Scary Monsters Rule In Cloverfield

I have a lot to say about seeing Cloverfield.

So to be spoiler aware, it’s after the jump:

Damn.

There’s a lot in this movie. Monster fleas that will mess you up is first on my mind. Then, of course, there are tons of people running up to the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty (I thought of Jack Lail, actually, while sitting in the cinema because it was amazing to see oddly curious people whip out their cell phones to take video of her head and I thought to myself, how true.)

I want to say that the concept of someone shooting this film much the same way that the Blair Witch Project was shot was done well. I think the Abrams team waited long enough to do the big budget thing to make it work.

CNN says it better than I can:

Scenes of New Yorkers running from a swirling cloud of dust and debris cynically evoke the nightmare of 9/11; later sequences suggest the kind of urban firefights we read of in Iraq. These hot buttons are pressed almost at random. But underneath the stylistic brio, what we get is a lean video game scenario and a dash of prime Hollywood hokum, engaging enough for what it is.

Now, I’m going to tell you, I heard the review on NPR, who panned it. That’s cool but I think they are thinking very old school here. It’s a different kind of movie. Here’s the thing, if you don’t dig monster movies, you aren’t going to like this. Or is you are enmeshed in traditional monster movies, you are going to think this is of the suck. This movie moves the old “running from the streets trying to get away from the big-assed monsters” trick used in dozens of Godzilla movies.

But, for me as a fan of monster/horror movies, it works.

But here is where it’s different. As I was sitting in the first 15 minutes of the film, I was kinda bored, but when the Bessie the alien monster bitch from hell showed up, it was hell’s bells. The Abrams team needed to let us know the mundaneness of what was going on, and I understand why the first few minutes were set up the way they were.

And then, it rocks. Chaos hits. There was an element of what we saw on network news on 9/11, which I thought was bold and compelling, because it DID make me uncomfortable. And, there was also an element of (and I must say they were kind and helpful) soldiers dealing with the unbelievable (maybe a bit of Hurricane Katrina?) but with all of that said …

It was about the monster and how individuals and the government would deal with the unexpected.

There is one scene which I really thought worked, when hundreds of people are walking blankly and in rhythm behind a government vehicle, defeated within just a couple of hours by the horror of the descent of the monster on their community and how they just blindly walk forward.

Brilliant.

I love the whole monster concept (Zombies, Duh.) I mean, I don’t want them coming into my home but the movie had some genuine jumps in it and the monster was really horrendous. And, the CGI worked here.

The other thing I liked is there wasn’t an explanation of why Bessie the bitch monster was in Manhattan. It was the “home-made” video being shot and nothing else. I also think Abrams and Drew Goddard were smart about the fact that the main characters weren’t necessarily about Oscar-winning performances. There was a reality television air about it, which I thought added to the overall savoir faire of it all. Goddard, who has written for LOST and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was comfortable enough with this script to take some chances and were fearless in their movie. I respect that..

Yeah, there was some completely unbelievable stuff in the 85 minutes movie for you folks out there that want reality with your monster.

IT’S A MONSTER MOVIE for crying out loud.

But it was fun. And I dug it.

If you like 50-story monsters that are going to eat you for no damned reason whatsoever, this is your movie.

If not, I’m sure Beaches is playing somewhere for your enjoyment. That’s just not my thing, but if it’s yours, have at it.

But, damn, if I don’t love a monster.