CloverfieldHave you ever watched a kaiju (gigantic monster) movie and wondered what it would be like from the point of view of the hapless people caught in the path of destruction? Cloverfield follows a group of young Manhattan residents throwing a going away party for their friend, Rob (Michael Stahl-David), one which is violently interrupted by the rampage of a monster of colossal proportions. As they try to escape the city, Rob receives word that the woman he loves, Beth (Odette Yustman), is trapped in her apartment, and he and his friends set out to save her before the city is reduced to rubble.
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Cloverfield is a "found footage" monster movie, and is presented as a record of the invasion by the unnamed monster. This gives the audience the sensation of being present at ground zero during the attack, heightening the tension and affording opportunities for cinematic sleight of hand. Cloverfield opens almost a month before the attack, with footage from Rob and Beth's trip to Coney Island after having spent the night together. Moments from that day crop up in between the footage of the invasion, providing exposition about their relationship. This is because Rob's brother, Jason (Mike Vogel), neglected to change the tape in the camcorder before passing the responsibility of archiving the party onto their friend, Hud (T.J. Miller), who becomes the principal cameraman of Cloverfield. The film resembles a melodrama at first; the main conflict of Rob's going away party--orchestrated by Jason's fiance, Lily (Jessica Lucas)--focuses on broken hearts and feelings of betrayal following that fateful night between Rob and Beth a month before. Like them or loathe them, these affluent New York City yuppies are convincing representations of people who get caught up in the chaos of a city under siege. The archival look of the film adds an undercurrent of paranoid fear, stemming from setting the destruction in New York City, not even a decade removed from the September 11th attacks. The various explosions and raging infernos are deliberately framed to recall footage from that event, including moments like the rolling wall of smoke and debris from collapsing skyscrapers that bowls over the escapees. Cloverfield starts with a notice claiming that it was reclaimed from an area "formerly known as Central Park", creating a sense of dramatic irony by implying that whoever shot this footage is likely dead. Because the film is from the point of view of a panicked escapee, when attacks by the titanic creature come, they are usually unannounced and catch the audience off-guard just as it does Hud and everyone else. It is also important that the characters are millennials; this helps to justify why they are especially focused on archiving footage of the devastation. Consider when--in the film's most striking image--the head from the Statue of Liberty is swatted into the city, and the escapees stop and hold up their phones to record the event, even while the something terrible edges ever closer.
Cloverfield used an intentionally tight-lipped viral marketing campaign prior to release, fostering word-of-mouth buzz and deep analysis and speculation of the trailer by those desperate to make sense of the provocative and deliberately oblique imagery and dialogue. Similar to Jaws, the monster is rarely shown clearly, and not until later in the film; this adds to the tension as the audience imagines what kind of horror is shambling through the streets of Midtown Manhattan. By focusing on the human element (Rob and his friends), Cloverfield invites a form of empathy not commonly found in monster movies, compelling the audience to consider how they would react in the same situation. Even the seemingly inconsequential first act is crucial in conveying that these people have real lives that have been upended by this catastrophe. Cloverfield largely avoids gruesome details, but as with many monster movies, survivors fall victim to the destruction and get picked off by the creature or the insectile progeny that eject from its body. One of the most harrowing scenes depicts the group trying to navigate the subway tunnels in the dark. Rob informs Hud that the camera has a night-vision filter, and it becomes clear what all the rats were running from after he activates it. Hud makes a good "cameraman" for Cloverfield, since he isn't always thinking about what he shouldn't be filming, giving unfiltered access to key moments that flesh out the characters' world. Consider when Hud records Rob and Beth arguing after she brought her new boyfriend to his going away party. (For the record, that's pretty low, Beth.) Hud's nervous narration adds levity to some scenes, like his poor choice of timing when sharing a story about someone setting homeless people on fire as they are stumbling through the pitch black subway tunnels, while everyone is freaking out from the constant chaos. Cloverfield would not be as effective of a monster movie if it were not presented as found footage. What makes the creature so terrifying isn't just the creature's destructive capabilities, but that ordinary human beings (like these characters) don't even register to it--they are like fleas--representing a dramatic paradigm shift from our perceived role in nature as the alpha species.
Recommended for: Fans of giant monster movies like Godzilla, as well as those who enjoy the allure of a found footage thriller that rose to prominence through a viral marketing campaign, like The Blair Witch Project. Cloverfield is a tense and refreshing reinterpretation of monster movies, made exciting because it comes from the point of view of witnesses to the rampage.
Cloverfield used an intentionally tight-lipped viral marketing campaign prior to release, fostering word-of-mouth buzz and deep analysis and speculation of the trailer by those desperate to make sense of the provocative and deliberately oblique imagery and dialogue. Similar to Jaws, the monster is rarely shown clearly, and not until later in the film; this adds to the tension as the audience imagines what kind of horror is shambling through the streets of Midtown Manhattan. By focusing on the human element (Rob and his friends), Cloverfield invites a form of empathy not commonly found in monster movies, compelling the audience to consider how they would react in the same situation. Even the seemingly inconsequential first act is crucial in conveying that these people have real lives that have been upended by this catastrophe. Cloverfield largely avoids gruesome details, but as with many monster movies, survivors fall victim to the destruction and get picked off by the creature or the insectile progeny that eject from its body. One of the most harrowing scenes depicts the group trying to navigate the subway tunnels in the dark. Rob informs Hud that the camera has a night-vision filter, and it becomes clear what all the rats were running from after he activates it. Hud makes a good "cameraman" for Cloverfield, since he isn't always thinking about what he shouldn't be filming, giving unfiltered access to key moments that flesh out the characters' world. Consider when Hud records Rob and Beth arguing after she brought her new boyfriend to his going away party. (For the record, that's pretty low, Beth.) Hud's nervous narration adds levity to some scenes, like his poor choice of timing when sharing a story about someone setting homeless people on fire as they are stumbling through the pitch black subway tunnels, while everyone is freaking out from the constant chaos. Cloverfield would not be as effective of a monster movie if it were not presented as found footage. What makes the creature so terrifying isn't just the creature's destructive capabilities, but that ordinary human beings (like these characters) don't even register to it--they are like fleas--representing a dramatic paradigm shift from our perceived role in nature as the alpha species.
Recommended for: Fans of giant monster movies like Godzilla, as well as those who enjoy the allure of a found footage thriller that rose to prominence through a viral marketing campaign, like The Blair Witch Project. Cloverfield is a tense and refreshing reinterpretation of monster movies, made exciting because it comes from the point of view of witnesses to the rampage.