SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED: IMMEDIATE REACTION TO ‘CLOVERFIELD’

Cloverfield is an experience more than anything else, a visually violent ride that is not for those who are prone to motion sickness. Filmed entirely by handheld camera from the perspective of a group of friends in New York under attack from an unknown being, it is a tense, psychological adventure. But I certainly wouldn’t classify it as a horror movie; the film is more disturbing than terrifying (and not just because of the eerily familiar 9/11 NYC imagery).

I couldn’t begin to describe the actual ‘monster’ in Cloverfield, and I’m not sure that’s even an accurate word to characterize it. It did not resemble Godzilla or any other movie monster/alien hybrid we’ve ever seen before. When we were finally treated to a close-up of the nameless behemoth, my jaw dropped and I responded with a whispered “Oh, shit! Wow.”

Everyone involved with the creation of Cloverfield is connected to producer J.J. Abrams. The movie was written by Drew Goddard (Lost, Alias, Angel, Buffy) and directed by Matt Reeves (Felicity). I think it was a very bold choice to put Reeves at the helm of what must have been one hell of a production, and quite clever to equip the relatively unknown cast with cameras for most of the footage.

I’d heard rumors that there were a few subtle nods to Lost fans in Cloverfield, but the only one I noticed was the casting of Chris Mulkey (see photo below) in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it role as a military lieutenant. He is the character actor who played the leader of the pot farmers in last season’s Locke-centric flashback (“Further Instructions”). He also briefly appeared as the jerk who replaced Coach Taylor on Friday Night Lights earlier this season.