It all started with a trailer.  A simple preview that revealed handheld camera footage of a party held in a New York City apartment, being violently disrupted by explosions and the Statue of Liberty head rolling down the street.  All we got was a release date, and the name J.J. Abrams (creator of Alias, and Lost).  It sparked interest.  It fueled discussion.  And when the newly titled Cloverfield hit the theaters back in January, it became the first hit of 2008.

Well the secrecy is over, and everyone pretty much knows what the film is about by this point.  Essentially New York is attacked by Godzilla’s cousin, and a group of friends throwing a going-away party capture the horrific events in the style of The Blair Witch Project.  Although many found the film to be somewhat lame and the style a little erratic, I am a supporter of the piece.  To me, if the 1997 Godzilla film had been executed this way, it would have been much more memorable.  Sure, Cloverfield is a B-level creature feature, but the fun of it is how well it’s relayed with a realistic point of view through a handheld camera. 

Beyond the spectacle, buried within the events, is a very real character story.  The main character of Rob, tries to reach the love his life Beth, so that he can tell her how he really feels about her, before something tragic happens to one or both of them.  That is the backbone of Cloverfield that most viewers who see the movie don’t pay attention to because they can’t get past the shaky camera and ludicrous creatures.  The script is also humorously witty in parts, lightening up the material enough to not make it full-blown horror.  On DVD, the experience is even more engaging.  First off, the image is excellent, and even though some shots are dark and grainy because of the handheld style and the environment, the digital quality when things are well lit and colorful shows wonderfully.  The sound is phenomenal.  Don’t believe me?  Just play the scene when the military first attacks the creature and find out if I’m lying.

There is also a good collection of extras on the disc that shed a fair bit of light on the ideas and concepts to the project.  The making of doc goes into the idea first, as Abrams appears several times, citing his trip to Japan with his son as his influence to making a creature feature, after they saw all the Godzilla collectibles.  Then as production gets underway, they get right into the camera techniques and how certain scenes were executed.  The visual effect segment is also very informative, showing how the CGI was so well-married to the amateur-style footage.

In the brief creature featurette, the creators divulge one piece of interesting information about “Clover”, in that he was intended as a destructive and disoriented infant child, and not an adult menace threatening the city.  There are also some amusing outtakes and moderate deleted scenes/alternate endings to view as well.  The commentary is adequate with the director Matt Reeves providing insight, but it would have been better served if Abrams would have been there as well to remark about the film and various specific sequences.  The disc also has a couple of much-hyped teaser trailers for upcoming Paramount movies that is played automatically at the beginning and can also be viewed off the menu under Previews.  They are the newly re-booted Star Trek (directed by Abrams), and this summer’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.

If you like creature movies, it is almost certain you will like Cloverfield.  But be warned that it might not be the sort of movie that you can get your girlfriend or wife to watch easily.  I had trouble getting mine to go along for the ride, and she still gives me grief over the experience.  

Review By Ryan Young