Cloverfield upgraded to 4K doesn’t do much to heighten the suspense and sorrow of the movie but the re-release does good on reminding you how good and mysterious the film was.
I remember going to see Cloverfield when it first came out in theaters back in 2008. From it’s mysterious first trailer which appeared before a Transformers movie with no title all the way up to the final scene it was wrought with terror and mystery. With companies reaching back and upgrading their older stock to 4K quality it has given us a chance to re-examine films that some of us might have forgotten. In the case of Cloverfield I found that to be an extremely satisfying event.
The movies plot was still easy to remember. It begins with Jason Hawkins (Mike Vogel) and Lily Ford (Jessica Lucas) throwing a going away party for Jason’s brother, Rob. (Michael Stahl-Davis) as the party carries on Rob’s on and off again crush, Beth (Odette Yustman) shows up with another guy. This of course sparks some tension at the party. Meanwhile this is all being shot by Hudson Platt (TJ Miller) on a home camcorder device. That’s right it’s a found footage movie. The party is abruptly broken up when something begins attacking Manhattan where the party is taking place at. Eventually it turns into a rescue mission as Hudson, Rob and Lily try to find and save Beth who had left the party earlier.
On the topic of it being a found footage movie, in our current times those movies have somewhat died down a bit. Honestly the last good found footage movie that I remember watching was the first installment of Paranormal Activity. Back in 2008 though you could still come out with one and not really get scoffed at. I think that the found footage aspect does really work with this film simply because of the mystery that surrounds the franchise. Upon re-watching this I am reminded that when the movie opens it starts off with some on screen text about how the footage is property of the DOD and that the footage was found in the area “formally” known as central park. This immediately peaked my attention more so than it did on my first watching of the movie. Who found this footage? Why is it being played now? I just believe that this little bit of text does good to heighten the whole found footage aspect of the movie.
I will say that it being found footage somewhat hurt the 4K upgrades. There aren’t a lot of steady shots to really show off the upgrades as for most of the movie the cast is running from the utter destruction of Manhattan. When there are still shots though you can visibly see the upgrades. There was one shot after the monster first attacks where they pan around at the destruction and it looks extremely impressive upgraded to 4K, so it’s not like there aren’t improvements to be seen it’s just that because of how the film is made and the story works you don’t get to notice it as much as if you were watching a straightforward movie.
Cloverfield does highlight one of the best aspects with movies being upgraded and re-released at 4K, and that is reminding us of good movies that we may have left behind. Like I said, I haven’t touched since I first saw it in theaters until now. I probably should have gone back to it when 10 Cloverfield Lane came out, but that movie wasn’t even a true sequel. Digressing from that tidbit, I can say that re-watching this filled me with a sense of wonder that I feel I previously lacked. It has got me excited for the two additions to the Cloverfield story that are due to come out this year.
Outright the best aspect of this film is the fact that it has a sense of mystery involved in it’s chaos. This is something that is rarely accomplished in giant monster movies. Cloverfield accomplishes this feat by removing almost any expositional dialogue with regards to the thing that is attacking Manhattan. If you think about almost any monster movie in recent years, there is almost always a scene in which someone explains what the monster is doing on our planet and what it wants. With Cloverfield that’s not the case and the movie is much better for this. Helping with this is also their decision to make the central characters regular people. Almost all monster movies revolve around a character who is directly trying to stop what is going on. In this case you just have people who are trying to save their friend and you are in their shoes when it comes to wondering what the hell is that thing that is destroying the city.
In a way it’s almost like a superhero movie without the superheroes. There is no Iron Man coming to save the civilians and the monster itself can take a rocket to the face like a champ. All these realizations can swarm over a watcher of this movie and help to amplify the sense of doom and dread and make the thoughts of wondering what the monster is almost overwhelming.
An additional thing that I realized was that there is no musical score in this movie. It’s just you the viewer left with the sounds of people trying to survive which adds an element of realism.
As far as acting goes there is nothing really to write home about good or bad. All the actors perform their roles well and don’t leave you scoffing at anything. It is interesting to note here though that none of the actors could read a script for the movie until they signed on to perform in it. This is a cool tidbit that helps elevate the mystique to this film. I have always felt like with regards to the Cloverfield films that someone somewhere knows exactly what is going on but won’t tell us and a pre-production process like that makes that seem true.
Overall this 4K overhaul version of Cloverfield does look very good but the fact that it is a found footage movie holds the upgrades back a bit. However, this movie highlights a very good factor with regards to movies being overhauled to 4K and that is we as an audience get to reconnect to solid films that we may have left behind. If you are into mysterious monster movies and looking to add to your 4K collection I recommend this. You won’t be adding this film solely on the upgrades but because of the quality of the actual story that some of have forgotten is dang good.
