Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Paramount Home Entertainment – 84 minutes – 2008 – Rated PG-13 –Widescreen 1.85:1 – Dolby Digital 5.1

Ever since the term “Monster Movie” was coined, Hollywood has been trying to make the next big monster hit that audiences would flock to see. It sounds like a simple task, but history has proven that it’s not easy at all, especially since there are only a few movie monsters such as Godzilla, Predator, and Alien that will constantly attract viewers. TV producer J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias, and Felicity) tries to capture lightning in a bottle with Cloverfield, a modern day monster flick set in New York City that is now available on DVD from Paramount Home Video. Is Cloverfield the answer to fill that monster movie gap? Or is it something entirely different all together?

THE MOVIE

Without a doubt the marketing gimmick used for Cloverfield was one of the best seen in a long time, with a teaser that flooded the internet showing a group of people at a party that is interrupted by the sounds of screams and chaos outside, and when they go out to see what’s going on, the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty crashes down on the street nearly crushing them. This made people say, “What the hell is this?” and got them curious to see the film, and with JJ Abrams attached as the producer, the deal was sealed.

Directed by Matt Reeves, Cloverfield loosely borrows (okay, it completely steals) the concept of 1999’s The Blair Witch Project by introducing footage that was found from a past tragic incident, allowing you to view the whole movie from the point of view of video camera footage that has been assembled to display the events. The movie takes place in the course of one long night, starting at a bon voyage party with a group of college friends for a buddy, Rob, who just got a big job in Japan. The night is cut short when an explosion occurs near their Manhattan neighborhood, and they eventually learn that a giant creature of unknown origin is attacking New York City. The friends are split up, and we follow the group with the guy holding the video camera, as they attempt to find Rob’s ex-girlfriend who is trapped in her apartment, and escape the island.

Yes, Cloverfield has a much bigger budget than Blair Witch, but it’s hard not to compare the two films because of the handheld camera gimmick. When I saw this film in the theater, people were literally doing the “cough…Blair Witch…cough” during several scenes, particularly in the film’s last five minutes, which I will not reveal for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. Another issue I had with this film is that you really don’t care about these characters. They’re the annoying privileged kids who live off of trust funds and have watered-down problems, so you really don’t feel that emotionally attached when one of them dies. If this was about a blue collar guy who is desperately trying to reach his family and get them out of harm’s way, it would be a lot more effective than some whiney 22-ish year old, who’s mad that his ex showed up to his party with another guy.

The best parts of the film are the small glimpses you get of the creature causing destruction to the city, the effects are fantastic, especially because they’re created to look like it’s footage from a standard video camera you can get at Best Buy or Circuit City. You will really crave more of this mayhem after constantly watching Rob’s character moping around. And if you get nauseous watching constant movement, you may have to view this film in doses because if you thought Blair Witch had a crazy shaky-cam, then Cloverfield will be absolute torture for you, because the entire last half of the movie involves the characters running as the camera rocks up, down, left and right.

Cloverfield is better to watch on TV than it in a theater, mainly because most people are addicted to reality shows, so the style used to make this movie actually fits. If this was on TV and diced into episodes, you would really feel more attached because that’s the reason we watch American Idol, to see Simon insult people and bet on who’s going to be eliminated. Whether or not you like this movie is based entirely on your mood as your viewing it. If you watch it thinking it’s going to be the best thing since sliced bread, you’ll be disappointed, but if you just watch it for what it is, it may work out better for you. It would also help if you never saw The Blair Witch Project, but the prime target audience for this movie already has.

VIDEO

Cloverfield was shot in high-definition video in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, using a mixture of off the shelf consumer cameras such as the Panasonic AG-HSC1U to professional cameras like the Sony CineAlta F23. The funny part is that all that work went into making a film look like it was shot by a child running around with the same camera their folks bring along to video tape a family trip to Disney World. The image quality in this film is purposely supposed to look dark, un-stabilized and barely in focus, so don’t expect any Oscar level photography. The creature shots are very well done because anyone who understands effects knows how are it is to make something look convincing with a shaking camera that is trying to constantly re-focus itself. This is why those UFO video footage shots we always see look terrible, because it’s not an easy thing to capture, so the effects team should definitely be credited for their work.

SOUND

With a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, the sound is one of the main highlights in this movie because most of the time, just like the characters, you’re hearing things that are unseen. The subway tunnel sequence is a perfect example of this, with the sound of the spider creatures screeching all around in the dark, or when the monster first attacks the city and you can hear buildings collapsing dozens of blocks away from where the characters are standing. And even though the dialogue is not memorable, it’s clear and can be understood even when the camera is bouncing and swaying.

EXTRAS

The film is only 84 minutes so there’s plenty of room to cram some goodies onto that DVD, and fortunately there is a nice list of extras.

There’s an audio commentary by Director Matt Reeves, which is actually worth listening to because he doesn’t seem pretentious or desperate to be taken seriously as a filmmaker; this guy just loves what he does and is happy he got the chance to do it. Also, some of the things he says about the production are pretty funny.

“The Making of Cloverfield” runs about a half hour and consists of interviews from the director and the producers, including J.J. Abrams. It also shows how most scenes were shot in Los Angeles to save from the cost of filming in New York, and how certain special effects sequences were done. It’s a good making of that is worth a repeat viewing.

“I Saw It! It’s Alive! It’s Huge” is a short five -minute featurette that looks at how the monster for Cloverfield was designed.

“Cloverfield Visual Effects” is a twenty-minute look at the visual design of the monsters attack on NYC, including the famous decapitated head of lady liberty rolling down the street like a bowling ball.

“Clover Fun” is a four-minute blooper real that can pull a chuckle out of you.

There are roughly ten-minutes of deleted scenes and two alternate endings with optional directors commentary. The deleted scenes are mainly more footage from the party with other background characters getting to speak. The two alternate endings are basically the same as what’s in the final cut, with a small moment of dialogue that can make you interpret the outcome differently.

BOTTOM LINE

Cloverfield is an interesting attempt at reviving the movie monster genre, and is definitely worth a viewing to judge for yourself. There are already rumblings about a sequel, and if this happens it’ll be interesting to see if it’s going to be another shaky-cam tale, or will they go at it in standard movie form. This DVD is worth owning, because there’s a lot of stuff on the disc to justify the purchase, and come on, everyone loves a monster flick.

SCORES (Out of 5):

The Movie: 3.0

Video: 3.0

Sound: 3.5

Extras: 3.5

Bottom Line: 3.0