From July 2007, mysterious clips of a home video having captured a catastrophe in New York City started to appear in between trailers at the cinemas. Then a website simply titled '1-18-08' with seemingly realistic pictures of anything from Japanese chefs to bloody whale-like carcasses washed up on dockland shores, were all clues of what was to come. Tie-in MySpace accounts were set up introducing the film’s characters, placing them as real citizens of the world.

So tight was the security surrounding production, even casting was executed using scripts from producer J.J.Abrams’ previous shows such as Lost and the film’s title thrice changed once internet users figured out the clues pasted on the website, more prematurely than anticipated.

Directed by Matt Reeves, Cloverfield starts with a watermark of the United States Department of Defense, indicating that the audience is watching a confidential tape 'retrieved from the area formerly known as Central Park.' The events that unfold, tell the story of Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) and his Manhattan farewell party, abruptly interrupted by an unknown force destroying New York City.

Editing is a standout and the star of the show. The story cleverly weaves itself between the two events focal to the film. Rob’s best friend Hud (T.J. Miller) is given charge of the camera for the night, filming little vignettes during the party and then the following devastation. Little does he know he is taping over a Coney Island date between Rob and Beth (Odette Yutsman) and Hud’s pauses in filming the devastation allows the audience to glimpse the relationship between the troubled lovers, which had started roughly a month prior. It is an important aspect as it serves as the motivation for the characters remaining in the tragedy stricken city, shunning mandatory evacuation.

If anyone has ever been to New York, the experience is even more realistic. Familiar streets of the Lower East side are engulfed in flames, their brick and steel building structures a crumble of debris and the familiar vision of the mighty Brooklyn Bridge is estranged, shrouded in an unheard of darkness.

As every film, there is a lesson to be learnt. Visit New York, New York before the monster that is global warming sees the city as another lost Atlantis... Or probably more realistically, it hammers through the old truth that one should grab every chance that presents itself, especially when it comes to love. The next day may bring life changing events and opportunities that were once within reach could slip away as easily as the next minute ticks over.

If the film has any faults it’s that after 84 minutes of watching a shaky camera, an unwanted headache can set in, deteriorating the viewing experience.

Yet Cloverfield works because it follows the sci-fi horror fail-proof recipe. Show speed-of-light glimpses of the monster in question and the audience will not only have you begging for more but the suspense created is enough to feed fear. It’s the classic 'what you can’t see scares you more' tactic. Films not employing this useful tool include M. Night Shyamalan’s 2002 movie Signs which started from being an edge-of-your-seat, butt-clenching delight to a raspberry-blowing-dud once the alien villains were shown to their fully animated self. Credibility closely followed by believability plummets and the audience feels cheated of their time.

Rest assured you will not be applying for compensation of your time after a session with Cloverfield. If you develop motion sickness easily, take a Panadol or two. This is a film not to be missed.

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons - Spaceninja