Critic Reviews
Cloverfield (2008) Rank 3 Reviews
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based on (290) reviews
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EDGE Boston (David Foucher)
Blair Witch meets Godzilla in this hugely enjoyable shake-fest. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at EDGE Boston (David Foucher)
Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)
A surreptitiously subversive, stylistically clever little gem of an entertainment. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)
zBoneman Movie Reviews (Kevin Jones & Adam Mast)
For my money this isn't the second coming of the classic monster movie, but it is an incredibly entertaining roller coaster ride. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at zBoneman Movie Reviews (Kevin Jones & Adam Mast)
Beliefnet (Nell Minow)
A clever premise keeps the audience literally off-balance. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Beliefnet (Nell Minow)
E! Online (Glenn Gaslin)
You're still left breathless, wowed and wanting for more. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at E! Online (Glenn Gaslin)
Beaumont Journal (Danny Minton)
If you thought the Bourne flicks had some nauseating moments, pop those Dramamines during the trailers. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Beaumont Journal (Danny Minton)
FromTheBalcony (Bill Clark)
It's an event movie in January, and when was the last time we had one of those? Experience it on the big screen with an enthusiastic crowd. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at FromTheBalcony (Bill Clark)
Spectrum (St. George, Utah) (Bruce Bennett)
If you can stomach it, expect to leave the theater shaken yet entertained by every jolting, unexpected minute. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Spectrum (St. George, Utah) (Bruce Bennett)
About.com (Rebecca Murray)
's just a tease has it all wrong. The monster is there on the screen and he's absolutely amazing to see. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at About.com (Rebecca Murray)
eFilmCritic.com (Jay Seaver)
We start at a going-away party for Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David), who is about to start a new job in Tokyo. Which, generally, is where you'd expect a giant monster to show up, rather than Manhattan. Rough luck there. An evacuation of the island is ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Jay Seaver)
Chicago Tribune (Matt Pais)
The first great monster movie for the YouTube generation, "Cloverfield" captures New York, mid-destruction, with a startling, breathless urgency that legitimately deserves to be called a wild ride. Rob's frantic search for Beth results in a rougher and ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Chicago Tribune (Matt Pais)
A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
Often called "Blair Witch Project"-meets-"Godzilla", "Cloverfield" is a ground level look at a small group of characters trying to survive the night when a giant creature comes ashore and creates absolute chaos in the middle of Manhattan. There's no ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
RevolutionSF (Joe Crowe)
I was suckered in by the viral business on the Internets. If I had no idea what it was about, that would have added a level to my enjoyment, but that was just impossible. They had to give us something, or no one would bother to go see it strictly for the ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at RevolutionSF (Joe Crowe)
Frank's Reel Reviews
One of the most widely anticipated films since Snakes on a Plane went down in flames last Summer, finally gets its release. And like that film, Cloverfield has been riding a crest of viral marketing and Internet buzz that makes financial failure a near ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Frank's Reel Reviews
About.com Hollywood Movies (Rebecca Murray)
Remember six months ago when that first shaky cam trailer for an untitled JJ Abrams production hit theaters in front of Transformers and then, shortly after, the internet? The buzz was deafening. That first quick teaser trailer opened with a bunch of ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at About.com Hollywood Movies (Rebecca Murray)
Moviepie.com
As my friend and I left the advance screening of Cloverfield, JJ Abrams' latest production (note: NOT direction), we suddenly found ourselves paced on the sidewalk by a wide-eyed fanboy. He looked at us sheepishly—and more than a little excitedly—and ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Moviepie.com
"Cloverfield" opens with some text on the screen implying that the
following footage was recovered from an SD camera in the area formerly
known as Central Park. This gives us plenty of information to set the
stage, that NY was at least partially ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at
BBC Films
Godzilla meets YouTube in this corking sci-fi thriller from Lost producer JJ Abrams and director Matt Reeves. Cloverfield's brilliantly simple gimmick is to take a traditional monster movie scenario and shoot the carnage from ground up, using a single ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at BBC Films
Twitch
To call Godzilla a mere genre movie is to misunderstand history and not just the history of genre film. To call Cloverfield a good genre film is a well deserved compliment. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Twitch
The Times of London
On Monday I thought Cloverfield was a brand of butter, or a mock-Tudor retirement home in South Wales. The film is actually an old-fashioned monster movie that has been retuned into an unexpected - sometimes unwatchable - sensation. Cloverfield is a ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The Times of London
The Arizona Republic
Despite the presence of mind-twisting, building-tall monsters, Cloverfield is the most intimate, familiar monster movie ever made. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The Arizona Republic
Screen International
An exercise in guerrilla-style genre filmmaking that reframes a classic monster movie conceit as a post-September 11 allegory of big city trepidation, new Internet sensation Cloverfield emerges from the cocoon of its pre-release hype as thrilling piece ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Screen International
Slasherpool (Anthro Fred)
A non-stop action-packed monster movie ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Slasherpool (Anthro Fred)
Movies for Guys (J.C. Edwards)
Warning: This movie is not for anyone that has the slightest hint of motion sickness. The entire film is shot 100% from the perspective of a hand held camcorder in documentary style… you know what I’m talking about - Blair Witch but much better. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Movies for Guys (J.C. Edwards)
Bloody Disgusting (David Harley)
It's the most enjoyable exercise in bedlam I've seen in years. JJ Abrams, I salute you for helping create something I can get behind completely. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Bloody Disgusting (David Harley)
filmcritic.com (Sean O'Connell)
We should have seen this coming. Team Cloverfield dropped more than enough hints suggesting they knew what they were doing, from the inspired viral marketing campaign to the seeds of a deeper mythology planted on message boards. But with hype meters ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at filmcritic.com (Sean O'Connell)
Just Press Play
I saw it. I saw the monster. The moment I looked up at it, I was in awe. Not for how the monster looked or shaped, but for how genuinely tense and terrified it made me feel. The destruction it left was unbelievable, and I was there. I was in the middle ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Just Press Play
MovieMaze.de (Julia Stache)
Empire Movies (Erin Cullin)
This is not a film that is likely to appeal to many over the age of thirty-five, but for the card-carrying members of the MySpace generation, it is well worth the price of admission ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Empire Movies (Erin Cullin)
The Critical Critics
Holy viral marketing campaign, Batman. Cloverfield, the latest production from J.J. Abrams (best known for Lost and Alias), may be the most hyped movie of the decade. It was pure genius – the whole country had vivid images of the Statue of Liberty’s ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The Critical Critics
Movieman's Guide to the Movies (Kushmeer Farakhan)
efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)
If you ever watched one of those old giant-monster-on-a-rampage movies from the 1950's and wondered what must be going through the minds of the crowds of people fleeing in terror through the streets before the hunky scientists and military guys come in ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)
filmfacts (Andreas Edler)
FirstShowing.net (Jaq Greenspon)
Bloody-Disgusting
Who would have thought that the writer of UNDER SEIGE: DARK TERRITORY would one day end up directing one of the most groundbreaking films in the past twenty years? I just got back from seeing the top-secret JJ Abrams project known only as CLOVERFIELD and ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Bloody-Disgusting
eFilmCritic.com (Rob Gonsalves)
The conceit of "Cloverfield," like "The Blair Witch Project" before it, is that we’re watching video footage of unexplained, horrific events. While "Blair Witch" was all suggestion and no pay-off, though, "Cloverfield" delivers the goods. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Rob Gonsalves)
eFilmCritic.com (Dawn Taylor)
No matter what you think about his actual body of work, producer/writer/director J.J. Abrams (he of “Alias,” “Lost” and “Mission: Impossible III”) knows how to draw attention to a project. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Dawn Taylor)
eFilmCritic.com (Mel Valentin)
After a seemingly endless wait (closer to six months in actuality), "Cloverfield," the much hyped, much anticipated, modestly budgeted "Blair Witch Project"-meets-"Godzilla" movie from producer/writer/director J.J. Abram’s ("Lost," "Alias," "Felicity") ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Mel Valentin)
Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)
a refreshing update on the classic genre of a big monster stomping a major metropolitan city into dust ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)
Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
Although the online community has been positively abuzz regarding Cloverfield since a mysterious teaser trailer ran before screenings of Transformers this past summer, no one, not even the intrepid folks ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
Eye for Film (Jennie Kermode)
Thoughts on Film (Danielle Ní Dhighe)
JoBlo's Movie Emporium ("JoBlo")
Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)
FEARnet (Scott Weinberg)
A robust 80-minute burst of barely-controlled mayhem. Monster fans will love it. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at FEARnet (Scott Weinberg)
vj.net.ua (Jaroslav Vishtaljuk)
Click here to read review ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at vj.net.ua (Jaroslav Vishtaljuk)
efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)
Basically, it is a gimmick movie in which the premise is pretty much the entire show. That said, it is perhaps the most sensationally effective gimmick movie to come around since "The Blair Witch Project" ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)
Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
and his Harryhausen from his Honda. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
Cinema em Cena (Pablo Villaca)
Uma boa surpresa para aqueles que acreditam que o Cinema pode funcionar não apenas como diversão ou instrumento de reflexão, mas também como termômetro histórico de sua própria época. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Cinema em Cena (Pablo Villaca)
CHUD (Nick Nunziata)
Cloverfield is a success on nearly every front and a film I urge people to see in a theater opening weekend. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at CHUD (Nick Nunziata)
ReelzChannel (Jeff Otto)
Cloverfield wasn't supposed to be any good. At least, that's what "insiders" like myself have been saying for a few months now. The barrage of annoying viral marketing campaigns surrounding the project have been going strong since this past summer's ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at ReelzChannel (Jeff Otto)
Movieman's Guide to the Movies (Brian Oliver)
Dread Central (Andrew Kasch)
It delivers on its simple promise of wild thrills and wanton destruction. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Dread Central (Andrew Kasch)
ShowBIZ Data
Cloverfield, the latest giant monster movie, is getting some surprisingly decent reviews from critics who usually love to lay in to disaster movies of any sort. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, for example, concedes that it "is actually pretty ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at ShowBIZ Data
Comingsoon.net
"Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Comingsoon.net
Dallas Morning News (Chris Vognar)
A remarkably economical, street-level view of widespread panic caused by an abomination that gets, and ultimately needs, no explanation. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Dallas Morning News (Chris Vognar)
St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))
is exploiting 9/11 because it's so clear the movie is not meant to be taken any more seriously than any other monster movie. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))
Black Star News (Kam Williams)
Reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project, this cleverly-conceived scream fest was shot entirely with a shaky hand-held camera being operated by one of the film's central characters. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Black Star News (Kam Williams)
The Movie Insider (Phil Calabro)
Globe and Mail (Rick Groen)
Reeves does a masterful job wedding the restricted perspective of Hud's lens with CGI glimpses of an already blasted cityscape. This is the gimmick's raw excitement phase -- we're hooked. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Globe and Mail (Rick Groen)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Godzilla meets the Queasy-Cam in "Cloverfield," a movie that crosses the Monster Attacks Manhattan formula with "Blair Witch." No, Godzilla doesn't appear in person, but the movie's monster looks like a close relative on the evolutionary tree, especially ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
So be warned: This film is not for the weak of stomach or those who get motion sickness. But while "Cloverfield" has a similarly limited premise to that early film, it's no mere "Blair Monster ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Minneapolis Star Tribune (Colin Covert)
It's the end of the world as captured on an unsteady camcorder, a YouTube panic attack. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Minneapolis Star Tribune (Colin Covert)
Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)
For all its newfangled innovations, the movie shares DNA with similarly themed sci-fi yarns from the 1950s. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)
San Francisco Examiner (Rossiter Drake)
'Cloverfield' is a sleek, silly product of green filmmaking: It recycles old ideas and molds them into a lean, briskly paced thriller that owes as much to classic monster movies like 'Godzilla' as gimmick-driven misfires like 'The Blair Witch Project.' ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at San Francisco Examiner (Rossiter Drake)
WCBE's It's Movie Time (John DeSando)
My favorite monster is from Forbidden Planet because I never see it; the anticipation is fearful. In a similarly minimalist approach, the monster in Cloverfield appears later in the film, but the camera never lingers. Good for director Matt Reeves: Less ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at WCBE's It's Movie Time (John DeSando)
USA Today (Claudia Puig)
A surprisingly gripping thriller. Employing a pseudo-documentary handheld camera style, it offers a fresh spin on the monster movie genre. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at USA Today (Claudia Puig)
Houston Chronicle (Amy Biancolli)
An efficiently gripping sci-fi/horror romp. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Houston Chronicle (Amy Biancolli)
San Francisco Chronicle (Peter Hartlaub)
A terrific movie, filled with spectacle and a surprising amount of humor, which makes up for its lack of terror or emotional impact. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Peter Hartlaub)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
An effective film, deploying its special effects well and never breaking the illusion that it is all happening as we see it. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
is the ultimate movie for people who don't feel a cataclysm has really happened until they can videotape it, upload it and stream it live to the rest of the world. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
Scene-Stealers.com (Eric Melin)
The POV [camera] IS the movie...and we get to see lots of angles of the monster. On that point, it totally delivers. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Scene-Stealers.com (Eric Melin)
Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)
fashion...But I have to say, I was with it. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)
Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)
is a real 21st century kind of movie; it's a horror film for the You Tube generation. It's also bleak and scary. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)
Seattle Times (Mark Rahner)
It's a giant-monster movie from the point of view of some of those little people running and shrieking in the street -- and it works incredibly well. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Seattle Times (Mark Rahner)
MovieCrypt.com (Kevin A. Ranson)
If you're looking for a crowded popcorn film experience at the movies without any kind of intellectual or emotional investment, it's a wonderful ride. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at MovieCrypt.com (Kevin A. Ranson)
Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
delivers exactly what its memorable coming attractions trailer promised, and it doesn't chicken out when it counts, either. Considering the state of horror movies today, that's something. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
It's fun in its morbidly campy way. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
Newsday (Jan Stuart)
The shaky video camera perspective is alternately involving and irritating, but director Matt Reeves keeps the carnival of wreckage spinning at a brisk clip. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Newsday (Jan Stuart)
Deseret News, Salt Lake City (Jeff Vice)
This science-fiction/thriller is smart enough to wrap things up quickly. At less than 90 minutes, it's a lean, mean monster movie -- even if it's gimmicky filmmaking makes it an acquired taste. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Deseret News, Salt Lake City (Jeff Vice)
Kansas City Star (Robert W. Butler)
The f/x guys have provided a seamless blending of computer-generated and real footage, and by limiting our perspective to just what Hud sees through his viewfinder, the fantastic is rendered plausible. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Kansas City Star (Robert W. Butler)
CHUD (Devin Faraci)
The monster mayhem is impressive in scale and presentation... makes a moribund genre like the monster movie suddenly come roaring to life. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at CHUD (Devin Faraci)
Hollywood Snitch (Rilio Mastrantonio)
According to reference.com, Hype is defined as creating interest in by flamboyant or dramatic methods; promote or publicize. Creators of “Cloverfield” certainly created hype by withholding what the monster, if there is one, looks like and many story ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Hollywood Snitch (Rilio Mastrantonio)
The Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
Cloverfield is The Blair Witch Project with a budget (and a really big witch), or a Godzilla remake seen through the eyes of anonymous characters who previously had nothing to do but run ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)
There’s nothing to “Cloverfield,” really, but stripped-down chaos shot in a faux-verite “Blair Witch Project” fashion. Call it “The Manhattan Monster Project.” Its special guest star is a Godzilla-inspired sea creature rather coyly concealed ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Chicago Tribune (Michael Phillips)
Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)
What hath YouTube wrought? In a world where nary a celebrity can leave the house pantsless without a hi-def MPEG appearing minutes later on the Internet, unstoppable über-producer J.J. Abrams has crafted a good old fashioned monster movie (he ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)
Toronto Star (Peter Howell)
Cloverfield so smartly reconjures the 1950s monster movie for the digital age, it's sad to report the film's one big dumb mistake: the beast itself. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Toronto Star (Peter Howell)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Even before "Cloverfield" hit the theaters, people were describing it as "Godzilla" meets "The Blair Witch Project." That turns out to be an accurate description, but is it a ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer
ReelTalk (Adam J. Hakari)
Marketing movies is a tricky art to master. Once a studio starts messing with the heads of the masses, going outside the realm of your standard meat-and-potatoes trailers, will the moviegoing public catch the point? For example, the campaign behind ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at ReelTalk (Adam J. Hakari)
Nolan's Pop Culture Review (Michael A. Smith)
The special effects are excellent, withjust enough being shown of the marauding "attacker," and its minions to keep you on the edge of your seat. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Nolan's Pop Culture Review (Michael A. Smith)
San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
"Cloverfield" is the ultimate movie for people who don't feel a cataclysm has really happened until they can videotape it, upload it and stream it live to the rest of the world. It's a movie that deserves to be seen on the big screen, but whose natural ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
Hollywood.com (Brian Marder)
Cloverfield may go out with a bang, but it fades in with a whimper, albeit for good reason. It’s the attack of…Exposition 101, a necessary evil never more so than during the movie’s beginning. We meet the characters with whom we will watch Manhattan ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Hollywood.com (Brian Marder)
Boston Globe
After months of cryptic trailers and postmodern stealth hype, "Cloverfield" turns out to be almost comforting in its simplicity. It's a short, efficient, terrifying monster movie, no more and no less. It's also to New York City and the American psyche ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Boston Globe
The Denver Post
Actually, Rob (Michael Stahl-David) does get intermittent cell service. Evidently, it's easier to imagine the vast destruction of a city than it is to envision the short-circuiting of our wired ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The Denver Post
Entertainment Insiders (Adam Barnick)
Cloverfield is the movie that works best going in knowing or seeing as little as possible, evidenced by the enigmatic marketing that has haunted theaters since last summer. (so here’s a review with plot ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Entertainment Insiders (Adam Barnick)
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Garrett Conti)
The buzz on "Cloverfield" has been electric ever since teasers started showing up on the Internet this past summer. Untitled at that point, word of mouth and a unique marketing campaign enveloped the film in an air of mystery. Well, now that the day has ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Garrett Conti)
National Post
Much like The Blair Witch Project with its hand-held Camcorder style, this thriller from J.J. Abrams (Mission Impossible 3) and longtime creative partner Matt Reeves is in perpetual motion, both visually and structurally. Its side effects include ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at National Post
San Francisco Chronicle
The first thing you need to get used to in "Cloverfield" is the potentially nausea-inducing shaky camera work, which makes "The Blair Witch Project" look like the latest Ken Burns documentary. Audiences will have to make other concessions, too. While ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at San Francisco Chronicle
KYW Newsradio (Bill Wine)
So, what can you say about this creature feature? Well, it doesn't want to be a teacher and it's not an overreacher. Cloverfield has one thing on its mind: to scare the bejesus out of us. And that it achieves. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at KYW Newsradio (Bill Wine)
Three Movie Buffs (Scott Nash)
Cloverfield is one of those movies that is very entertaining to watch, but let your mind think too much about it and you'll quickly see some pretty big holes in the plot. The good news is that the ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Three Movie Buffs (Scott Nash)
Cleveland Plain Dealer (Clint O'Connor)
Few films have enjoyed the advance buzz of ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Cleveland Plain Dealer (Clint O'Connor)
The Hollywood Reporter
It's "The Blair Godzilla Project"--and that's a compliment. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The Hollywood Reporter
Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
The movie “Cloverfield” was cooked up by some studio executives over at Paramount who got the bright idea to shoot a Godzilla-type monster movie using a relatively cheap video camera, a no-name cast and about $15 million worth of post-production digit ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
Fangoria
At last CLOVERFIELD is here, after months of speculation, a brilliant viral marketing campaign and a final tidal wave of hype. It can be said right off the bat that the movie succeeds—often very well—on its own terms. Does it live up to the hype? Not ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Fangoria
ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Cloverfield is to the monster movie as The Blair Witch Project was to the ghost story. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)
At his Manhattan going-away party, Michael Stahl-David plays a young man troubled by feelings for the girl he’s coldly leaving behind. Odette Yustman is a stunning hottie who was a close friend until he threw on the brakes. Now he’s leaving for Japan ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)
Village Voice (Nathan Lee)
Cloverfield Is One Giant, Incredibly Entertaining â€Screw You!’ to Yuppie New ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Village Voice (Nathan Lee)
Comingsoon.net
It's taken almost a decade but someone in Hollywood has finally figured out how to apply the faux-vérité of "The Blair Witch Project" to a large scale studio production, and the result is quite a bit better than Hollywood usurpations usually are. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Comingsoon.net
Houston Community Newspapers (Gary Brown)
“Cloverfield” is “The Blair Witch Project” meets “Godzilla,” as an uninvited monster hits Manhattan at night with a vengeance and much of the experience is recorded on video camera in herky-jerky fashion by a 20-something party animal. The ov ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Houston Community Newspapers (Gary Brown)
San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
"Cloverfield" is the ultimate movie for people who don't feel a cataclysm has really happened until they can videotape it, upload it and stream it live to the rest of the world. It's a movie that deserves to be seen on the big screen, but whose natural ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Godzilla meets the Queasy-Cam in "Cloverfield," a movie that crosses the Monster-Attacks-Manhattan formula with "Blair ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
With "Cloverfield," the filmmakers give their audience a sense of the horror, uncertainty and utter shift of reality that New Yorkers must have felt five years ago, but it would have benefited from some new genre twists. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Reeling Reviews (Robin and Laura Clifford)
Arrow in the Head ("The Arrow")
Rob’s (Stahl-David) surprise "going away" bash winds up being a bigger surprise with more bashing than anybody attending could’ve imagined. Out of nowhere, some enormous Iguana looking thing stomps into Manhattan, drops its monstrous kiddies to the ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Arrow in the Head ("The Arrow")
The Globe and Mail
Cloverfield isn't hard to describe, or to imagine, which helps explain why its trailer has generated so much enthusiastic buzz. Just stoop to that old dating game – The Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla, the cute video technique married to the ugly ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The Globe and Mail
The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
It’s “just” a monster movie, right? Worse, it’s the monster movie that has been drowning in Internet hype -- a fan-driven mania prompted by pseudo-secretive viral marketing produced by the filmmakers -- for months, so much so that I was tired of ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
Flipside Movie Emporium (Rob Vaux)
Stop me if this sounds familiar. You're watching some terrible WB-esque teen drama about Beautiful Young Things, and their painful relationship problems, and how awful it is to be Beautiful Young Things on fast-track careers that keep them from ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Flipside Movie Emporium (Rob Vaux)
Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
A flawed movie that nevertheless offers scenes of gripping terror--and a few moments of genuine surprise. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
Detroit News (Tom Long)
is visceral attack that it leaves the viewer reeling for details that flew by like so many bricks raining off broken buildings. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Detroit News (Tom Long)
Daily Herald (IL) (Jeff Bayer)
It's the closest a film has ever gotten to a roller-coaster ride. It will definitely nauseate, it feels claustrophobic, there are sudden scares, and it also peaks too early. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Daily Herald (IL) (Jeff Bayer)
Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)
A fascinatingly wrought experimental film that holds you in awe at what Reeves and his production crew was able to pull off, inspiring more appreciation than a gut level sense of being there. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)
Movies for the Masses (Joseph Proimakis)
Dinei mathimata (poy tha prepei n' arhisoyn na didaskontai) gia to pos na ftiakseis aera kopanisto gia 30 ekatommyria, kai na ton poyliseis shedon gia ta dipla sto proto sabbatokyriako. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Movies for the Masses (Joseph Proimakis)
Panorama (Jean-François Vandeuren)
Un produit de haute qualité qui satisfaira au plus haut point le spectateur averti, et bien conscient de la forme du spectacle avec laquelle il s'apprête à entrer en contact ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Panorama (Jean-François Vandeuren)
Peterborough This Week (Mike Sage)
Mixing the immediacy of documentary observation and the slam-bang pace of the modern disaster epic, Cloverfield is economic and engaging. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Peterborough This Week (Mike Sage)
Heart 106.2 (Simon Thompson)
Jaw dropping stuff but you will have to have a strong stomach to cope with the constantly moving camera. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Heart 106.2 (Simon Thompson)
SoundtrackNet (Dan Goldwasser)
Just sit in the back row, and hold on to your popcorn! ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at SoundtrackNet (Dan Goldwasser)
IGN Movies (Joanna Cohen)
Will grab you in its jaws, toss you around like a chew toy for a rollicking 80 minutes (yes, it's a short – but oh so sweet – flick) and still leave you panting for more. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at IGN Movies (Joanna Cohen)
Jam! Movies (Liz Braun)
The filmmakers wisely avoid showing you everything, instead showing only bits and hints of what's going on, a technique that really fuels fear in a viewer. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Jam! Movies (Liz Braun)
ColeandBobby.com (Cole Dabney)
Las Vegas Weekly (Josh Bell)
seems less like a movie than a theme-park motion simulator, but that's not a complaint. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Las Vegas Weekly (Josh Bell)
In 1954 the Japanese Toho Studios made the first Gojira/Godzilla
film GOJIRA. This was effectively a terrifying monster in large
part because we saw the monster not from his eye level but from
ours. Our viewpoint was as a human, not as another ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at
Variety
An old-fashioned monster movie dressed up in trendy new threads, "Cloverfield" plays like "The Blair Witch Project" meets "Godzilla," as it charts via camcorder the desperate efforts of some twentysomething Soho scenesters to steer clear of a gigantic ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Variety
Jam! Movies
All that tiptoeing around and whispering comes to an end today as the mysterious Cloverfield finally opens in theatres.
The creature feature, promoted in a stealth campaign that built tremendous curiosity among movie-goers, will remind you of both The ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Jam! Movies
dvdfuture.com (R. L. Shaffer)
I was not very far into "Cloverfield" when I started to feel ill. Like a tidal wave, my nerve endings started to boil and my eyesight became blurry. I felt as though I was on a sinking ocean liner with no hope in sight. I took a drink of my cold bottle ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at dvdfuture.com (R. L. Shaffer)
The Trades (Max Braden)
Last summer audiences were caught unaware by a brilliant teaser. The footage started calmly, featuring actors of no apparent fame in a typical party setting. But it soon turned into a thriller as something was attacking New York City, and whatever it ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The Trades (Max Braden)
With the proliferation of mobile phones and pocket-sized digital cameras,
it seems impossible for anything in the 21st century to go undocumented.
When the Hindenburg crashed in 1937 the event was immortalized with a
single iconic image of it crippled ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at
Film Blather (Eugene Novikov)
Cloverfield is a tricky beast of a monster movie -- unremittingly intense for 80 grueling minutes, it leaves viewers in the dust. It wasn't until I had a few seconds to take a breath and register the film that I realized that it doesn't quite work, and ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Film Blather (Eugene Novikov)
IGN Movies (Todd Gilchrist)
In the best way possible, the long-awaited, shrouded-in-mystery monster movie Cloverfield is basically an anthology of bad decisions. Like many of the best science fiction and horror films, director Matt Reeves' handicam chronicle of New York's ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at IGN Movies (Todd Gilchrist)
Twitch
Cloverfield, or the longest lasting camcorder battery ever. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Twitch
Tiscali UK
One of the year's most eagerly anticipated releases arrives on our screen with plenty of bangs, plenty of scares and plenty of thrills. Why then does Cloverfield leave us wanting more?
Ever since the project was announced - by Lost creator and ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Tiscali UK
Classic Horror
It took nine years for the cinematic seeds planted by The Blair Witch Project in 1999 to come to full fruition as Cloverfield. In that near-decade, there have been very few films made that really took the revolutionary filmmaking that Blair Witch ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Classic Horror
CNN Showbiz (Tom Charity)
Not many trailers have had the impact of the teaser for "Cloverfield," which debuted last summer attached to Michael Bay's "Transformers" bearing not so much as a title and the solitary credit "Produced by J.J. Abrams." (For some of us, it was the high ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at CNN Showbiz (Tom Charity)
The New Yorker (Anthony Lane)
Sit at the back. That is my advice to anyone who plans to see “Cloverfield.” The entire film purports to be a digital home video, most of it shot by a fellow named Hud (T. J. Miller). At a party for his friend Rob (Michael Stahl-David), Hud is asked t ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The New Yorker (Anthony Lane)
In 1954 the Japanese Toho Studios made the first Gojira/Godzilla film GOJIRA. This was effectively a terrifying monster in large part because we saw the monster not from his eye level but from ours. Our viewpoint was as a human, not as another monster. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at
Philadelphia Daily News (Gary Thompson)
IF A BUNCH of terrified Gen Xers with a video camera had filmed Godzilla instead of the Blair Witch, it would look a lot like "Cloverfield."
The movie apes the viral marketing campaign of "The Blair Witch Project," and rests on the same gimmick - ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Philadelphia Daily News (Gary Thompson)
Lee's Movie Info (Lee Tistaert)
Cloverfield is an enjoyable old-fashioned monster movie but it doesn’t really do anything new with the genre. The movie basically combines the style of The Blair Witch Project, Godzilla, and War of the Worlds. The first twenty minutes take place at a ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Lee's Movie Info (Lee Tistaert)
DVD Authority.com (Matt Brighton)
"Cloverfield" starts off very unassuming in that we meet Rob (Michael-Stahl David) as he's about to accept a huge promotion that will lead him to Tokyo. A large group of Rob's friends (evidently he's quite the social butterfly) have gathered to send him ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at DVD Authority.com (Matt Brighton)
Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
New York City has seen its share of movie monster action, even if such incursions have generally paled in comparison to those of Far East sister city Tokyo. “King Kong” was the most famous of these (though he was ultimately less destructive than even ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine) (Gina Carbone)
as the first thing that made me vomit since that teriyaki in San Diego. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine) (Gina Carbone)
Projection Booth (Rob Humanick)
I, for one, would be using the F-bomb far more gratuitously if faced with a possible encounter with a creature that could well swallow me whole. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Projection Booth (Rob Humanick)
EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
Dont's be surprised if critics use in their reviews the high-concept that producer Abrams did when pitching the project to Paramount: "Cameron Crowe film meet Godzilla meet Blair Witch Project," though judging by result it's mostly monster creature flick. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
MovieJuice! (Mark Ramsey)
'No worries, Lilly,' said Jen. 'New York's underclass will lay down end-to-end and form a bridge to safety.' ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at MovieJuice! (Mark Ramsey)
Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)
The film's overriding sense of the unknown ratchets up the suspense, if not the terror. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)
NewsBlaze (Prairie Miller)
Whether you're thrilled or turned off by the Manhattan monster freakout fare that is Cloverfield, will depend on how up close and personal your taste is in disaster movies, and your queasy threshold for a hand-held camera jogging along on a bumpy ride ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at NewsBlaze (Prairie Miller)
Chicago Reader (J. R. Jones)
Produced by J.J. Abrams (creator of Lost), this hair-raising horror movie borrows the video verite gimmick from The Blair Witch Project to follow a handful of hipsters as they try to survive a gigantic sea creature that's destroying Manhattan. An opening ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Chicago Reader (J. R. Jones)
Pretentious Musings (Kevin Koehler)
The hardest thing about being a film critic - besides fending off the adoring fans, autograph seekers, and loose women - is determining how much of a film you have to enjoy in order to recommend it. Does a film simply have to be more good than bad? ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Pretentious Musings (Kevin Koehler)
The Guardian (Peter Bradshaw)
Here is a monster movie with monster special effects and monster shouty acting, which recalls the Godzilla phenomenon in more ways than its producer-creator JJ Abrams perhaps realises. Shot throughout in wobbly, faux-handheld digital video, the movie is ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The Guardian (Peter Bradshaw)
Cinema Blend
Brace yourselves people, it’s time to burst the hype bubble. Cloverfield is exactly what you’d expect it to be if you’ve been paying attention and the opposite of everything you probably think it should be if you haven’t. Let’s get this out of t ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Cinema Blend
PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)
“This is gonna be important. People are gonna watch this.” This is the rationale offered by Hud (T.J. Miller), when asked why he won’t put down his “damn camera” even when faced with certain death. It’s also the gimmick that makes Cloverfield ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)
Reel Film Reviews (David Nusair)
With its distinctly queasy visual sensibilities and a cast comprised primarily of unknowns (the one notable exception being genre staple Chris Mulkey, who makes a brief appearance as a gruff military man), Cloverfield is a ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Reel Film Reviews (David Nusair)
Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)
The running and climbing, the tidal waves of debris rushing down the avenues, the screams and carnage grow tiresome. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)
New York Magazine (David Edelstein)
It has taken a giant monster to rouse this blog from its postholiday hibernation — which is more context, by the way, than you’ll get from Cloverfield. That title is the upshot of “viral” Internet marketing that generated so much buzz that produce ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at New York Magazine (David Edelstein)
The Phantom Tollbooth
There has been a buzz about this film since mid 2007 when we first saw the Statue of Liberty's head go flying down a NY City street in the original
trailer. The name of J.J. Abrams attached to it only increased the excitement. Well the wait is over as ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The Phantom Tollbooth
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Now that the fanboy hype has cleared, we can see Cloverfield for what it is: borrowed inspiration, trite screenwriting and amateurish acting all in the service of a ballsy idea — that a horror movie could maybe, just maybe, have a soul. As it turns out, ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
hoopla.nu
The Blair Witch Project has a lot to answer for, given its status as the harbinger of the 'viral marketing' craze that has swept the internet world in the past few years. For months the world of online science fiction movie fans has been buzzing with ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at hoopla.nu
Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)
The Statue of Liberty has been decapitated. The Brooklyn Bridge destroyed. And did you hear, Rob and Beth had sex. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)
Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
The mysteriously titled project might just as well have been called "9/11: The Thrill Ride," so thoroughly does it trade on our emotions of that disaster. ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Such a warm and fuzzy title, "Cloverfield." But as the deceptively lush tropical island on "Lost" revealed - that way, there be monsters. Which is no surprise, considering both titles come from J.J. Abrams, who produced the first and created ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Some films are rated G or PG or R. This one
needs to be rated SITB. That stands for ¡°Sit in
the Back¡±. As good as it is and as fun as it
is to watch, I felt dizzy for some time
afterward. Even though the film is less than 90
minutes, at so ...read the complete Cloverfield movie review at
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