America’s Funniest Home videos meets Godzilla in this JJ Abrams produced monster movie that used internet hype and a unique viral marketing campaign to score big at the box office. The Producers of Snakes on a Plane cry as we speak.
Using the old “found footage” trick (see Blair Witch and Cannibal Holocaust) Cloverfield tells the tale of a bunch of 20 something’s trying to survive a monster attack in New York. Fate has placed a video camera in the hands of one of our heroes, so he decides he must record the events for history.
At times eerily reminiscent of the 9/11 attacks on New York (the cloud of Dust from falling buildings is especially disturbing) Cloverfield is yet another example of horror in the modern age; regular folks caught in apocalyptic situations and having various means of new technology to document it.
Before its release last winter, information on Cloverrfield was kept top secret. In fact, no one even knew if Cloverfield was the real title until shortly before its release. Some may have been disappointed since a movie with such incredible hype was merely a modern day Creature Feature. A modern day Creature Feature, however, is plenty good for me. The cast is fine but a little too good looking, which hurts the “gritty realism” the filmmakers were trying to go for. Still, you give me a cool looking giant monster, a dash of originality, lots o’ carnage, and I’m a happy camper.
A quick note on the DVD: Too many Easter Eggs!!!! Much like a bikini top, the Clover field disc hides many if its best features. I shelled out the extra $5 for the Special Edition so I could see the bonus content; the least you can do is not hide it on me!