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Gave me a Headache!
Cloverfield (DVD)

Member Name: sewbizzie
Product:
Cloverfield (DVD)
Date: 24/07/09
Rating:
Advantages: Some good effects
Disadvantages: Awful filming, bad story
I really did want to see this film when it first came out as the trailers made it look really good but as the reviews started I was completely put off it. Luckily it was on Sky a few weeks back as hubby wanted to see it so he Sky + it and last night we finally got around to watching it. Therefore this is a FILM ONLY review.
The story is starts with a surprise party being thrown for Rob by his friends as he s leaving to move to Hong Kong but as the party is in full swing a massive tremor hits New York. The friends believe it to be an Earth Quake but then other things start to happen. Rob and his friends, luckily one of them has a video camera as he was filming the party so Rob could take the film away with him, all head down to the street where they witness a massive attack which results in the head of the Statue of Liberty being blown off and landing right next to them.
The friends all run for cover as buildings start to collapse and soon find themselves on the bridge trying to get to safety. Rob soon gets a call from his best friend who he also loves and he sets back off to try and rescue her. His 3 friends also go with him. They soon discover that a monster type creature is destroying the city and they are in total danger.
Will Rob be able to rescue the girl he loves and will any of them survive and the main question is will the battery of the camera last for the duration of the attack?????
I am just so glad that I did not pay for this film on DVD as I found it to be complete rubbish. I think that the best bits were definitely shown in the trailers. The story was good although completely not believable. The actors who played the roles of the friends, I cannot remember their names, were good and did do their characters justice but I could not help think that they were not ordinary people as they were all too good lucking and fit and why could the film makers have used normal people. They did all work well together and had a good chemistry.
The filming was awful and I did find that I had a headache after the first half an hour as none of the filming was smooth as one of the actors was supposedly filming the events but I found it awful and really had to follow what was going on. There were some moments when it felt so stupid, I mean if you are being chased by a monster the last thing you care about is if the camera is still switched on is it?
The effects were quite good in the film which did make it slightly more watch able but there just did not seem to be anything new. I found that the shots of the building collapsing were just to realistic to the events of September the 11th and though they should not have been shown. The monster was completely strange and it did in fact remind me of a creature which was in the second series of the TV show Primeval. It was a sort of cross between and monkey and dinosaur but it threw off little spider / scorpion creatures which tried to attack people. The effects for this were OK but I have seen a lot better in other films.
The film was shown on the Horror channel so I was expecting it to be a bit scary or jumpy but I did not find this at all during the film and it was so predictable.
The ending of the film was just so awful and me and hubby just sat there as if to say 'was that it?' There was nothing final to the end and it was a big let down. I will. Not give it away but I will let you make up your own mind on it. I mean I think I could have write a better ending.
During the film we do have flash backs to a few weeks previous where Rob is out on a date with the friend he is trying to rescue but instead of this adding to the film I found them to be extremely pointless and annoying at times.
As I said at the start of this review I am only reviewing the film and not the DVD so there are no extra features to be mentioned. The running time of the film is 85 minutes which I felt to be quite long enough.
I would not recommend this film unless you can out up with the weak storyline and the crazy filming.
Summary: 4 friends try to flee New York when a monster attacks

