‘Cloverfield’: It’s a
shaky monster film

At the Movies
By Senitra Horbrook

These days, anyone can be a filmmaker and capture history. Especially since it’s so easy and relatively inexpensive to buy a camera and post images or video on the Internet.
That’s the basic idea behind Cloverfield, the monster movie making headlines nationwide.
Shot entirely on handheld cameras from the perspective of a partygoer, Cloverfield is being hailed as the monster movie for the YouTube generation. I’d have to say it’s a pretty good representation of what a movie utilizing today’s technological trends should be like. Though I should point out that the handheld camera work is shaky for a lot of the movie and I never really got used to it.
Cloverfield is only about 80 minutes long, so director Matt Reeves keeps the pace swift (YouTubers must have short attention spans) and there’s almost never a dull moment. One minute there’s a group of friends at a going-away party — the main character Rob (Michael Stahl-David) has accepted a job in Japan — and the next thing you know everyone is running through the streets, trying to get the heck out of Dodge (Manhattan), because a monster is attacking New York City and the Statue of Liberty’s head just crashed onto the street.
Producer JJ Abrams (the creator of TV’s Lost) had a hand in building the anticipation for this movie over the last six months. A non-descript trailer during the previews of Transformers last summer pretty much showed shaky footage of a bunch of people screaming, and the date 1-18-08. Then in November, the official trailer was released with the title Cloverfield.
It seems New York City can never catch a break, either. Just last month, the Big Apple was decimated in I Am Legend, and countless other movies have portrayed tragedy in NYC over the years. I suppose a monster attack in some place like Omaha, Neb., wouldn’t be nearly as appealing.
Speaking of the monster, the creature itself really didn’t seem all that important. It appeared to be some kind of large reptile, but I won’t describe it too much because part of the hype of this movie was wondering what the monster looked like. However, just know that there is no explanation of what the monster actually was or where it came from. This movie only captures the action as it happens.
In addition to Rob, whose party is so rudely interrupted, the movie includes a few other characters who stay together in hopes of surviving the monster attack. Hud (T.J. Miller) is the friend who accepts the task of recording the party and getting everyone’s goodbyes to Rob on camera. Hud has a crush on Marlena (Lizzy Caplan), so he likes to talk to her from behind the camera. Rob’s brother Jason (Abington native Mike Vogel) and his girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas) have planned the party. Adding some drama to things is Beth (Odette Yustman), Rob’s longtime friend whom he recently slept with but had not spoken to since.
Based on the success of this movie, I predict there will be others to take advantage of both Internet marketing and the "home-movie" technique. I’m not quite sure if that’s good or bad. However, one thing is true: The early bird gets the worm, so Cloverfield is sure to catch plenty of worms, since it is the latest film to take advantage of the concept and does so in an effective manner. ••
Grade: B+