Cloverfield (2008) REVIEW

I still haven't been able to see 10 Cloverfield Lane yet, so in the meantime I decided to rewatch the original, Cloverfield. The film is all shot as a found footage piece, based on a group of young New Yorkers at a party who end up right in the middle of a monster invasion. 

The first sign is a explosion followed by - of all things - the head of the Statue of Liberty flying into their street. From there Rob in all of the panic decides he must find his true love Beth, but it looks like Rob, his friends Hud, Jason, Lily and Marlena will have to face a treacherous journey across the city to find her and to survive. 

When this film came out back in 2008, it was masked in mystery, all we knew was that J.J.Abrams was involved and that there would be monsters, followed by destruction. The result is a tense and involving film that has the audience in the edge of the seat, and as always with Abrams, more questions are ultimately asked then answered.
The initial build up at the beginning sets up our characters and despite feeling slow, it enables the film to flesh them out and make them feel real. The shaky cam is pretty hap-hazard and can make you feel abit queasy but I think overall the decision to use it was wise as it adds another element of hysteria to the film. When the action kicks off, the camera draws you right in, unblinking in the thick of it, whether it's capturing the monster or with the infrared in a very unnerving tunnel sequence! The effects have aged pretty well, only patchy in a few places. This film still gave me goosebumps, it's intense in the best possible way. 

The actors who were relatively unknown at the time are relatable and likeable (despite their warped decisions at times). The only issues I would say is the slow start but it accelerates rapidly. Also this only feels like the tip of the iceberg, what happened in other areas of the city? Why did they decide to bomb NY so quickly? 

Overall, a really entertaining monster film, with more integrity than most, J.J. never fully puts of his cards on the table which will annoy some but intrigue many others. 8.5/10