Empire, Leicester Square

Lots of internet-led hype surrounded this film, so I was intrigued, if a little skeptical, about seeing it. The film’s premise is simple: New York is under attack from an unknown creature. What makes the film more interesting, though, is precisely how the audience is shown the story: through a video recording made by the lead characters.

This has lead to some critics comparing it to The Blair Witch Project, but apart from the shaky hand-held cam approach to the action, there are no other similarities. The brilliance of the Blair Witch was that the terror was very much inferred. Not so here: after the initial confusion of exactly what had caused a giant earthquake to rock Manhatten, the threat is all very evident. In fact, the final two thirds of the film became more Alien-esque which was unexpected and something of a disappointment.

Still, I did enjoy the film and in a couple of scenes found myself open-mouthed in awe at the special effects which superbly integrated. Because none of the lead characters were particularly likeable, it was very good fun seeing them terrorised and constantly on-the-run.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Cloverfield (2008) – Movie Info – Yahoo! Movies