A superior monster movie (Cloverfield (DVD))

Member Name: helican

Product:	Cloverfield (DVD)
Date:	25/06/09 (20 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: impressive monster efects

Disadvantages: a weak ending

A bunch of young New Yorkers arrange a surprise party for a friend, & we follow the party & its build-up through the video camera they intend to use to record guests' messages to him.

Actually what we get is an inside view into the tangled relationships of the main characters, & just as we get so involved that we forget what kind of film this is, all hell breaks loose as Manhattan is attacked by a mind-bogglingly big unearthly monster & its lethal scampering offspring.

Luckily for the film these characters not only keep filming but also do the opposite to the terrified fleeing masses & go back into the city to rescue a trapped friend.

I watched Hellboy a few days before this, & the rubbish CGI in that made me appreciate all the more the brilliantly done monster effects in this. The creature is tantalisingly only half-glimpsed for a long time, but when we finally see it it doesn't disappoint but is completely convincing.

I didn't know anyone from the cast but they were likeable & did a sterling job, & the lack of big names made the film more believable.

The story was fast-paced, nailbiting stuff, with several memorable scenes & only a couple of shout-at-the-screen moments (there's broken glass, wear shoes! Take a weapon!). The bright-young-things-very-frightened-with-video-cam era technique has drawn a lot of comparisons with the Blair Witch Project, but it also reminded me a lot of 28 Days Later with its nervewracking chases through a dark deserted city, & its low-budget feel that must have cost a packet.

My one criticism is the rather flat ending; apart from that, highly recommended.

Summary: a riveting, fantastic-looking disaster movie