Cloverfield (Theatrical - 2008)
Paramount Pictures
Director: Matt Reeves
Writer: Drew Goddard
Cast: Michael Stahl-David, Odette Yustman, Mike Vogel, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan & T.J. Miller.

Review by Annie Riordan

A group of partygoers are rudely interrupted by a HUGE gargantuan beastie that crawls out of New York Harbor and goes on a real estate smashing spree. As police and the military attempt to hurriedly evacuate Manhattan, Rob, his camera toting brother and a couple of close friends head deeper into the city seeking
Beth, the girl Rob loves. Along the way, they encounter smaller parasitic creatures whose bite proves fatal, disoriented survivors and harassed soldiers who grimly inform them that the monster is winning the battle. Will they find Beth and make it to safety? Or will they all end up as monster chow?

It’s rare (with me, anyway) that a movie lives up to the monstrous (no pun intended) hype that its marketing campaign generates. I think the last movie that actually did was Pan’s Labyrinth. But Cloverfield manages it quite nicely. It’s a straightforward monster flick with not a lot of time wasted on character development or subplots. That said, the cast does a wonderful job of making their characters seem like old friends, and the backstory (what there is of it) is cleverly handled via an old tape which is being recorded over as the film progresses. The monster - which miraculously remained unseen until premiere day - is worth the wait...and no, I’m NOT going to tell you what it looks like. Cloverfield deserves to be seen on the big screen. Just be sure to pack some Dramamine for the trip because that shaky camera will have the easily queasy among you riding the porcelain pony once the credits roll.

If Godzilla and the Blair Witch had a baby, and named Stephen King’s The Mist and H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos as its godparents, it would definitely be christened Cloverfield. There’s no sex, no nudity and very little blood. I also heard a lot of naysayers whining that there wasn’t enough Monster in their monster movie, but I saw plenty and Mr. Beastie gets a nice, long, climactic close-up so sit tight and be patient. With it’s nice You-Are-There documentary style and it’s grim climax, Cloverfield has already set the standard for 2008s forthcoming horror orgy. It won’t be easy to top this baby.

“A monsteriffic thriller that absolutely lives up to its own hype!”