FilmEdge.net reviews CLOVERFIELD arriving on DVD April 22, 2008

When J.J. Abrams wished that America had its own towering terror from the deep, as Japan has its immortal GODZILLA, he got his wish by conceiving and co-producing CLOVERFIELD.  It was a monster hit in theaters this January, roaring up the charts as the third highest grossing film this year to date, and now CLOVERFIELD stomps into your home on DVD April 22nd.

Director Matt Reeves' horrorfest doesn't get a double-disc mega edition DVD release fans might have hoped for, but the 84-minute feature does leave plenty of space on the single disc for a monster mashup of bonus features including making-of featurettes, deleted scenes, alternate endings, outtakes and some Top Secret surprises.  With internet rumors already circulating that a prequel film may be in the works, this DVD release of CLOVERFIELD will only whet the appetite for destruction in creature fans everywhere.


IT'S ALIVE!  IT'S HUGE!

As a recap to my theatrical release review here on FilmEdge, CLOVERFIELD succeeds in its goal to be America's own monster movie — a title ripe for the picking in a post-9/11 society — though the film's clever use of eyewitness HandiCam cinematography can't help but limit its emotional impact as sci-fi/horror drama.  The story follows a group of Manhattan twentysomethings gathered to celebrate their friend Rob Hawkins' job promotion move to Japan.  At first the party atmosphere gets dicey when Rob's ex Beth arrives late with her date, but true upheaval quickly shakes their world when a sudden explosion in midtown sends flaming debris raining down on their heads. This terrible juxtaposition of heartache and horror gives CLOVERFIELD its resonance beyond typical cinema creature fare, played out as the film is ostensibly a classified documentation of this monstrous attack on New York recorded over a video memento of Rob and Beth's romantic getaway.  A dissected and delicate view of love almost obliterated by the astonishing events of an otherworldly and unexplained nightmare, yet both moments of humanity and monstrosity are preserved together on this government-classified evidence for all time — it's the Hindenburg's "Oh, the humanity!" recorded by the YouTube generation.  Love may well triumph over all, even in these darkest of times.

UPDATE 4/29/08 — DECLASSIFIED RELEASE BY U.S. GOVERNMENT: COMPOSER MICHAEL GIACCHINO'S THRILLING "ROAR" OVERTURE FROM THE MONSTER HIT CLOVERFIELD IS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD ON iTUNES

In this home video conceit, CLOVERFIELD reigns over Steven Spielberg's post-modern WAR OF THE WORLDS as a more immediate, intimate recalling of terror-filled hours on the scene of a violent, sudden attack.  The preserved clips of Rob and Beth's brief liaison serve as a character-informing and thematic break from the horror, much as the benign musical interludes of band music interrupted Orson Welles' tense news bulletins of Martians invading New Jersey in his 1938 War of the Worlds radio play.  As Rob and his friends duck mortar fire from the Army, evade the crushing devastation of the 350-foot creature and battle its nasty parasites to rescue Beth, this video subplot drives CLOVERFIELD toward its ambiguously dark denouement: will the couple reunite and survive, or has the monster destroyed everything in New York but this surviving video elegy?

As for the creature itself, director Matt Reeves provides little more than quick impressions of this deadly behemoth until the film's climax, and even then this Thing Which Should Not Be is never explained away or clearly understood. This ongoing tease certainly amps up the horror quotient in its actions and disastrous effects, but fans expecting an old fashioned Godzilla monster rally may be slightly disappointed that 'Clover' remains largely unseen.  This tactic is certainly consistent with J.J. Abrams' "mystery box" method of storytelling, and the shock-and-secrecy approach to showing the creature likely keeps audiences cowering longer from it.  The final video diary shot of Rob and Beth at Coney Island may hint at the monster's origin or awakening, but CLOVERFIELD refuses easy answers just as effectively as its monster deflects every weapon the military launches at it.

The performances from a cast of largely unknowns serve the story well, keeping audiences in the implausible moments as a giant undersea demon destroying Manhattan.  The handheld cinematography helps keep the bite in the unbelievable, as do the excellent special effects invisibly integrated into the shaky scenes of panic and demolition.  CLOVERFIELD offers gripping tension in its shorthand and short-lived eyewitness account of this hellspawn's assault on humanity.  The film gives so little 'why' about this unleashed terror that it stays under viewers' skins longer than a typical creature feature would — certainly longer than Roland Emmerich's dim GODZILLA remake ever did a decade ago.  Rumors now indicate that more CLOVERFIELD is in store, which is good news for any viewers who found the film's many unanswered mysteries a little too unresolved.   On the other hand, its DVD release helps answer some of these questions for fans as the monster mystery continues.

DVD DESIGNATE: CLOVERFIELD

CLOVERFIELD attacks store shelves on April 22nd in a single-disc release which nonetheless offers a good amount of bonus materials along with a horrifically handsome transfer to your home theater.

Certainly the film's handheld camera style will partially invalidate a standard review of the image quality, the digital video-to-DVD transfer preserves the jarring shots and CG effects extremely well.  Of course a significant portion of the film was actually shot on a pro-sumer level of vidcam with higher quality resolution than would normally exist on the average HandiCam, so the final picture offers clear viewing via DVD — even more so as reviewed by FilmEdge on an upconverting Blu-Ray player and HDTV (as we eagerly anticipate the film's eventual high-def treatment). The widescreen transfer is also enhanced for viewing on 16:9 aspect televisions, which goes a long way to preserve the film's visual integrity.

Since much of the action takes place in one night filled with dust-choked streets and source lighting, image contrast and color balance hold up remarkably well.  Where circumstances and artistry skew the color scheme for dramatic effect, these more garish hues work effectively to increase the visual sense of emergency conditions in the city.  Dark stairwells and streetlamp glows look very natural and avoid unwanted video artifacts under such difficult production environments.  Dim shots are left purposely, frighteningly dark to enhance the tension and terror of the unknown, never washing or glitching out to spoil the mood. 

While the video-style cinematography and clever editing complete the illusion of a shaky handheld camera recording this disaster for posterity, the DVD soundtrack spares no technical prowess to match terrifying 'raw' images with superbly edited sound effects and design.  The disc offers Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio tracks in English, French and Spanish to fully exploit the aural sound field of monstrous roars and collapsing skyscrapers around you.  The surround effects are not overused though, helping to preserve the vidcam concept of this film.   Subtitles are also offered in English, French and Spanish for the hearing impaired.

And if you missed it in theaters by skipping out at the end credits, this DVD offers a welcome second chance to enjoy composer Michael Giacchino's excellent and exciting homage to classic monster movie scores in his "Roar" Overture!  Thundering percussion and piano beats usher in the tense theme which builds through strings and booming brass counterpoints.  Creature feature fans will easily find "Roar" a lively descendant of various GODZILLA-era scores, but with horns and a female vocalist lifting it to slightly more heroic levels in scale.  This overture cleverly blends and eventually collides high action thematics with dark, bold stomping through the lower scales as if the monster's own feet tread heavily through the city itself.  Good news for fans who fell in love with Giacchino's "Roar" Overture: demand has been so high that the full-length 12-minute Overture recording is now available for downloading on iTunes. This thrilling score belongs in the library of every film score afficionado!

In short, CLOVERFIELD looks and sounds just as good at home as it did in theaters, if only confined to a smaller screen but lacking none of this monster hit's visceral and emotional punch.

NEW SECRETS REVEALED

CLOVERFIELD the film is supplemented by several Special Features, starting off with the feature-length Commentary by director Matt Reeves — which more accurately extends beyond the film itself and well into the final credits, so thorough are his comments and backstories.  Reeves keeps up well and on-topic with the frenetic action onscreen, offering plenty of conceptual history for the project as J.J. Abrams first devised it, through the fast-track pitch of it to Paramount, and a wealth of production stories relating to specific scenes.   Some viewers might get a chuckle attempting to guess if Reeves' last comment during the closing credits will be his final, final commentary on the track, yet one can't help but applaud his eagerness to discuss his film at length.  One note: you will hear almost nothing of the actual film during Reeves' commentary, since he rarely pauses to let the action unfurl by itself, so be sure to get at least one full viewing of the feature under your belt before turning on the comment track feature, lest you miss out on the story.

Next up is the 28-minute Document of 01.18.08: The Making of Cloverfield featurette, a very thorough and unpretentious making-of production which stays true to the rather guerilla-tactic film style used in the feature.  This isn't your standard glossy EPK production intended to sell the film with studio hype, but instead quite ably documents  the genesis of CLOVERFIELD and how they pulled off this relatively low-budget experiment in monster moviemaking.  The featurette is also presented as yet another Top Secret government asset related to the 'Cloverfield' case in government files, and this attitude clearly spanned the film's entire production as the cast had no clue what film they were making until they got the job.  Even then, assistant directors and the like constantly remind actors to maintain total secrecy about their scenes to preserve CLOVERFIELD's mysteries until release.  The entire piece offers a refreshing, candid look at the personalities and camaraderie which made this often improvisational adventure so fun and thrilling to follow.

Following this overview is the 22-minute segment on Cloverfield Visual Effects, in which the heads of several CG companies discuss how they digitally destroyed the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan in the film.  This segment breaks down several key sequences, demonstrating how the basic shots were created then layered with CG imagery to put our heroes in harm's way of the rampaging monster.  Creature fans will also get their best look at the 'Clover' monster, from its earliest concepts through computer graphic wireframe models and eventually the final, towering terror as seen in the film.  It quickly becomes apparent that everyone in these creative teams applied maximum ingenuity within the film's quite minimal budget, and this segment shows off their efforts proudly.

I Saw It!  It's Alive!  It's Huge! puts the CLOVERFIELD monster center stage, from J.J. Abrams' conceptual brainstorm while in Japan with his son promoting MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, then handing off the idea to creature designer Neville Page.  The monster takes shape over the next five minutes as 'Clover' evolves from loose sketches to models and computer graphic designs as described by Page, director Matt Reeves and the post-production team.  Designer Page also spills some background secrets about the monster's genesis in the horror tale and why it destroys New York — all very cool and clever ideas, but unfortunately most of this backstory had no practical way of entering the film for audience comprehension, given the deliberate lack of exposition explaining the creature.  In short, you'll understand much more about 'Clover' in ways that would have enhanced the film even more had you learned it from your theater seat in January.

To show the filmmakers and cast didn't take New York's destruction too seriously, Clover Fun compiles a four-minute reel of bloopers and on-set mishaps to lighten up the end of the world just a bit.   Pay particular attention to the party scenes and you'll get a glimpse of just how surreal it can be for actors to silently pantomime their dancing and conversations at a noiseless gathering while a camera-toting character shouts at them over no music at all.

Next are four Deleted Scenes from the film, accompanied by optional commentary from director Matt Reeves: Congrats Rob, When You're In Japan, I Call That a Date and It's Going to Hurt.  The entire segment only runs three and a half minutes and as Reeves explains, it's relatively easy to see why these two early party scenes and two survival moments later simply slowed down the pace of the story, brief as they are.   Directors and editors trim out dozens of such moments and scene extensions to keep their story flowing, but at least the acting work Reeves praises here isn't lost on the cutting room floor, thanks to DVD bonus features.

Two Alternate Endings are also included, again with commentary available by Reeves.  The first substitutes the Coney Island coda from the unerased romantic date between Beth and Rob on the ferris wheel, with a more ambiguous clip of the couple at the train station.  The second variation is incredibly slight, implying with just a few extra frames inserted into the film's actual ending which might have implied an extra but unnecessary bit of plot information.  I recommend interested viewers watch these alternate endings with Reeves' commentary turned on so he can explain the subtle changes shown, since in effect you're watching the same ending three times with minimal differences.  You'll likely agree the final shots chosen were the most effective.

The Previews included have nothing to do with CLOVERFIELD per se, although the first trailer shown is the January teaser for J.J. Abram's STAR TREK, which debuted with this monster hit in theaters.  The second trailer previews INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, which first lit up theater screens in mid-February.  Both are high profile Paramount franchise films arriving in the future, though STAR TREK was originally set to open in December 2008 when it was teased with CLOVERFIELD — now it has been moved back to May 2009 for its debut.  Steven Spielberg's fourth INDIANA JONES adventure opens on May 22, 2008.   Both trailers were highly anticipated upon their arrivals, and it's a small coup for movie fans to get both preserved in digital quality on this DVD.

[UPDATED: 4/21] The final Special Feature is a link to a new CLOVERFIELD-related website — CloverfieldFiles.com — which promises "new secrets revealed" and "hidden research in to case designate Cloverfield". . . delivering a new batch of classified video transmissions which reveal behind-the-scenes moments from the making of the film.  Video files often contain all new footage not seen in the film or on the DVD bonus features, covering topics from the first-person method of shooting the story, to detailed looks at the 'parasites', to creating streets full of destruction in the wake of the monster.   But, these Top Secret Files are not accessible without passing security protocols which test your knowledge of CLOVERFIELD.  So watch the film again closely and view the DVD bonus material carefully to learn the secrets which will unlock access to these new Cloverfield Files!

Oh, and what would a J.J. Abrams' "mystery box" movie be without a few hidden Easter Eggs?  I won't give away the fun in searching for them, but you'll find several secret icons hidden somewhere amid the DVD menus.  Can you find all the top secret Supplemental Files about the unexplained oil rig collapse in the Atlantic, or the video messages from Jamie to Teddy about the Tagruato Corporation?  And where is the hidden Chapter 17?  Time to rack 'em and pack 'em, fans, this Special Features review is a phantom right now.

LAST WORD

CLOVERFIELD definitely offers monster genre and action fans plenty of bang for the buck with this thoroughly packed single-disc DVD edition.  The hectically-paced and shaky-shot feature gains depth and emotional complexity which may have been overwhelmed by the sensory blitz on the big screen.  A Top Secret trove of special features round out the DVD release very handsomely, showing off the filmmakers' creative ingenuity and monster-making credentials proudly and with justification.  This is a freakishly fun and recommended romp through the destruction of Manhattan, thanks to an original and enigmatic creature from the deep dark recesses of J.J. Abrams' gleefully gruesome fantasies.  FilmEdge.net gives the CLOVERFIELD DVD a very solid three-and-a-half stars, adding to the feature film experience but with an honest half-star deduction for not giving this home entertainment release a full-blown two-disc collector's edition set.   We'll keep an eye out for a future high-definition release on Blu-Ray in the future once Paramount gets back on the HD bandwagon with its title library — perhaps even more monstrous fun will become available then.

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