After seeing Godzilla toys while visiting Japan with his son, J.J. Abrams, the CEO of Bad Robot Productions (Lost), conceived of a new monster with which he could terrorize the inhabitants of Manhattan. He pitched the idea to Paramount Studios, the project was green-lighted, and Abrams teamed up with a childhood friend, director Matt Reeves, and writer Drew Goddard to develop Cloverfield.

A small group of friends are trapped in New York City during the monster’s attack. All events are seen through a handheld video camera that was slung around the neck of one of the group. The camera has been found by the US government and is being studied for information about the events that took place in New York City, code-named "Cloverfield." What we see is a playback of that tape, and here’s what it tells us:

Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David), a twentysomething New Yorker, is in love with Beth McIntyre (Odette Yustman), with whom he’s having an affair. But their ardor cools when Rob accepts a job in Japan. Before Rob leaves, his brother, Jason (Mike Vogel), and Jason’s girlfriend, Lily (Jessica Lucas), organize a going-away party at Jason’s Manhattan apartment. Jason gives Rob’s best friend, Hud (T.J. Miller), Rob’s video camera to record his last night in the US. But during the party, the apartment is shaken by what seems a huge explosion. The partygoers rush downstairs to the street, only to see the head of the Statue of Liberty come crashing to the ground and, in the distance, what looks like a huge creature.

The group attempts to flee the city via the Brooklyn Bridge, which the monster promptly destroys, killing Jason in the process. Now Rob, Lily, Hud, and Lily’s friend Marlena (Lizzy Caplan) are trapped in Manhattan as the US military tries to kill the creature. As they search for another way off the island, Rob receives a phone message from Beth, who is injured and can’t move. Rob leaves the group to head off toward Beth, the fighting, and the monster. Reluctantly, his friends follow.

To re-create the feel of a home movie, director Reeves used a Sony CineAlta F23 high-definition video camera, and he and Kevin Stitt edited the footage to create the impression of a Handicam in the hands of an amateur. Reeves didn’t permit himself the use of such standard cinematic tools as SteadiCams, focus adjustments, tracking shots, zooms, etc. In virtually all films, the director and cinematographer use such techniques to reveal to the audience things that the film’s characters can’t see; in Cloverfield, we are held hostage to the Handicam as it bounces around, and thus miss much of the action. We don’t see enough of the monster, and we sure don’t see the action from the best vantage.

Cloverfield is extraordinarily difficult to watch: The gyrating Handicam severely limited my enjoyment of a pretty good and original story. My friend actually suffered from motion sickness and frequently had to look away from the screen.

Still, Cloverfield provides an intense film experience. The pace is frenetic, and even the scenes between the action sequences are filled with tension. Unlike the cartoonlike Godzilla films from Japan, Cloverfield is truly frightening, realistically conveying the mayhem and panic that one would expect to experience in such a situation. I was also impressed by the sound effects. During the scenes when the group goes underground to seek shelter from the fighting, I genuinely believed that a battle was raging aboveground.

J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Drew Goddard are to be commended for trying something original. However, the handheld videocam technique is a failure; I suspect we won’t see another film done this way anytime soon. Still, there are enough good things about Cloverfield to recommend it.

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