* * * * * (out of 5)
When it comes to monster movies you start with King Kong and Godzilla and everything after is born from that pair. To see a creature attack modern Manhattan is not a new concept, it happened just 10 years ago in the underappreciated remake of Godzilla. So what would a filmmaker have to do to add new life to this story? Let the victims tell it.
The grandfather of movies that victims tell is of course The Blair Witch Project. This movie is evenly divided among those who loved it (like me) and those who hated it. The final scene was so disturbing that I couldn't shake it for days. This Cloverfield movie has a similar way of sneaking into your subconscious. I slept after seeing it, but was overcome with nightmares throughout the night. Very disturbing.
Why, because it breaks down that fourth wall. You are no longer watching a silly monster movie that you were able to distance yourself from when you were 11 years old, but a real-time, real-life tale of terror that could be translated in so many different ways. The first 20 minutes of the movie are so important as to how engrossed you will later become.
In those 20 minutes we see this nice, young couple filming each other after spending a night together in a Manhattan high-rise apartment, the video tape suddenly jumps to a month later when the young man is about to be surprised at a going-away party. His best friend is using his camera now to capture "goodbyes" from all the party guests. We get sort of caught up in the mini-drama between this "going away" man and his now ex-girlfriend, when what feels like an earthquake hits. It is this low-key, recreation of mundane normal life that feels so real that makes the next 1:10 seem so hopelessly real.
The key scene is after the monster wreaks havoc down their street. We don't see the monster because everyone is hiding. When people come up to see the trail of destruction it is all too similar to the street scenes after the first tower fell on 9/11. People dazed and covered in dust. Crushed cars and fires here and there. This movie becomes a 9/11 story told through a monster movie.
I also got another weird feeling watching it. Imagine how much worse 9/11 would have been if it had taken place in the dark. What kind of chaos there would have been in the streets.
There are some funny moments, provided by the goofy friend/cameraman, but this is still a straight-on dramatic telling with no Saturday matinee one-liners to lighten the psychological load. And we hear virtually no official word on what we are seeing. Except for the handful of times the main characters come across a TV with snippets of information, we are left in the dark as to what this creature is and why he's striking now. I won't offer clues because there are none as far as I could tell.
I loved that none of the actors are faces we know, so that kept the level of reality up and that the movie lasts about as long as a video camera's battery power.
The ending drew some boos from the audience, but I thought there was no other way to end it and felt satisfied based on how the whole thing is set up.
The Freditor
Monday, January 21, 2008
Cloverfield is the most original monster movie in a LONG Time
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5 comments:
Im glad you liked it. I was firmly in the camp that the Blair Witch Project had no business selling itself as a real viable movie that cost money to see. IT was the worst movie I have seen in years... much to do with the hype I was told before.. I wanted to kill that whining girl before the end of the movie myself. The movie left me bored and praying for the misery to end. Im hesitant about a movie that is compared to the dreck that is BWP but I am willing to netflix it as my friend Fred likes it. ( Im still angry about paying for BWP, you could have given me more entertainment with Marko and a Video Camera)
Uh yes. I agree that cloverfield was clever, but I myself disliked blair with project. The previous post stated that the girl ruined the movie for them, and I agree. That girl was like my old girlfriend who I dumped like day old bread due to her whining.
Was it not P. Winston Bradbury who avowed so eloquently “Let us not deride the ineptitude of those who are attempting to cull the perfect shells from the inward bound tide, all the while knowing full well the futility of finding the true perfect specimen” and yet they are to be admired for “giving it the old college try”. I, and others, aver and proudly state “Let it not be said that inability festers contempt, rather, it’s quite the converse, and inability can be reversed, with sheer force and determination”For this I say fellow bolters in the words of the infamous Teddy Roosevelt “BULLY”
"Shaky Cams" you either love them or hate them. I like it in the shield as it gives a gritty edge to the show... Blair Witch it was painful.. Im anxious to see cloverfield to see if the balance between annoyance and brillance entertwine in a dance of fine entertainment.
I like to eat pears. Pears in the morning, Pears in the afternoon, its all ok with me. But I will tell you what is NOT alright with me mister. People who think they know exactly what Im thinking. No sir go take a long walk with a peice of driftwood. Your machanations are only designed to anger us.
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