Movie: Cloverfield
Year: 2008
Genre: Sci-Fi/Horror/Action
Director: Matt Reeves
Stars: Mike Vogel, Jessica Lucas and Lizzy Caplan

Snapshot of Story:
New York is invaded by alien monsters as witnessed by a group of people through their video camera recovered after the aftermath.

Storyline:
The movie Cloverfield comes in the wake of other ‘reality’ movies such as Paranormal Activity that created quite a sensation during its launch. This movie attempts to do the same by capturing scenes through a video camera as witnessed by a citizen and add more realism to the whole story. Unlike Paranormal Activity, this movie had a much bigger budget to create the special effects of the huge monsters terrorizing New York city.

There were some complaints by viewers that the constant movement of the camera by the person capturing the scenes had a nauseating effect. From my point of view, I thought the camera shake was acceptable and I am pretty sure that the producers went to great lengths to get this part right. There was a good balance of camera shake and the actual footage of the events happening and I believe one needs to be somewhat immersed in the movie to dismiss the camera shake.

The movie on it’s first watch created a sense of realism as the few members of the group make their way through the chaos towards safety as portrayed through the eye of the lens. The special effects of the bridge falling and the haphazard appearance of the monsters and their siblings were very well done. There was one particular scene where the members witness the ensuing battle of the US soldiers firing against the monsters which was very well captured and added a heightened sense of franticness and pace.

Although the movie did somewhat focus on the lives of the members of the group at the start, this was dwarfed by the action scenes that followed. Only when Jason (played by Mike Vogel) pursued his love interest did the audience come back momentarily from the chaos and destruction that was surrounding them.

Final Thoughts:
Overlooking the ‘camera shake’ that a few people complained about, Cloverfield set another bar for a movie reality show and did it in style. This was a big budget movie and not the typical amateur point and shoot that one came to expect, ie. Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch Project. One felt quite immersed in the whole action movie due to some good acting and excellent direction by Matt Reeves.

Rating:
7.5/10