Cloverfield (2008)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  A unique look at the monster movie genre. Many will not like the film approach but i enjoyed it.

• Scott G

  
  The actors play this perfectly as they battle and actually genuinely act as if "Hud" is actually filming it with a crummy camera that flips back to the past when they are happy and the BIG contrast with present. This really shows what we WOULD do in this type of scenario.

• Albert K

  
  Crank up the sound, dim the lights, and be immersed in this tense, riveting, and stark vision of a Godzilla-like invasion through the eyes of its victims. Greatly enjoyed it (I wasn't the few that got dizzy from its shaky camera work). The CGI was stunning.

• Phil H

  
  OK this is how Godzilla should have been, a more mature and tense affair which actually feels like a disaster movie. Lets not get carried away though, its not superb, its good and very exciting which due to the handheld cam idea really makes you feel the tension big time. This also… More
  OK this is how Godzilla should have been, a more mature and tense affair which actually feels like a disaster movie. Lets not get carried away though, its not superb, its good and very exciting which due to the handheld cam idea really makes you feel the tension big time. This also makes you feel kinda sick after time and you find when the action kicks in so does the person holding the cam.....sooooo the picture is flying about all over the place. This is of course deliberate but you feel like your missing whats going on, its all moving too fast for you to focus. Effective in short bursts but for a whole film it becomes tough going on the eyes. The actors are all very good and due to their unknowness it does feel very real, the effects are top notch and clearly 9/11 was used for homework on the destruction effects through the city, huge clouds flowing through the streets brings back an eerie chill, as for the monster, its pretty good, its certainly a mixture of possible ideas from different creatures and it does work and look menacing. There are little facehugger style creatures too which does feel abit copied but they look good. In all its very good, afew silly bits like managing to find the lost girlfriend in a building torn apart, rather easy and convenient and I'm not too sure about the ending. Its original and shows that the whole event is actually a recording from what took place maybe days before, so its after the disaster basically, but the final scene with the leads I find hard to work out, was it a huge bomb blast from the military or the creature? still very well done.

• Directors C

  
  Cloverfield is an extremely complex piece of work. A very, very clever monster movie. The alien's design is terrifying enough as its children are too(we presume that's what the smaller creatures are when were watching). The most amazing thing about it though is that it never… More
  Cloverfield is an extremely complex piece of work. A very, very clever monster movie. The alien's design is terrifying enough as its children are too(we presume that's what the smaller creatures are when were watching). The most amazing thing about it though is that it never breaks the illusion that what were watching is real.

• Daniel P

  
  Godzilla meets The Blair Witch Project, and somewhat inventive in the way it tells its story. Extra points for T.J. Miller, who does most of his acting off camera, using only his voice. But where Cloverfield goes wrong is when it shows us the monster. The horror might have been more… More
  Godzilla meets The Blair Witch Project, and somewhat inventive in the way it tells its story. Extra points for T.J. Miller, who does most of his acting off camera, using only his voice. But where Cloverfield goes wrong is when it shows us the monster. The horror might have been more effective had we only seen arms and legs, and long shots from above, because when we see the face, all we can ask is "What is it?" or "What is that supposed to be?"; and unfortunately, the inventive, "first-person narration" doesn't give us access to this kind of exposition. Combine this misstep with way too much "Omigod!" in the script, and you've almost got a low-budget stinkbomb for the ages; thankfully, the premise - that this camera belongs to the victims - is enough to carry you most of the way home.

• Brad W

  
  Cloverfield is actually a incredible sci-fi film and is very scary and good. The storyline is just about a group of people trying to find the protagonists girlfriend, but I honestly could care less about the story, what I did care about was that they had a great opening of us getting… More
  Cloverfield is actually a incredible sci-fi film and is very scary and good. The storyline is just about a group of people trying to find the protagonists girlfriend, but I honestly could care less about the story, what I did care about was that they had a great opening of us getting to know the characters and remembering them for the film, and I was impressed that they did that. The cast is good, they gave the movie a good mood and I liked them a lot. The special effects were good too, I just thought that this film did not need to be on a camera like The Blair Witch, it would've been perfect just like a regular film I think, but hey maybe i'm just the person who hates shaky cameras. I really enjoyed this movie, and fully plan on watching it again as soon as I can.

• Martin S

  
  I haven't seen anything like thing before. Pretty amazing in my personal opinion. The Reality feeling is like beyond highest possible. And very nice long, well-choreographed uncut scenes with a lot happening. Nothing is predictable and there was a lot of unexpecting things. You… More
  I haven't seen anything like thing before. Pretty amazing in my personal opinion. The Reality feeling is like beyond highest possible. And very nice long, well-choreographed uncut scenes with a lot happening. Nothing is predictable and there was a lot of unexpecting things. You get kind of a headache from whaching the camera move...but the way it's done is just great. And the ending was perfect followed by really great music on the credits

• Alexander D

  
  From the creator of the recently-ended TV series LOST (who is now known as the director of later films STAR TREK and SUPER 8, as well), CLOVERFIELD is the thrilling point where THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, and GODZILLA all meet. The use of the similar "cinéma… More
  From the creator of the recently-ended TV series LOST (who is now known as the director of later films STAR TREK and SUPER 8, as well), CLOVERFIELD is the thrilling point where THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, and GODZILLA all meet. The use of the similar "cinéma vérité" and "found footage" styles are prevalent to the film's plot, as it enhances the believability of the disaster which the story is centered on. At first, I didn't think it was going to be that great of a film, as it began with a light-hearted mood, but by twenty minutes into it, once the whole disaster started to take place, I was thrilled. Also, the ending was not that great, and it left me flummoxed by how complex it was, but think of the endings to other films made in "found footage" style--especially THE LAST EXORCISM--if you may: they were the same way. Overall, I thought this was a fantastic film. To create yet another monster was a brilliant idea, and for once well-tackled. But if there's one thing about CLOVERFIELD that really goes beyond expectations, it's the cinematography and how ingeniously every action is captured--even if it's on home video.

• Sam B

  
  Yes, it's light on story and sneaks in humor at inopportune times, but Cloverfield is meant to put the viewer in the middle of an intense, futile situation - and it does so with style, a nonstop sensory barrage, and smartly-placed handy-cam camera angles. It isn't a… More
  Yes, it's light on story and sneaks in humor at inopportune times, but Cloverfield is meant to put the viewer in the middle of an intense, futile situation - and it does so with style, a nonstop sensory barrage, and smartly-placed handy-cam camera angles. It isn't a traditional thriller, but as a cool experiment, its about as good as it could have possibly been.

• Jani H

  
  "I had a good day." I remember when I saw the teaser trailer for 'Cloverfield' at the cinema. Having Lady Liberty's head thrown to the streets of Manhattan. Wow. At the same time, advertisements of 'Cloverfield' started to take over the web. Little… More
  "I had a good day." I remember when I saw the teaser trailer for 'Cloverfield' at the cinema. Having Lady Liberty's head thrown to the streets of Manhattan. Wow. At the same time, advertisements of 'Cloverfield' started to take over the web. Little did they tell about the movie but I guess it worked cuz the audience found the movie. I basically knew nothing of Matt Reeves, the director, but I guess everyone knows who J.J Abrams is. The man behind 'Lost' and the amazing 'Star Trek' reboot and as his latest film 'Super 8'. All you need is one talented name in the production and the interest level goes way up. 'Cloverfield's' 15-20 first minutes focuses mainly on the main characters. Character development shown thru flashbacks found on the camera recorder and the "live" development going on at the party and voila. There you got the assembled characters for things to come. I consider these first minutes prior to the main event important, cuz if you'd have like no interest in the persons, the film would not work at all. Some may look at this as something very dull and useless but they don't know shit... After the Statue of Liberty scene, the viewer is put straight to the core of the action. The viewer knows and sees just as much as the characters. Answers like "what, why and how" aren't answered. You have to experience them yourself. Things aren't explained at any point, not even during or after the credits. The film starts as an evidence clip found on the site "formerly known as Manhattan". This leaves a good "aftertaste" when the film has ended. The richness of 'Cloverfield' lies in its technical execution. Some may feel the shaky handheld camera as annoying or whatever but I think that this is the stronger parts of 'Cloverfield'. This documentary like feeling works nicely and I couldn't think of any other way on how the filmmakers would have shot the film. Use of the lesser known performers is also a good thing. It makes 'Cloverfield' look more "realistic". I really wouldn't wanna see any of the Baldwin brothers or any other B class has-been screaming in panic on the screen. The performers do a good job but then again it's mostly just panic like fear and screams displayed on screen. But I have to mention once more that it all seems so realistic. 'Cloverfield' isn't the most profound movie out there but it does have some fine, intensive and exciting scenes. It does have some illogical things here and there but as a 80 minute thrillride it works perfectly.

• Eric A

  
  Not bad, but not good. One of those middle movies that are whatever. I thought the filming techniques were pretty cool though.

• Liam G

  
  A not only incredibly entertaining but very unique monster movie. Exciting, tense and at times terrifying

• Matt G

  
  It amazes me what you can do with a crappy video camera and a lot of special effects and some decent acting. Cloverfield proves that a whole lot can be done. Maybe it can be used to film a going away party, maybe your wife, but eventually it'll be used to film the demise of New… More
  It amazes me what you can do with a crappy video camera and a lot of special effects and some decent acting. Cloverfield proves that a whole lot can be done. Maybe it can be used to film a going away party, maybe your wife, but eventually it'll be used to film the demise of New York City by a well done computer generated 'Godzilla' type creature. Now who would have thought an obese man named Hud would be the one to capture all of this? During a going away party at night in New York City, the lights suddenly shut off, the ground starts shaking, we hear panicking and screaming. Someone turns on the news, unpredictable earthquake just occurred. When people go outside, it's a dusty mess, we hear a loud sound. Five seconds later we sight something soaring through the air right towards them, which turns out to be the head of the statue of liberty. We then have a case of classic government agents who tell people to go this way and won't give any information, which leads to the death a large amount of people, including the main character's brother. At first they think it's terrorism, but once they see the creature, they realize it's much worse. When I first saw this trailer during the opening day of the first Transformers movie, I was really confused for two reasons: I had no idea what was going on and there wasn't a title, all it said was 1-18-08, which puzzled me and made me want to know more about this 'mystery film' that soon became Untitled J.J Abrams project, which was actually directed by Kick-Ass director Matt Reeves and was later named Cloverfield. Seeing that it was a handheld camera shot film, I was even more excited because I haven't seen a handheld shot film since 1999's horror hit The Blair Witch Project. The CGI is outstanding in this film, considering it's a JJ Abrams inspired film, I guess it's not surprising mainly because he'll usually have big budgeted productions like LOST, that is known as the most expensive television pilot ever aired. Along with that Abrams directed the Star Trek reboot, which was one of the biggest budgeted films of that year. So Cloverfield was a pretty huge deal. Back to the subject, the film's CGI for the monster. I really loved the way the monster was designed and acted, and that's not because I a sucker for monster movies. It's because I was seriously impressed and was visually believable. Probably the biggest aspect that made me love the monster was that it actually scared me and gave me chills, which is something that doesn't happen that often with movies nowadays. In conclusion, Cloverfield is a fun ride worth watching.

• Chris W

  
  Monster movies are cool, and, at times, so is the cinema-verite handheld meta film genre, a la The Blair Witch Project, Diary of the Dead or Paranormal Activity. Blending the two provides a unique opportunity for a disaster film that captures the events sporadically, and is very… More
  Monster movies are cool, and, at times, so is the cinema-verite handheld meta film genre, a la The Blair Witch Project, Diary of the Dead or Paranormal Activity. Blending the two provides a unique opportunity for a disaster film that captures the events sporadically, and is very reflective of society's growing obsession with filming seemingly everything then uploading it for all to see. I like how the film is presented as recovered found footage, and that it includes some intermixed events from previous thigns recorded on the camera. These intercutting provide some background and development, as well as some commentary and irony given how they are edited into the rest of everything. Much like 3D, the use of handheld shaky cam can be effective at times, but is not appropriate for everything, and runs the risk of being needless or overdone. For this though, I thought it was quite effective. It didn't really bug me like it did for some people. Also, I liked how there was no real explanation for things, and what the auidence is seeing unfolds for them the way it unfolds for the characters. That's a good way to try to get the audience to connect with the characters. The concept, and production design, and yes, even the camerawork, are great. I do have some gripes though. There could have maybe been a little better character developent, as it was hard to identify with them at times. I liked how this film, like Jaws, follows the rule that it is more effective and scarier the less the auidence sees the monster, or sees it in full. I mostly liked the creature's design, but the weird things around its head looked a little silly. Also, while the creature is a menace, the little parasites that drop from it were far more intense ans scary. The big one should have been a little more like that. As a 'regular' film, this is a curiousity piece, and mayeb not that great. As an experiment that comments on the current state of things, using contemporary technology and events as reference points, this film really shines. It's not a fun movie per se, but it is enjoyable, and worth at least one watch.

• KJ P

  
  Cloverfield is an extremely gripping roller-coaster ride. It had me on the edge of my seat and I believed and cared for every character in this movie. You don't see what the monster truly is until about midway, and that is okay, because the hand-held camera adds the the realism… More
  Cloverfield is an extremely gripping roller-coaster ride. It had me on the edge of my seat and I believed and cared for every character in this movie. You don't see what the monster truly is until about midway, and that is okay, because the hand-held camera adds the the realism and makes you believe that these people are actually scared out of their minds and their city is being colonized. The effects, for being extremely low-budget are brilliant, and I could not have asked for anything more out of this film!

• Mike S

  
  Awesome, pulse-pounding and amazingly believable monster movie! Overlooking the fact that it was a bit slow in the beginning (I didn't mind though as it allowed us to get to know the characters properly), this was one of the best cinematic experiences I've ever had. It felt… More
  Awesome, pulse-pounding and amazingly believable monster movie! Overlooking the fact that it was a bit slow in the beginning (I didn't mind though as it allowed us to get to know the characters properly), this was one of the best cinematic experiences I've ever had. It felt so real all the way through and I found myself at the edge of my seat the entire time. As did the rest of the audience I saw it with, because I don't think I've ever seen a movie where everyone was so totally quiet and soaked up by what they were following on screen. On another note, I know this film has gotten some criticism for its supposedly "bad" acting, but I think that's pretty harsh, because even though the actors weren't exactly A-list material, they still did a great job in making us care for them. There are some very emotionally powerful moments in here, where you could really feel what the characters were going through (which is something that extremely seldom happens for me when watching a movie - and especially one of this kind). Using unfamiliar faces was indeed a stroke of genius by J.J Abrams, whom I am now an even bigger fan of than before (I became one after having seen the premiere episode of Lost). When I walked out of the theatre, I was still so much into the "Cloverfield mode" that I almost expected chaos and mayhem awaiting outside the exit - even though I'm a million miles away from New York. I know it sounds crazy, but it was just that genuine of an experience. Cloverfield is not just a great concept, as in being a blend of The Blair Witch Project and Godzilla, but also works wonderfully in reality. It is, without doubt, one of the best monster flicks I've seen to date - and that's coming from a guy who has seen plenty. My only complaint is that the ending felt a little rushed and anti-climactic, but considering the fact that a sequel is on the way, I'm willing to forgive that. I doubt it will be as great as this was, but I'm definitely gonna see it either way. Because whatever the case, I'm dying to find out what happened in the aftermath.

• Jeff "

  
  In the style of Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield takes a totally different approach at a monster movie. Using the shaky cam technique, we are thrown in the middle of a monster attack in New York City. Told from the point of view from people with a video camera, we follow the small… More
  In the style of Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield takes a totally different approach at a monster movie. Using the shaky cam technique, we are thrown in the middle of a monster attack in New York City. Told from the point of view from people with a video camera, we follow the small group of people as they try to escape Manhattan and escape the attack. With the cam, we get a glimpse at the carnage that the monster is causing. A very well crafted film, not for everyone as the film is filmed in shaky cam style so if you're prone to motion sickness, do not watch it! I have epilepsy, and I'm not sure if this film can induce seizures or not, but for potential epileptic viewers, I've watched this film as of yet three times; and I haven't suffered any seizures. But I would recommend that you watch it as far away from your TV as possible. Anyhow back to the film in question, Cloverfield is filmed in the found footage genre, and like films such as The Blair Witch Project and the far superior Cannibal Holocaust, it's presented as a format of which there were no survivors. The film is very intense and thrilling. Cloverfield is a unique Horror film, and is an awesome monster film. I think this is one of the most original horror films I've seen in years and because of the camera work, you really feel that the characters are in jeopardy and it really make you feel like your're there in person. But unfortunately, the film is a bit hard to watch because of the shaky camera work, but after a while you get used to it. A really effective new breed of horror film. Cloverfield delivers some amazing thrills that you won't forget. A far superior work than The Blair Witch Project.

• Clintus M

  
  I believe that the assessment of this movie as a Blair Witch-Godzilla fusion is dead-on accurate. The action follows a group of 20-somethings beginning at a going away party and continuing through the ensuing monster attack. . Main character Rob Hawkins is leaving for Japan.… More
  I believe that the assessment of this movie as a Blair Witch-Godzilla fusion is dead-on accurate. The action follows a group of 20-somethings beginning at a going away party and continuing through the ensuing monster attack. . Main character Rob Hawkins is leaving for Japan. (Japan-Godzilla coincidence?) The movie is entirely viewed from video "discovered" later, shot by a shaky handy-cam. This is central to the film, and while I'm sure its supposed to be clever, it annoyed me more than anything. Instead of clever, the adjectives I thought of while watching included goofy, tiring, and irritating in addition to annoying. My wife claimed that it induced motion sickness. Maybe that was intended for affect, but I wasn't impressed. I "get" what the filmmakers were trying to pull off, but it misses the mark. I just didn't care about the characters despite the attempt at the beginning to give the viewer some insight into their motives. Also, the overlapping footage of the two separate days may have supposed to illustrate contrast or provide background, but it didn't work. As for the comparisons with the real-life terror of 9/11 in NYC, maybe the film succeeded in being topical, but to me that's poor taste at best.

• Lee ?

  
  The mysterious and intriguing teaser trailer that was released for "Cloverfield" featuring a group of panic-striken New York party-goers witnessing a huge explosion on the Manhattan skyline created a lot of buzz and hype on the internet as people engaged in debate as to what… More
  The mysterious and intriguing teaser trailer that was released for "Cloverfield" featuring a group of panic-striken New York party-goers witnessing a huge explosion on the Manhattan skyline created a lot of buzz and hype on the internet as people engaged in debate as to what exactly the movie is about... but when all is revealed and you are shown the cause of the destruction I was left pretty disappointed, I was hoping for something a little more imaginitive and original. With the disappointment out of the way, I still found the film quite thrilling, intense and heart-racing at times! It's all shot on hand held camcorder with no musical soundtrack and it makes for a very realistic ride as you follow around a small group of friends through Manhattan trying to stay alive amongst the chaos erupting across the city. It is a very short film though with the end credits starting to roll at the 71 minutes mark and the opening 17 minutes are a slow build up, but there are 54 minutes straight that will leave you on the edge of your seat! If you do get motion sick then stay away because the camera is constantly moving around dashing from place to place, which was a positive element but also frustrating as you'd really wish the camera would stay still just for a few seconds to take in clearly the destruction of Manhattan which has been created excellently by the CGI teams. Initially disappointing, but then Cloverfield turned into sheer terror. If you enjoy the documentary style movies like "Blair Witch" and "Diary of the Dead" then you'll find yourself gripped by this one too. Yeah it may be short and the plot will leave you with some unanswered questions, but there's entertainment here that's worth a rental viewing at least. And also of note to OST enthusiasts, the 10 minute long piece of music during the end credits by Michael Giacchino is absolutely fantastic - listen till the end!

Read all 20 featured audience ratings