Movie Review: Cloverfield

The much anticipated horror/thriller Cloverfield opened in theaters this weekend. Produced by Lost's J.J. Abrams, Cloverfield revolves around a group of 20-somethings living in New York City who are gathered together for a going-away party when, all of the sudden, someone or something attacks the city.

One interesting and quite noticeable feature of Cloverfield is that it was created to look like an amateur video. The character Hud is behind the camera the whole time, at first filming his friends, and later documenting the disastrous events that are occurring in the city. The shaky camera shots are similar to those in The Blair Witch Project. Yes, it is annoying, but yes, you do get used to it. It is effective too, and not nearly as cheesy as Blair Witch. As a viewer, I could seriously believe that this "attack" was capable of happening in real life.

Without giving too much away, the one problem I did have with this movie is that some aspects of it reminded me a great deal of 2007's The Mist which I viewed about a month ago. It seemed like a direct rip-off.

Love is at the root of Cloverfield's plot, as seen in the relationships between Jason and Lily and Rob and Beth. Which makes this a good date movie, right?

Overall, I really enjoyed Cloverfield. If you're expecting a solution at the end of this movie, don't count on it. What some viewers may see as a flaw is the fact that this "monster" is never identified, nor is its origin made clear. If you're looking for a logical reason for this attack, you will leave the movie feeling jipped. Additionally, if you're hoping for lots of blood and gore, don't count on it in this movie. Cloverfield is nowhere near as violent as other movies today (it's rated PG 13, mind you) nor is there an extensive amount of swearing. I would say that this movie is suitable for preteens and teenagers.