Cloverfield (2008)

While Cloverfield doesn't rank among the worst of found footage horror, it certainly falters in its attempt to deliver its chaotic Kaiju story.

Cinematography is an immediate and ever present weakness. The camerawork is not only rough, but intentionally incompetent, which our characters explicitly comment upon. As a medium, film has traditionally held around 24 frames per second; Cloverfield seems to have engaged in a philosophy of 24 cuts per second. The reckless use of the hand-held camera is so bad that Cloverfield is frequently cited as one of the worst cases of "shakey cam" films found in the mainstream.

Clover, the Kaiju featured in the film, is extremely fascinating in his visual design. Information about his origin and life cycle would have enriched his on screen presence, but such information is not made available within the film itself. The crab bugs which Clover sheds are compelling both visually and sonically, though their on screen presence is not always wholly convincing.

Despite Clover's distinctive design, the film is extremely visually withholding. As the film progresses, we slowly form an image of Clover, but not a clear one. Even the news cameras struggle to capture the creature in its size; while this can create an interesting effect, it puts frustrating distance between the audience and the most creative part of the film.

Worse yet, focus is taken from Clover and given to our human characters and drama. Performances range from bad to okay but none are remarkable. The chemistry between our characters is mixed, feeling very authentic in some moments, and ringing false in others. The central romance is poorly characterized, extremely boring, and unfortunately acts as the plot's fulcrum.

The film does have effective moments but they are not frequent enough. Marlena's death is well captured through the translucent tenting, the viewer filling in the visual gaps based on her bloody silhouette. In its most effective moment, the film finally, in the light of day, gives us a complete view of Clover that is vivid and detailed. It only lasts for about 15-seconds, but it is undeniably gorgeous and provokes even further frustration that clarity of the design was not deployed sooner in the film.

The film finds its strengths in strong creature design, some decent chemistry, and isolated moments of comedy early in the film. Unfortunately, these strengths are undermined by catastrophic cinematography, poor human drama, and an unwillingness to let the audience engage with the film's true dark star: Clover. You may need some dramamine, but for lovers of found footage, Cloverfield is probably worth the watch.