Film Review: Cloverfield

Liverpool Daily Post

Cloverfield
Cert. 15, 85 mins
Stars: Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman, Anjul Nigam, Margot Farley, Theo Rossi, Brian Klugman
Directed by Matt Reeves

BUCKING the traditional expensive marketing campaigns, Cloverfield employed a brilliant conceived viral marketing campaign to whip up hype for what is essentially a low- budget monster movie.

Shot predominantly on handheld cameras, the film centres on Rob Hawkins, who is preparing to leave behind his brother Jason and friends to live in Japan.

One such buddy, Hud, agrees to document festivities at the leaving party on a camcorder but, when the celebrations are rocked by a huge explosion, panic grips the city and Rob and his chums become embroiled in a fight for survival, hiding from an unspeakable threat.

Hud documents everything on camera as the race for survival continues above and below ground.

Cloverfield almost lives up to the hype. Director Reeves delivers some thrilling set-pieces and shooting the film from the perspective of the survivors, like The Blair Witch Project, sustains the tension.

Performances from the cast are believable, screaming at appropriate moments as they struggle to come to terms with their predicament but the script is riddled with implausibilities.

The camcorder’s battery lasts a surprisingly long time and it’s nothing short of a miracle that the tape survives at all.

Hud manages to capture incredible footage when any sane human being would be fleeing for their life and It’s rather convenient that a soldier breaks protocol to tell Rob where to rendezvous to escape the city by helicopter.

However, if you’re willing to accept a hideous behemoth reducing the Big Apple to rubble, then no suspension of disbelief is too great.