PopSyndicate.com

Few films over the last decade have mounted as beautifully chaotic a marketing scheme as Cloverfield, a fairly-modest giant monster movie effort from producer J.J. Abrams that turned into one of the most polarizing movies of the year. With a viral campaign that exceeded expectations, the marketing ended up spiraling nearly out of control, though box office receipts proved worth it. Everyone remembers the fake MySpace pages devoted to characters; the Slusho websites that ended up having only the most peripheral connection to the film and not to mention all the totally unrelated websites that people believed to be connected. Grossing over $80 million in the U.S. alone (God only knows how it did in Japan), Cloverfield became a sensation. Was it worth it? There seems to be no middle ground – some loved it, some absolutely detest it, but few found it to be “just okay.”

The plot of the film is only part of the make-up of the film; it’s fairly rudimentary in execution in this regard. In the movie’s scant 84 minute running time, we follow the lives of a small group of New Yorkers caught up in the middle of a giant monster’s rampage through the city. Rob is preparing to leave for Japan on business when his brother Jason throws a surprise party for him. Their friend Hud is designated to record the party on camcorder, and this is how the film is presented – not as a traditional movie, but a chance recording on home video (similar in ways to Blair Witch Project and the recent Diary of the Dead). During the party all hell breaks loose as something very big and very angry attacks the city, throwing the Statue of Liberty’s head down the middle of a busy street like it was a baseball. Rob, Jason, Hud and two women from the party try to evacuate the city with everyone else, but events cause Rob to head back into the war zone to try to rescue his ex-girlfriend.

There are a lot of people who despise the film, all for a variety of reasons. Most point to the shaky-cam style utilized throughout the movie, and that’s a valid point to a degree; it can be quite nauseating at times. Others point to the lack of actual monster scenes in the biggest monster movie to hit the States in years. Personally, I love the film. As a fan of kaiju films, it’s certainly an interesting take and a fairly unique one. Yes, the monster isn’t seen that clearly throughout, though I argue that giving the film a second chance on DVD will prove more enlightening in this area. Now that you know what to expect, the scenes with the 300-foot tall monstrosity appear much clearer and impressive.

With the short running time there’s little dead space in the film, and when it ends, you’re left wanting more. The special effects are quite impressive as well, though the creature’s design is, dare I say, slightly uninspired, looking somewhat similar to a slimmed-down Orga from Godzilla 2000. The sets are spectacular, with a half-crashed skyscraper being one of the main places of action. The military fights with the monster are absolutely chaotic and as realistic as any monster vs. man battle will ever look.

Fans of the viral campaign will be disappointed to find that the Paramount-released DVD doesn’t include all of the websites and character videos that were part of the pre-release hype. That said, the disc is definitely worthy of checking out. A main making-of documentary and two focusing on the special effects and creature effects are extremely entertaining in terms of showing how this modestly-budgeted film pulled off some of its more spectacular moments. Some of this is repeated in director Matt Reeves’ running commentary, though he does use his opportunity to point out all sorts of trivia about the film that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. He’s a decent listen, but really needed some back-up to keep things more lively. Four deleted scenes add little, but one of the two alternate endings included proves to be, while slight, intriguing in its preparations for a sequel (which is in the works). A blooper reel is hilarious.

Cloverfield won’t win a whole lot of new fans on DVD, but I do urge those that didn’t care for it at the theater to give it a second chance. It plays much better a second time, and with the way it flies by anyway, it won’t be too much time out of one’s day. 

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