Movie Notes: Cloverfield

February 24th, 2010

= 3 stars

Starring Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, Michael Stahl-David
Directed by Matt Reeves

Synopsis

A party is interrupted by a gigantic monster attacking Manhattan.

The Good

• The whole film is found footage from a hand held camera in the hands of a desperate-to-survive character.
• Judicious use of special effects; monsters appear briefly, heightening the tension.

The Bad

• Paper-thin characters. A group of narcissistic twenty-nothings, obsessed with their cellphones and digital cameras (only a self-centered person would keep a camera on at all times while hell is breaking loose).
• Ridiculous, horror movie logic. The characters have multiple chances to escape (they even meet up with the military at one point) but unwisely choose to return to the most dangerous part of the city to save one of their friends.

Conclusion

A good example of style (War of the Worlds meets The Blair Witch Project) failing to overcome lack of substance, specifically the standard horror situation of silly people you don’t care about, being picked off one by one. I wish these scary events had happened to more interesting victims.