, and cinematographic wit should cement it as a genre classic as opposed to the pop cultural “wow, I can’t believe we thought that movie was cool back in 1999” flash in the pan that was Blair Witch. Honestly, my biggest complaint would have to be the utterly pointless title. They might as well call theoretical sequels Toasterblouse and Monkeybasket.

Grade: A-

Scroll down a tick to read John's post from last Friday that included the trailer, and enjoy whatever else you happen to find along the way!

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