I remember seeing Transformers last summer, and there was a trailer for a movie using a handheld camera. Not to interesting... seemed like some standard twenty something romantic comedy movie with a twist. Then the ground shakes, they go outside, and the head of the Statue of Liberty gets thrown toward them. And the only hint we get is the release date of 1.18.08. Interest peaked.

Months later i heard the title "Cloverfield" and asked my friend if it was the same movie. It was. A little odd, but intriguing.

I never saw any of the viral marketing for the film, but from what I could gather there was a great deal of mystery surrounding it. A few weeks before release I also heard the popular rumor that the monster was a mutated whale. (thank goodness that was false.)

So when I went to the theater to see it I was excited to see a giant monster movie from a first person view, and also curious to see what the big secret it.

The good news is it was a exciting movie, but oddly enough there was nothing secretive about it. A giant monster attacks the city, a group of friends are caught in the middle of it's rampage. The name Cloverfield is apparently just a codename, and isn't relevant at all.

But that didn't make it any less interesting. You actually see very little of the creature, but see more and more as the movie progresses. Most of the time its off camera, but the sound work is so great its no less intense. You would think this day and age, you would want to see the creature as much as possible, but it works for Cloverfield. It's not a terribly long movie either, less than 90 minutes.

My biggest criticism is probably the acting, because...well... it seems to much like acting sometimes. It seems to me the way these characters act would work for a more traditional movie, but when tis set up like reality, it seems forced. The plot device of the camera also seems a odd at times as well, because the thing is always running. And despite what I said before about less is more, sometimes you wish the cameraman would turn his head once and awhile so we can see the creature more.

Seeing how its out on DVD now, its kinda hard to see it in theaters, which is defiantly the way to see Cloverfield. I definatly see a future underground classic with this film. But I do wish there was a bit more to it. There's talk of a sequel, and I'm curious about how that's handled. Will it be another shaky cam movie? Or more traditional? Will it divulge more about the creatures origins?

Oh, and during the ending.... pay attention to the horizon.