Spoilers

I have a week off… its almost time for Harry Styles at last, finally. So i have some time to spend writing & watching (all sorts of things) so Cloverfield had been on my list for a long time for watching & i found it on Netflix & i was like this is a good thing to start my time off with.

now i knew this was peak found footage era of cinema for the indi makers. i really do & ive seen a few of these since this point, but no, this one is good. It goes for it & its not about the monsters its about the people & the feeling & the whole way we would all expect that to happen in the modern real. It felt the most organic & real of all the films like this that i have now watched.

I dont like monster movies tho, you all know that. If youve been here long enough you know im not a fan of that, but this was interesting. Because we hardly saw the monster. They knew they only had a small budget & had to get a lot done in that time. Whenever you saw the monster it was in small bits & was like you only partly saw it or the tape went back to normal on the video for few seconds. They knew they had to get a few important shots spot on with it & spend the money on that. So good on them for doing that.

I love that people do get killed off throughout the film, i really do. & it is quite random as to who dies in which order. I was at one point expecting someone else to take the camera & not Hud, so when he almost got to the end of it, i was like yes hes making it out or will die with the rest of the city & then the helicopter crashed & i was like oh well & then he got out of that to then get killed by the creature… i was like nooooooooooooo thats not fair. Especially as weve watch it all through his eyes & narration i appreciated that & it felt liek we really had lost that he didnt even get to the finale. To get through lal of that & then be like nope hes dead. That was not good.

I get why people dont like spiders… i really do… i like them. Except those that can kill you & those big fuckers in this film i was not expecting that to suddenly happen & start killing everyone. It was very grim. But i love how they try everything to keep her going until she gets to that hospital & then the second its realised shes bitten its like bang & she is killed. Its not nice but it would so be what would happen.

Did Lilly live? she was put in another helicopter & was taken away… we didnt see it crashed is she okay & alive? I hope so.

When the statue of liberty’s head is just in the middle of the street all ruined thats pretty darn cool as a visual thats like oooh crap. I really liked that.

I cant believe more people didnt think to use the subway either to get around. I thought there would be a lot more monsters down there but i liked the rats being an issue & then them realising there was a worse threat as the monsters descended. Also no train scare either, i was expecting that so that was good, that they didnt go for the predictable.

That was such a mid 00s party. Like that was so spot on. The way everyone interacted & tried to be cool & the gossip that spread. It was so what would happen at that kind of party.

The budget was spent on the building collapse. That was a huge set piece. Was it worth it, i guess, but i kind of knew she was going to be alive & they were all going to make it. It did end up being the start of act 3, but i felt it was a very act 2 move, so i was very shocked when it then started to wrap things up as i didnt realise the film was so short. So that was like really, were almost done now.

I love how they almost get out & that they do all die in the end & that the testimonies that no one wanted to give were given by the last 2 surviving characters too. & then just the bombs dropping because they couldnt just get away & accepted their fate.

So im guessing they didnt kill the monster as theres 2 sequels? or is there another monster or did it move else where.

Its not well written but it does convey the right amount of panic & natural reactions to what happens in moments of panic like this. It does just work & feels right.

As far as this film is concerned, against other films in this genre of self filmed video which is found it is good. I mean this isnt a genre that i actively pick, especially with a big CGI monster, but considering some of the other films i have seen in this category it was decent & i as gripped. It is worth a watch & does actually stand the test of time 15 years later.