Movie: Cloverfield

For the first time since Beowulf, I walked into a movie theater with absolutely no expectations whatsoever. And funnily enough, I had one of the most intense moviegoing experiences of my life. No, seriously! Cloverfield, released yesterday from director Matt Reeves and screenwriter Drew Goddard, follows a group of ordinary twentysomethings as they try to survive a monster attack on Manhattan. I know, I know, it sounds so campy that you'd expect Dr. Frankenfurter to make a cameo and storm up Park Avenue in a corset and heels, but seriously, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Gritty, disturbing, and utterly disorienting, this film scared the crap out of me.

For starters, the entire movie basically looks like it was filmed on a handheld camera that someone literally hauled through the city trying to get to safety, and that lends an aura of realism to the film that removes any possibility of it being thought of as cheesy. We see enough of the monsters to be terrified and repulsed, but enough of our questions are left unanswered to give us the feeling of being in the exact same situation as the victims of the attack - clueless, confused, and scared. The action is perfectly paced, the dialogue realistic and meticulously placed, and the characters good-looking but not big-name actors. 

My words are totally inadequate to describe the level of tension and suspense that this little pipebomb of a horror film packs. Suffice it to say that this is possibly the best horror/thriller/suspense movie I have ever seen, and I was riveted to the screen the entire time. The preview doesn't even remotely do this film justice - as it was, I walked in kind of kicking myself for spending $10 on a random horror flick that the preview had made look awful and pretty much like a repeat of every cheesy apocalyptic Godzilla-storms-New-York movie ever made. If you hated the preview, or thought it looked stupid - see this movie, and I think you'll be surprised. 

About 1.5 hours running time, check movie times and locations on Fandango.