Cloverfield - Film Review

I missed this one back when it first came out and had heard it wasn't all that particularly impressive. Despite that, when 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox came out, I realized there just might be something special to be had. I figured I would finally put this on my to-watch list and the magical time came the other night.

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Where You Can Find It: I saw this one on Amazon Video where it is available for rent/purchase.

General Information 
Cloverfield is a found-footage horror film that originally released on 18 January 2008. It was directed by Matt Reeves and written by Drew Goddard with the famous J.J. Abrams serving as one of the co-producers. The film was produced under J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions with Paramount Pictures distributing. The film was a smashing success as it accumulated $172.4 million at the box office with only a $25 million budget (not counting advertising). It won a handful of awards to include the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film. It holds an above-average Metascore of 64 on Metacritic, with a 77% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes. Since its release, it has had two indirect sequels (10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox), with rumors of an additional film in the franchise being considered as early as 2018.

The Story

Jason (played by Mike Vogel) and his fiancé, Lily (Jessica Lucas), throw a farewell party for Jason's brother, Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who is moving to Japan for his job. Jason decides it would be a good idea to film the entire party via a handheld video camera, and entrusts the job to the dull-witted Hud (T.J. Miller's debut performance). Shortly into the party, New York City is transformed into a warzone when a mysterious and gigantic creature rampages through Manhattan. The friends will have to escape the city before it's completely reduced to rubble.

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He just wants to give you a big smooch

The great thing about horror films is that it's typically fine if most of the cast is completely unlikable and incompetent as no one gets sad when they bite the dust in spectacular fashion. Cloverfield is no exception as I found Jason and his friends to either be uninteresting (Jason, Lily, and Marlena) or unlikable (Hud and Rob). Hud is particularly awful as no one seems to like his company despite being "Rob's best friend." The starting scenes have the group at a farewell party for Rob, but some of the characters don't even know who Rob is, while I swear that some others didn't even know why they were there (is this what partying in New York City is like?).

Most horror films typically center around the cast trying to escape the danger zone (unless it's the Kenny Loggins one), and Cloverfield is relatively similar, however the group suddenly changes its mind halfway through when Rob decides to go back into the fray for very personal reasons. I can respect that particular character's motivations, but I can't really respect the others. One of the group doesn't even know Rob, so it had me scratching my head as to why they felt the need to put their life on the line for something that had nothing to do with them. I can get behind most slasher flick characters' motivations as they're generally straight-forward and simple, but the gung-ho attitude of Rob's group came off as dangerously naïve which led to me caring less about whether they survived or not.

Special Effects/Atmosphere

Using the found footage perspective for a classic giant monster movie theme is a really unique approach, and I think this particular style is what separates this film from its peers. Despite this technique, it does have its flaws. Certain parts are somewhat hard to watch, and it definitely takes some getting used to. When it originally released, the "shaky cam" style made some viewers sick, so those that struggle with such designs may want to avoid this one. I personally got used to the jitteriness after a few minutes of when the action started, but I will admit that there were multiple scenes where it was unclear what exactly was happening (this is likely by design to some extent). 

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Hud shouldn't drink so much coffee before filming...

The special effects of the monsters have not particularly aged well, but I think it's still serviceable. The "Clover" monster is relatively unique in appearance, so I was glad it wasn't just another giant lizard or monkey. Other CGI creations looked a little better, and I believe some of this was done by making use of the surroundings (e.g. darkness, smoke, etc...) to cover up technical limitations.

One minor gripe I want to address is the over "cleanliness" of this film. Having personally visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, the sheer level of chaos that follows the destruction of a building is pretty catastrophic, and Cloverfield does a decent job in the beginning as clouds of rubble and debris become tangible threats near the beginning. This effort seemingly fades away though as the film continues and more buildings are destroyed (bombs are also dropped, but I won't get into that). Look, I get it, this is a dumb monster movie, however the found footage style and grounded perspective begs the viewer to take the setting more seriously. There's a level of consistency that needs to be maintained for the audience to understand what's exactly at stake.

The Acting

There's not much to write home about with the acting in this one. Of the standouts, I'd say Odette Yustman (who plays Rob's love interest, Beth) is the best, but it's not by much. Despite T.J. Miller's fame (or infamy), I generally hated both his acting and his character. There were multiple times where Hud asks awkward or annoying questions that I believe are supposed to be comical, but they all come off as forced and bothersome. The monster hadn't even appeared yet and I was already hoping Hud would meet a gruesome end.

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When Hud's involved, I root for the monster

Lizzy Caplan (who plays Marlena) deserves a special mention as she makes it abundantly clear that she did not want to be in this movie. Apparently, she signed on to the film with the understanding that this was going to be a romantic comedy (the film's premise was kept secret), and you can essentially see her reaction to that not being the case throughout the movie's run-time. Her chemistry with the other characters is non-existent and her lack of interest infects every scene she's in.

The Best of the Best: The novel approach to giant monster movies with a grounded perspective.

The Worst of the Worst: The combination of T.J. Miller's acting combined with his character as Hud had me fervently rooting for anything and everything that might pose a lethal threat against him.

Calhooey Score: 6/10 - Above Average

Would I Recommend?

I came into this movie expecting a generally bad movie and my expectations were defied as I left reasonably impressed. It's a fun popcorn film that doesn't overstay its welcome. If you have medical concerns that make you uncomfortable with the shaky cam style, I'd avoid this one. I'm interested to see what the "sequels" have to offer...

 Spoiler Comments

• I want to know what these kids did for a living to be able to afford living at Columbus Circle.
• Speaking of Columbus Circle, just the sight of that location made me have flashbacks of the Columbus Circle movie that I reviewed last year. I hope Clover stomped the heck out of Klandermann...
• It's a shame that Marlena died as we both seemed to share similar opinions of Hud.
• I can understand why the group avoided the Lincoln Tunnel, as the earthquake concerns seemed pretty real, but why take the Brooklyn Bridge? They're literally trading one island (Manhattan) for another (Long Island). The smart ones would've taken the George Washington Bridge, which is why I know I would've survived this film.
• So do those bug things that fall off Clover have poisonous bites or are they just Alien knock-offs?
• I don't care how good the sex was, Rob was insane for wanting to walk all the way back to Columbus Circle just to see if Beth might still be alive.
• Speaking of Beth, I've never seen someone walk off getting impaled with rebar before. I was impressed.
• I liked this movie more after seeing Hud get bit in half by the monster. Every film deserves a happy ending.

 References

(1) IMDB. (n.d.). Cloverfield film image. Retrieved from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1060277/.

(2) Gfycat. (2017, April 15). Clover monster gif. Retrieved from: https://gfycat.com/breakableorneryfennecfox. 

(3) Gfycat. (2019, April 10). Shaky cam gif. Retrieved from: https://gfycat.com/warlikebruiseddungbeetle-movieclipsdotcom-blockbusters-cloverfield.

(4) Beebe, J. (2020, May 21). Hud image. ScreenRant. Retrieved from: ttps://screenrant.com/cloverfield-movie-hud-not-survivor-death-reason/.