Ramble

I saw Cloverfield last night in a packed theater. My one word review: intense.

Rarely do I see a movie that actually makes my heart race like this one did. I sat in the third row and from that close to the screen you do need a strong stomach, at least in the beginning, as the camera work can be a bit disorienting. There was even a hastily printed sign outside the theater entrance to warn us of that fact.

I’m not going to give away spoilers for those who didn’t see it, you can find them other places on the Web. But, some of the deaths in this movie are quite disturbing. The monster itself is amazing, huge, and terrifying.

The addition of smaller, about dog-sized, parasite monsters create a immediate threat to the lives of the characters that keeps the tension high when the main monster is not nearby.

While the characters are not deeply explored in this film, I think their interactions and even conversations were very realistic. In the middle a crisis that stretches the boundaries of human imagination, the characters behave mostly as I’d expect them to. They are scared, often traumatized, but they are trying to survive as best they can. The most unrealistic aspect of their trek is Rob’s initial decision to go into the middle of the city in search of Beth and the nearly immediate decisions of the other main characters to follow him. It is especially straining credibility to think that Marlena would risk her life, going along with people she hardly knows, when she could just leave with the military evacuation. Thankfully for us, she does go along, as Lizzy Caplan provides by far the best performance in the picture.

Be sure to pay attention to the final footage of the film, in the upper right quadrant, in the ocean. Also, while the movie itself does not have a musical score during the film, if you stay for the credits, you are treated to a pretty good, monster movie theme score as well as a whisper at the end, that when played backwards, says, “It’s still alive.”

I’m not sure how successful a sequel would be, though. This movie is really an “experience” film. You need to see it in a theater with a good projector and sound system to appreciate it. I can’t imagine having the same kind of visceral reaction sitting at home, watching it on DVD. There really isn’t any depth to the film that can be explored on subsequent viewings, except in what can be glimpsed in the background of some of the complex shots thanks to the pause button.

Overall, I thought it was a great monster movie that fully lived up to my hopes and expectations. I wanted a gory, gritty, horrifyingly realistic take on a fantastical scenario. I got what I wanted in spades.