Review on Cloverfield (2008)
Cloverfield.
This film's hand held camera experience looks as if it was inspired by The Blair Witch Project, but unlike the hidden fear of that film, Cloverfield shows you what is destroying the city. Its fear, destruction and shaky hand held camera technique provoke fear in a way that the events are much similar to the 9/11 attack, as mentioned by Olly Richards in a review on Empire. 'Is this attack so terrifying because it has obvious shades of 9/11 or because the handheld camerawork leaves us disoriented, glimpsing the enormous creature only when Hud’s view quivers that way? It’s both. We live in a time when global violence is recorded not by professionals, but by shaky-handed bystanders with camera phones.' (Richards, 2010)
But the camera work is terrible in a way that its all over the place and disorientating, which makes this film less enjoyable to watch, as explained by Roger Ebert in a review on Chicago Sun Times. 'The entire film is shot in Queasy-Cam hand-held style, mostly by Hud, who couldn't hold it steady or frame a shot if his life depended on it. After the screening, I heard some fellow audience members complaining that they felt dizzy or had vertigo, but no one barfed, at least within my hearing.' (Ebert, 2008) This makes the film pull away from the suspense as its camera just continues to cause irritation to its audiences. This is mentioned by Kevin Crust in a review on Los Angeles Times. '"Cloverfield" is adept at wringing maximum suspense and might have reached the heights of the Korean monster film "The Host" but for the limitations of the camcorder ploy. While it injects the film with a run-and-gun urgency, the device grows tiresome and ultimately leaves the film shortchanged.' (Crust, 2008)
Cloverfield Monster.
But the camera work is terrible in a way that its all over the place and disorientating, which makes this film less enjoyable to watch, as explained by Roger Ebert in a review on Chicago Sun Times. 'The entire film is shot in Queasy-Cam hand-held style, mostly by Hud, who couldn't hold it steady or frame a shot if his life depended on it. After the screening, I heard some fellow audience members complaining that they felt dizzy or had vertigo, but no one barfed, at least within my hearing.' (Ebert, 2008) This makes the film pull away from the suspense as its camera just continues to cause irritation to its audiences. This is mentioned by Kevin Crust in a review on Los Angeles Times. '"Cloverfield" is adept at wringing maximum suspense and might have reached the heights of the Korean monster film "The Host" but for the limitations of the camcorder ploy. While it injects the film with a run-and-gun urgency, the device grows tiresome and ultimately leaves the film shortchanged.' (Crust, 2008)
City in Ruins.
List of Illustrations
Figure 1. Reeves, Matt (2008) Cloverfield. [Film poster] At: http://www.bradspictures.com/movies/18838/cloverfield+poster.html (Accessed on: 02.03.11)
Figure 2. Reeves, Matt (2008) Cloverfield Monster. [Screen cap] At: http://cloverfieldclues.blogspot.com/2008/03/cinefex-cloverfield-photos.html (Accessed on: 02.03.11)
Figure 3. Reeves, Matt (2008) City in Ruins. [Screen cap] At: http://cloverfieldclues.blogspot.com/2008/03/cinefex-cloverfield-photos.html (Accessed on: 02.03.11)
Figure 2. Reeves, Matt (2008) Cloverfield Monster. [Screen cap] At: http://cloverfieldclues.blogspot.com/2008/03/cinefex-cloverfield-photos.html (Accessed on: 02.03.11)
Figure 3. Reeves, Matt (2008) City in Ruins. [Screen cap] At: http://cloverfieldclues.blogspot.com/2008/03/cinefex-cloverfield-photos.html (Accessed on: 02.03.11)
Bibliography
Crust, Kevin (2008) Cloverfield. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/reviews/la-et-cloverfield18jan18,1,7124274.story?coll=la-entnews-reviews-movies (Accessed on: 02.03.11)
Ebert, Roger (2008) Cloverfield. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080117/REVIEWS/801170302 (Accessed on: 02.03.11)
Richards, Olly (2010) Cloverfield. http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=135091 (Accessed on: 02.03.11)
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