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Review: Cloverfield
“I can just see this ending up on the internet”. This deeply ironic early comment in the film, especially when bearing in mind where the root of this ‘disaster movie’s premature popularity stemmed from. When it first appeared as a short teaser trailer of ‘something’ attacking New York City in US cinemas, it sent incessant bloggers and fanboys into a mouse-clicking frenzy. Not since The Blair Witch Project had a film gained so much popularity through such an outlandish marketing strategy. Prospective fans could not wait to hop online and set cyberspace ablaze with all sorts of conspiracy theories about what the ‘monster’ could be, some more accurate than others.
Also the aesthetics of this film, (sustained hand-held camera throughout) lends itself to the rising popularity of today’s YouTube culture. It would not look out of place, or be the only one if its kind, if such a calamity were to hit any major city today. The film is peppered throughout with anxious onlookers running scared, but not before they have captured priceless footage on their mobile phones that will no doubt find its way onto the video-sharing site.
So could this somewhat avant-garde film ever live up to the expectation and hype that it sought out? Well the good news is it is, without doubt, the most original, captivating piece of cinema you will see probably this decade. The imaginative way in which it is shot will mean you will almost certainly not lose interest for literally a second, surely something every filmmaker begs of their audience. It moves at a break-neck speed, with constant erratic cuts and flashes of the camera’s memory. The survivors stumble through something of a makeshift plot, but clearly narrative is as important to this film as it is in Transformers: it just isn’t why you turned up. The sheer originality of this picture will carry you through the succinct running time easily. The improvised texture of the film also works perfectly, with the cast of unknowns realistically jabbering and bantering away like a group of friends are prone to do.
It is not until the monsters make their appearance that the film starts to wane somewhat. The first encounter the gang have with said baddies descends into usual horror movie fodder, with our heroes managing to bat them aside with a scream and a stick. Moreover, the fundamental strength of this film, from its early marketing through to its concluding moments, is the power of mystery. So when the protagonists are faced with the hellish creatures in close quarters, and we see the CG monsters spawn as if from nowhere, the sense of mystique disappears. On top of which, the conveniently placed lighting and the fact the camera stays switched on even when the characters are in mortal peril, starts to wear thin after a while.
However, these are minor blots on an otherwise captivating, truly astounding canvas. The performances from the cast of complete unknowns manage to maintain the audiences’ emotional connection with the characters throughout, which segues into an incredibly powerful epilogue.
Also the aesthetics of this film, (sustained hand-held camera throughout) lends itself to the rising popularity of today’s YouTube culture. It would not look out of place, or be the only one if its kind, if such a calamity were to hit any major city today. The film is peppered throughout with anxious onlookers running scared, but not before they have captured priceless footage on their mobile phones that will no doubt find its way onto the video-sharing site.
So could this somewhat avant-garde film ever live up to the expectation and hype that it sought out? Well the good news is it is, without doubt, the most original, captivating piece of cinema you will see probably this decade. The imaginative way in which it is shot will mean you will almost certainly not lose interest for literally a second, surely something every filmmaker begs of their audience. It moves at a break-neck speed, with constant erratic cuts and flashes of the camera’s memory. The survivors stumble through something of a makeshift plot, but clearly narrative is as important to this film as it is in Transformers: it just isn’t why you turned up. The sheer originality of this picture will carry you through the succinct running time easily. The improvised texture of the film also works perfectly, with the cast of unknowns realistically jabbering and bantering away like a group of friends are prone to do.
It is not until the monsters make their appearance that the film starts to wane somewhat. The first encounter the gang have with said baddies descends into usual horror movie fodder, with our heroes managing to bat them aside with a scream and a stick. Moreover, the fundamental strength of this film, from its early marketing through to its concluding moments, is the power of mystery. So when the protagonists are faced with the hellish creatures in close quarters, and we see the CG monsters spawn as if from nowhere, the sense of mystique disappears. On top of which, the conveniently placed lighting and the fact the camera stays switched on even when the characters are in mortal peril, starts to wear thin after a while.
However, these are minor blots on an otherwise captivating, truly astounding canvas. The performances from the cast of complete unknowns manage to maintain the audiences’ emotional connection with the characters throughout, which segues into an incredibly powerful epilogue.
Adam Jelley
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