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Cloverfield (2008)

Director: Matt Reeves

Time Out rating

Average user rating

111 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Six years after 9/11, the spectacular destruction of Manhattan is once again the premise of a Hollywood fantasy, though ‘Cloverfield’ is not your father’s disaster movie. Unaccountable trauma takes the place of scientific rationalisation; partial experience replaces the view from the war room; and the signifiers of the World Trade Center – fireballs, collapsing towers, dust clouds and drifting paper – are everywhere. Whether you find it all cathartic or exploitative is probably a matter of taste.

Following Steven Spielberg’s ‘War of the Worlds’ in presenting an ignorant, panicked, individuated response to armageddon, ‘Cloverfield’ takes that film’s single shot of fantastic carnage captured on a home video camera as its whole aesthetic.

The film is an ersatz relic à la ‘Blair Witch’, the purported contents of a camcorder discovered in the aftermath of a mysterious behemoth’s catastrophic rampage through New York. The camera belongs to Rob (Michael Stahl-David), a twentysomething about to move to Japan; his leaving party takes place on the night of the attack, and we follow his and a few friends’ experiences from dusk to dawn. Footage of an earlier, happier day out punctuatesthe main action.

The film is produced by JJ Abrams and, like ‘Lost’, it leaves the big picture vague while furnishing enough local information to keep the ride compelling. Though not without humour – our cameraman Hud (TJ Miller) provides goofy comic relief – this is at the gruelling end of the disaster movie spectrum, unabashedly mining its 9/11 resonances and neo-vérité grammar to considerable effect. The humans are ultimately pretty disposable, but the monster and the camera are worth attention.

Author: Ben Walters

Time Out London Issue 1954: Jan 30 to Feb 5

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User reviews of this film

brighteyes said...

Posted on Feb 24 2011 14:50 Watched on DVD on a sunny afternoon at home. I wanted it over. It was exhausting to watch but fascinating. I love films and am so much better and comprehending them when I settle down without a guilt trip. What idiot watches films on sunny afternoons?

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Trent said...

Posted on Jun 07 2010 22:42 Just watched this on TV — expected something rubbish as I'm not a fan of US horror/disaster movies. But it was actually quite an exciting and spectacular ride, without all the annoying moralizing and cheesy family values I'd anticipated. No particular plot, but that's hardly the point. Definitely one that guys will enjoy, while girls will... not see any point in it whatsoever.

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cloverfieldsucksbig said...

Posted on Jun 24 2009 09:18 still is, and always will be: end-to-end, high-bandwidth, full-fat shite.

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DUDE said...

Posted on Jan 03 2009 21:39 Everythink you want a film Its got Action,Horror,Sad moments and a couple of jokes!The best film i have ever seen!Cant stop watching it!

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herbie said...

Posted on Dec 27 2008 14:44 Saw this with no preconceptions. Err. no real plot, very long "character intro" which didn't endear you to any of them really. Some good action scenes, but spoiled by the extreme camera swings which gave us a headache.
No real conclusion or tying up, but that's in the vein of "B.W.P" style movies. Personally would have begrudged going to the Cinema to see it. Even Godzilla was better.

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nibbeler said...

Posted on Oct 30 2008 12:00 Best Horror\action flim ever!!!!!!!!

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Andy said...

Posted on Oct 23 2008 23:51 STEAMING PILE OF CAMEL POO

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Anon said...

Posted on Jun 27 2008 22:51 Absoloute crap, and I am being generous

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Panzram Industrial said...

Posted on Jun 20 2008 10:49 WOW!!!! one of the most terrifying film's Ive ever seen, the reason is that I put my self in the situation of the people there, Im passionate about Japanese shock & hate 99% of the crap that the the US dishes out but this was different, hated the end though! I wanted to know more, what happens to the monster, do they kill it etc, apart from that amazing

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ken and candy said...

Posted on Jun 15 2008 00:18 ih?what a waste of cash.i dont know wether the producer knows that there are starving people in the world ?the effects team did a good job but are obviously working for a bunch of muppets like the rest of the players in this appauling catastrophe..script.empty.lighting..dark.not agood thing we could say about it.this is Not i am legend or 28 weeks.dont bother.thanks for reading this.

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ray said...

Posted on Jun 08 2008 22:15 Rubbish, i did watched it not even having a clue what it was about to start with and I do like my films but crap reall poor,
Camera just gets annoying and story line very vague por and ending terrible, Do better myself

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wolf72 said...

Posted on Apr 13 2008 00:01 Jaw droppingly brilliant....enough said!!!

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Tom said...

Posted on Mar 27 2008 17:24 Haha I feel SO sorry 4 anyone who judges the film based on these reviews...it goes 5 star, 1 star, 5 star, no stars, 5 star... I say, f*ck the reviews, go in there with an open mind and see what u think. If u go in expecting to hate it, you probly will. Clear your head, try to enjoy it.
Personally I loved it =] but thats just me.

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zak said...

Posted on Mar 25 2008 21:07 i thot film waz gonna b gud but hv 2 say worst film i ve seen to date the story line wz gud but the camera ruined the film ovral lot of rubsh dnt watch it waste of money

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Ray said...

Posted on Mar 16 2008 16:45 that movie was awesome and that camera thing shaky camera WAS FREAKIN AMAZING

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