Something’s Coming

Every once in a while, a film comes out, and it just becomes something audiences either love or hate.

Cloverfield is such a film – and people definitely are going to be talking about it.

Produced by J.J. Abrams, directed cinema-verité-style with a handheld camera by Abrams’ Felicity co-creator Matt Reeves, and written by Drew Goddard, a veteran of TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Alias, and Lost, Cloverfield has enjoyed months of well-deserved fan hype.

The plot is simple.

A group of friends has gotten together in a downtown New York apartment to bid farewell to one of their own, Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who’s leaving for Japan.

“Tonight’s gonna be the best night ever!” one of them says.

Rob sees this as an opportunity tie up loose ends, but something out there sees this as an opportunity to make its presence known.

Everyone’s having fun when all of the sudden, the apartment shakes.

Rob and his friends make their way to the roof and see an explosion in lower Manhattan. As they make their way out onto the street one of them wonders if it’s “another attack.” Shortly after getting out of the building, that something sends the head of the Statue of Liberty rolling down the street in front of them.

Then, it knocks a building down, and massive clouds of debris chase the group into the safety of neighborhood stores (controversial shades of Sept. 11).

As Rob and his friendsfriends – filming-everything Hud (T.J. Miller), Lily (Jessica Lucas), and Marlena (Lizzy Caplan) – begin to wrap their heads around what’s going on, they soon realize they must venture into the middle of the city to save one of their own.

The best part about this Godzilla-meets-The Blair Witch Project is it delivers genuine edge-of-your-seat scares and thrills.

One reason for this is the intimate, albeit not-suited-to-everyone’s-taste feel Reeves achieves by shooting everything with a shaky handheld camera. You’re right there on the action.

Another is the cast is completely unknown, save for Caplan who appeared in Mean Girls and starred in TV’s The Class. (Don’t believe the rumors that say Blake Lively of TV’s Gossip Girl appears in the film. She is to Cloverfield what Jennifer Aniston was to Godzilla: a piece of casting that never was.)

And, for all you who might think Abrams & Co. are going to string you along without showing you the monster (à la, say, Lost), don’t worry: you will so see it.

Now, for a mini-spoiler….

Still with me?

‘Cause there’s a mini-spoiler ahead.

Keep your eyes peeled during the last 30 seconds of the film. If you watch closely you will see how it all began.

My Rating ****

Photo: Paramount Pictures.