Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, T J Miller, Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas,
Odette Yustman, Margot Farley, Theo Rossi, Brian Klugman, Ben Feldman | Written by Drew Goddard
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £22.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 85 minutes | Directed by Matt Reeves
Producer JJ Abrams' monster movie is a little cracker. While its slightly gimmicky shaky-cam footage means it's not suitable for those who suffer motion sickness, the plot doesn't contain holes as much as subway tunnels — just how long does that bloody video camera battery last, JJ? — and the end is one survival too many, it's almost irrelevant because Cloverfield is stupidly exciting, a visceral experience that will leave you reeling.
It's all based around a leaving party for Rob (Stahl-David) who's supposed to be off to Japan in the morning, leaving the woman of his dreams, Beth (Yustman), and brother Jason (Vogel) behind in New York. These best laid plans fall apart though thanks to the arrival of a mystery beast who's stomping Mahattan because, frankly, it can. What it is and why it's there is never answered and it matters not a jot: it's there, it's destroying everything and, just for good measure, it has these fast moving, spider-like parasites that are dropping off it and joining the violent mayhem.
Yes, you can certainly pick holes in the film and the structure — elaborate set-up of the supposed romance / a bunch of yuppies we really don't care that much about, followed by 60 minutes of insane action — is somewhat unbalanced. Let's face it, we don't really care if Rob and Beth are meant to be together. We just want to see them run around the city as some gargantuan lizard thing gets medieval on New York's ass. But those weaknesses only become apparent after you've switched off the DVD and had a good stiff drink to recover because once the gargantuan lizard thing turns up, you'll be dragged to the edge of your seat and held there for an hour of sweaty, heart-stopping pleasures. As a film, it's definitely wanting. But as a thrillride experience, Cloverfield is a pedal-to-the-metal, must-see stunner.
EXTRAS **** Quite a package indeed. On the first disc, as well as the film itself, there's a commentary track with director Matt Reeves and a little feature called Supplemental Files, where deleted scenes are inserted back into the film if you press enter on your remote when a battery icon appears on the screen. On the second disc are four deleted scenes and two alternate endings; Clover Fun (a gag reel); and three featurettes — Document 01.18.08: The Making of Cloverfield, Cloverfield Visual Effects and I Saw It! It's Alive! It's Huge!, which is all about the creation of the monster. Rumour has it there are also a bunch of Easter Eggs, but we haven't come across any. Yet.