DVD Reviews

Cloverfield

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• Details: Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas

Pitched squarely as The Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla, anyone who has been engulfed in the pre-hype surrounding Cloverfield since that teaser trailer appeared a few months ago, may think they know what to expect from this film - but they'll fall short, as it stands as an anomaly that actually lives up to the hype. The less you know about it, the better your cinema-going experience will be, so there will be no drawn-out plot synopsis explaining proceedings in detail, other than something large and nasty attacks New York and the whole thing is shot realistically (in terms of plot) on a camcorder. Many blockbusters have come and gone over the past year, but not one of them packs as much bang for its buck as this hugely innovative piece of work. Director Reeves has worked hard in assembling controlled chaos on the streets of Manhattan, and it plays out with an unrelenting intensity and horror. But it's his creative use of injecting character into the bedlam (the tape being used to film the carnage records over a happy day with our lead, leading to inventive semi-flashbacks) that really stands out, causing us to actually care about their messed-up plight. Someone far smarter than me once said that all the best horror films have protagonists that you genuinely care for, not just cool monsters; well, here you've got both. The characters are people you will feel you're friends with, and not because they're particularly cool - but because they're just like you or me... real. As for the actual monster, it's a downright nasty piece of work, devoid of personality and dedicated to random destruction and death. Of course, there is a purposeful, resonating sense of the sheer panic that takes place, and you could draw metaphoric parallels with 9/11 and fear-mongering all day. But, as it is, Cloverfield is a hugely-satisfying popcorn flick that brings something new and enigmatically clever to this prehistoric genre. Don't choke on your nails.
Details:US / 84mins (15A)

Review by Mike Sheridan