Cloverfield (2008)

I suppose the first thing to warn of is - it is shot entirely POV, and for many (including me) that can prove to be really quite annoying at times (and particularly difficult to light effectively). The premiss is that "Jason" (Mike Vogel) and girlfriend "Lily" (Jessica Lucas) are living the happy lives of a young couple. When one night they set off to attend a leaving do for their pal "Rob" (Michael Stahl-David) their party is shattered by what seems like an earthquake, followed by a desperate hunt for his girlfriend "Beth" (Odette Annable) as something ginormous is stalking the streets of New York. The camera passes from person to person, so that does give us a different perspective of the ensuing mania - but actually I didn't find them a particularly engaging bunch of panic-stricken folks so I can't say I was very concerned for their safety. Some of the decisions they make - admittedly under a fair degree of duress - seem staggeringly risky and/or stupid; the sound editing overdoes the screeching and wailing to such an extent that the dialogue can be barely audible at times, and though well paced eventually, it still takes just a bit too long to actually get going. It is certainly an interesting concept, and if the style of cinematography doesn't drive you mad after twenty minutes, then I reckon you will quite enjoy the intimacy of the thing - at times, it is actually quite scary.

48/100

A group of friends try to survive when Manhattan is suddenly and inexplicably attacked by a massively huge monster of unknown origin. This movie should be an incredibly exciting thrill ride. However, unlike the films "[REC]", "V/H/S/2", and "As Above, So Below", which really knew how to use the hand-held camera most effectively, the camera in this film was just all over the place all the time. Rather than thrilled, I was frustrated the camera was never pointing at what I wanted to look at and it just gave me a headache. -- DrNostromo.com