A Bad Robot Production. Paramount Pictures, 2008. Written by Drew Goddard. Directed by Matt Reeves. Starring Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Odette Yustman and Mike Vogel.

    By Stephen Pytak 

     This is the best big monster movie since the original 
"Gojira" came out in 1954.
    The reason why it works is the "Blair Witch" 
documentary-style in which it's shot. Seeing a giant creature
take New York City apart through the eye of a video camera
forces us to take the entire situation seriously, as if it's 
really happening. 
     And the actors we follow through this night of terror --
five friends who were partying when a hell-bent, skyscraper-
sized thing comes to town to wreak havoc -- gave convincing 
performances. I felt like I wase there with them, running into 
difficult, dark situations, trying to escape from certain doom.
     While a lot of people over the years have criticized "The
Blair Witch Project," they can't deny the basic structure of
the plot works like gangbusters, as long as you have an
original idea to carry it. 
     Like "Blair Witch," "Cloverfield" is about footage the 
Department of Defense found in the former Central Park after 
the military bomb Manhattan in an effort to destroy the creature. 
What we see is that videotape, from end to end, which chronicles 
the adventures the five friends have during that terrifying night.
     It all starts off light and happy. Lily (Jessica Lucas) and her
boyfriend Jason (Mike Vogel) are planning a going-away party
for his brother, Rob (Michael Stahl-David). Jason gives the
video camera to Hud (T.J. Miller) and asks him to get 
testimonials from people at the party. 
     Soon after Rob shows up, he has a spat with his girlfriend,
Beth (Odette Yustman), then an explosion rocks the city and
the real fun begins.
     The creature's entrance is classic. The TV news reports an
oil tanker capsized near the Statue of Liberty. The people at
the party decide to run to the roof to get a better view. Once
there, the see a firey explosion, in the heart of downtown,
which sends debris their way. They run for it. And when they
reach street level, they see Liberty's head rolling toward them.
Then buildings start to fall -- including even the Chrysler 
building I think.
     The group of friends make a run for it, in an effort to flee the
city. I'm not going to go into what happens to them. That would
spoil the rollercoaster for anyone who hasn't experienced it. But
I will say at times they found themselves in situations which
reminded me of "Aliens (1986)."
     The creature is impressive. I don't know what to call it. Or
whether it's a mammal or what. But it was an interesting, sickening
thing. No one in the film had any idea what it was or where it
came from. There is no explanation. This didn't bother me either.
It allowed your imagination to run wild.
     When I first heard about "Cloverfield" the first thing that came
to mind was the big-budget disaster "Godzilla" made by Roland
Emmerich a decade ago. I think it would be interesting to watch 
these two films back to back, to measure their effectiveness.
     They basically the same premise -- big monster comes to New
York to tear up the town. While "Cloverfield" is an exercize in terror,
"Godzilla (1998)" wasn't scary, when I thought it should have been. 
It was more of a big-budget spectacle, which was sometimes played for 
laughs. 
     Fans of "Cloverfield" should also check out Zak Penn's "Incident at
Loch Ness," a psuedo-documentary made in 2004 which follows 
director Werner Herzog to the home of the Loch Ness Monster. This is a 
comedy, but the monster is taken seriously. And we catch glimpses of it 
swimming around Herzog's boat, and it looks fairly realistic. I like this 
film quite a bit.