Guest Author - Kirsten Olsen-Keyser

Movies are meant to evoke strong emotions. We as the audience are supposed to be terrified, surprised, shocked, empathetic, happy or concerned for the characters and should theoretically care about the situation they are in. Movies are supposed to take us on a journey into an idea set into motion by a unique few story tellers. Fortunately for us, Cloverfield conveyed the raw, intense emotion of fear by showing us the point of view of a few unfortunate souls caught in the middle of a monster invasion in New York City.

While the camera work easily made some viewers motion sick, the acting, visual and sound effects were enough to keep people glued to their seats. Shown as a government document retrieved from Central Park during the “Cloverfield Incident”, the story is simple; a young man, on the eve of taking a job in Japan, is thrown a going away party by his friends. Relationships are revealed slowly through a series of conversations, going away messages and arguments. It isn’t long into the night, however, before mayhem ensues and those relationships are tested. Choosing relatively new actors made the documentary style of the film all the more believable. To say anything more would give away too much information and ruin the truly unique experience for the viewer.

During the film, be on the lookout for an homage to some of the great monster films that came before it, specifically Them!, King Kong and The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. Also, keep your eye on the screen during the final Coney Island shot for the director’s closing visual gift to the audience and for an audio surprise, sit through the end credits and listen carefully when the screen fades to black.

While tapped as a cross between Blair Witch and Gojira by some, Cloverfield is far superior to it’s hand held counterpart and just as exciting and terrifying as it’s monster movie brethren! Kudos to Reeves and Abrams for setting the bar for all action films in 2008!

Director: Matt Reeves

Writers: Drew Goddard

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, terror and disturbing images