I went and saw Cloverfield yesterday and it was really, really good. I liken it to the Blair Witch Project (1999) in that it is a horror film told from a first person perspective with video tape. And like the earlier film it deals more with the human tension than with out and out gore, though this one has some legitimate on screen terror. The best way to describe this film is it is a Godzilla movie told from the perspective of a group of ordinary people caught at ground zero.
The plot involves a man named Rob who is at a going away party, right before he leaves for a new job in Japan. Suddenly a monster attacks New York and while the military tries to destroy it, Rob tries to get to his girlfriend’s apartment to rescue her and get of the city before the military lay down a blanket bombing strife that will level the city. All the while this is being documented by Rob’s best friend, who was videotaping testimonials at the party.
The first half of the movie is excellent. You have a bit of a slow start as we meet the characters and get to know them a little. Then disaster hits, with a few subtle hints at 911, and from then on it is a thrill packed race against time, as Rob and his friends try to avoid the military, the monster, and the nasty little carnivorous parasites it knocked off it’s body by rubbing against a building.
I unfortunately learned how everything turned out second hand from The Patient One. I don’t have the strongest stomach, can’t go on roller coasters, heck, I can’t even go on ferris wheels. At about the half way mark I started to get queasy. I would close my eyes and feel a little better, open them and get immediately queasy again. Eventually even that wasn’t helping and when I felt my gorge rising I left the theater, regretting the box of Bunch Of Crunch I had gotten. Luckily I didn’t spew. After I felt a little better I went back inside just in time to catch a helicopter crash from first person perspective and immediately ran back out of the theater.
After the end credits The Patient One told me how it all turned out and how I missed the scene where you actually see the monster. After cursing my week stomach, and her ability to sit through the entire film thanks to her being acclimated to shaky cam visual thanks to countless hours playing City of Heroes, I now have to content myself to waiting for the DVD in a few months so that I can see how it all turned out. I understand it’s really good.
