Cloverfield was a huge hit at the box office in January and
February. I planned on watching it on the big screen although I knew nothing
about it but I eventually ended up seeing it on a smaller screen.
From the beginning I will tell you this is a good movie which I highly recommend. I am saying this because in the next few paragraphs I will tell you more about how this reminds me of the Blair Witch Project but manages to capture my attention.
If you love movies like I do, you will have seen both Blair Witch Projects. The original one was scary and shocking. The way the director played with the camera was the key element of the whole picture. You were able to see the story and follow the events from the point of view of the main characters. They were filming everything. You would see the camera moving unprofessionally, bouncing and falling down exactly as it would do if used by an amateur cameraman.
That turned out to be quite exciting for us. We were barely breathing waiting to see what horror of a monster was chasing those guys...
Getting back to Clover-film now. It starts with a bunch of friends at a goodbye party. He is moving to Japan so everyone is there. During all this time they are preparing a home-made goodbye video. But while the party is underway, the amateur cameraman along with everyone else is a witness for the horror that follows.
Something terrifying strikes Manhattan. Everyone is running scared. The military is on the way, the monster is visible and it's huge. From that point on, the director follows a part of the group at the party while they are running for their lives through the streets and train tunnels of New York.
The camera twists and turns, it falls down and gets picked up. Does that sound familiar? Did you ever think this would turn out to be just another Blair Witch with a twist? Regular people like you and I are pushing the buttons and the camera is recording everything. And we, the viewers are getting goose bumps whenever we get to see those creatures making their move on scared humans.
Maybe these directing and filming strategies turned this script into a hit. Instead of being not another monster/tragedy-hits-Earth movie, which so many of us hate by now, it turned into a much cooler Blair Witch Project.
There aren't well known actors here. Why is that? Maybe because the producer wanted to give us a feel of reality. This could happen to anyone anywhere. Any regular Joe has access to a camera. We are recording more and more bits and pieces of our lives. Why not record tragedies like this one too?
I would assume Cloverfield will get some awards for directing, editing and photography. The special effects are neatly inserted and quite breath taking at certain points. Go see it now if you haven’t!
Chris
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