I went to see Cloverfield again today, and it was as terrifying and intense as the first time. As a connoisseur of the 'giant monster attacks city' genre, (and yes there are enough of them to be a genre, you should come round my house sometime!) I was hoping I might enjoy this film. But I didn't quite expect it to be one of the best films I've seen in years.
Yes it's a very simple premise, and yes the camera waves around all over the place. That's not the point. It's about ordinary people trapped in the middle of an unimaginable, horrifying situation, simply trying to escape with their lives. I don't think I've ever seen the old Lovecraftian nameless dread portrayed so well before. Just thinking about the monster makes me feel a bit funny!
Obviously the shadow of September 11th hangs over any story about New York being attacked. I would say it's about 9-11 in the same way the original Godzilla film was about Hiroshima; It's the tragedy and destruction, the death and the fear. The people in the middle of it all.
An absolute classic, and one of the defining films of the decade.
Not quite the rampaging monster buff you are, but I did enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI thought they did an excellent Lovecraftian trick in showing the mosnter, but still making it hard to entirely get a grip on what it was.
Plus, the parasites thing were a great touch!
Cheers :)
Paul
The parasites were really horrible weren't they? The lovely Marlena was my favourite character, until the "BITE!" scene of course!
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