I was looking forward to the weekend: breakfast, some shopping, and a trip to see one of the most anticipated and hyped movies of the year, Cloverfield. Much of the hype was centered around the controversy of presenting images that many felt were taking advantage of the images of September 11, 2001. I don’t know if the controversy is really there or not, but I will say there are many images that resemble those we saw on that day. What I do know is I am fan of the television series Lost and Lost and Cloverfield producer J.J. Abrams. That said, as a result of seeing the movie’s preliminary trailers, I was excited.

The best way I know how to describe Cloverfield is to say it is like a badass Godzilla, with a twist that resembles The Blair Witch Project. The movie starts with what seems to be an official government comment that states the film was found at Central Park in New York City. Shortly after the commentary, we see what appears to be a homemade film that shows a group of friends celebrating one of their friends, Rob, who has taken a job as Vice President of a company in Japan.

Intermingled with the footage, we see that the video is being taped over the top of another video. We see a love story played out amongst the film congratulating Rob for the new job. There is a lot of shaky hand-held footage and some not used to this type of filming, as with The Blair Witch Project, may end up with motion sickness. While one may have issues with this, I felt it added to the enjoyment and realism of the movie. The viewer becomes a part of the movie, drawn into the story as it develops. We don’t know what all is going on but director Matt Reeves does a great job of using this technique to tell a story, and developing characters.

While not all of the principles associated with that approach are developed in the way I would have liked, the primary characters and story are. Not only do we get drawn into the lives of the characters, once all hell breaks loose and we see that New York City is under attack by some beast, it is as if we are there, along for the danger. Part of the reason this works is that Cloverfield don’t use well known actors for these roles. As a result, we can better relate. It is as if we are watching real people, not actors.

At first, as New York comes under attack, we don’t know what is going on. There are loud explosions and earth-shaking moments. The primary person shooting the video, Hud, continues shooting through everything, from the party to celebrate Rob’s new job to the attack by the creature. There will be enough surprises to have you jumping out of your seat, and squeezing the hand of the person you are at the movie with if on a date. The story flows, the surprises keep your attention, and there are enough scary moments that if you have a heart condition, you might best stay home. The direction, script and everything else works about as well as it could for this roller coaster thrill ride with enough scares and moments the viewer will have to remind themselves to breathe.

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