Cloverfield

Cloverfield. 2008 Paramount Pictures.
Starring: Michael Stahl-David, T.J. Miller, Jessica Lucas, Odette Yustman, Lizzy Caplan, Mike Vogel
Director: Matt Reeves
Buy Cloverfield at Amazon.

Starting by releasing a trailer to a then-untitled movie along with the release of Transformers in summer of 2007, Paramount Pictures launched a complex viral marketing campaign to promote this movie, which led more than a few people to think that this was going to be another Godzilla movie at first. Well, they weren't too far off the mark, but the creature turned out to not be Japan's famous guy in a rubber suit stomping HO scale models.

The film is presented as a video file recovered from a digital camcorder by the U.S. Department of Defense, which means that once you know this information, they're gonna hafta kill you. Seriously, though, there is a disclaimer stating that the footage you're about to watch is a case designated "Cloverfield", and it was found in the area "formerly known as Central Park".

April 27th: Rob Hawkins (Stahl-David) wakes up early in the morning after shagging a previously platonic best friend Beth McIntyre (Yustman), and they make plans to go to Coney Island later in the day. See, Beth's never been to Coney Island, so it's obvious she's never had a run-in with The Warriors, who also hang out there. The footage overlaps, cutting to the end of May, when Rob's brother Jason (Vogel) and his girlfriend Lily (Lucas) prepare a farewell party for Rob as he's leaving for a new job in Japan. Before the party totally gets out of control, Jason hands over the camera to "Hud" Platt (Miller, the primary cameraman for the movie), giving him the task of filming testimonials, and unsuccessfully flirtin' with his crush, Marlena Diamond (Caplan). Hud also tapes over the footage of Rob and Beth's Coney Island trip. Good one, Hud!

Actually, Rob gave Hud his blessing to erase the trip footage after Beth showed up with a guy named Travis as her date to the party. This essentially spoiled the whole night for Rob, as his closest friends try to console him, suggesting Beth isn't good enough for him. After all, he's leaving for Japan!

And then, Manhattan gets hit by something. The power goes out, and people be freaking out. The local news is reporting that an oil tanker capsized in the middle of the harbor near the Statue of Liberty. As everyone rushes outside to look, there's a major explosion at the other side of Manhattan. Everybody rushes down to the street, where Rob gets an unexpected going away gift: the head of the Statue of Liberty thrown down the street, coming to a rest right in front of Hud. Mere moments later, the Woolworth Building is destroyed by what appears to be a giant monster (caught briefly by Hud on camera), sending everyone inside running for cover. After the smoke clears, Jason tells everyone they need to leave Manhattan right now, choosing the Brooklyn Bridge as their escape route. Crossing the bridge, Rob gets a call from Beth and stops moving, while Hud, Lily and Marlena stop as well, but Jason keeps going. The monster smashes the main span of the bridge, causing it to collapse, killing Jason and hundreds of others, sending the survivors fleeing back into Manhattan.

Rob helps loot an electronics store for batteries for his cell phone. Beth left a message saying her building is on the verge of collapse, and she's trapped. Hud catches sight of TV coverage of the monster, which has parasitic spider-like creatures that are falling off the monster, attacking and killing U.S. military personnel. Rob decides he's not leaving Manhattan without Beth. Hud, Lily, and Marlena follow him. Caught in a crossfire between the military and the cute kitten they're battling, our heroes take to the subway tunnels to make their way uptown, where Rob has to break it to his mom that Jason is dead. Several parasites have also gone underground, and Hud gets attacked by one. Marlena opens a can of whoopass on one, but gets bit (by that time, it's suggested that the cold and distant Marlena has finally warmed up to Hud). After escaping into the abandoned Bloomingdale's via the 59th Street station, they meet the military who have set up a field hospital and command center for the wounded. Marlena starts getting sick. Taken behind a curtain, her stomach expands and explodes. However, Rob, Hud and Lily have been given the go ahead by a sergeant to find Beth, telling them to report to an evacuation site before six in the morning, when the last helicopter leaves Manhattan, and the military will enact the "Hammerdown" protocol, meaning they will destroy Manhattan to take out the creature. Just after getting back on the street, Hud finally loses it after witnessing Marlena die.

Beth lives in Time Warner Center, and one tower has collapsed against the other one. Predictably, she lives close to the top of the damaged building. After making their way up, they find Beth, impaled by a concrete rebar, but they're able to save her. They make it to the evacuation site, and encounter the monster again. Lily gets on a helicopter without her friends (her fate is unknown), while Rob, Beth and Hud get on another one, witnessing a Stealth Bomber unleashing a huge payload of explosives on the monster. Hud lets out a victory cheer which proves to be premature as the monster reaches out and swats the craft down into Central Park. "Hammerdown" in fifteen minutes.

Hud and Beth get an injured Rob out of the helicopter. Then, Hud does the absolute dumbest thing ever, as he runs back to get his camera just as the monster decides it's finally ready for its closeup. Hud gets killed. Rob and Beth get the camera, and retreat to an arch just as the air raid sirens start going off, indicating that the military is ready to strike. They record their final(?) testimonies, and profess their love for one another just before a big ol' explosion goes off, disrupting the feed. The rest of the video is Rob and Beth in Coney Island in happier times. In the background, an object can be seen falling from the sky into the ocean. Beth's final message? "I had a good day today." And we're out!

An exciting, but surprisingly short movie (84 minutes). Highly recommended.

P.S. Director Matt Reeves confirmed in an interview that the monster was killed during Hammerdown. So, no sequels!