by Daniel Cummings

Created on: May 31, 2008

J.J Abrams monster movie is finally unveiled.

One of the most highly anticipated films of the year has arrived in the form of Cloverfield; no mean feat when you consider a certain whip-cracking archaeologist returns this summer. The main reason for all the hype around Cloverfield though is a very different story indeed.

It all started last year in July, when a teaser trailer showed in front of Transformers, revealed a large group of young adults enjoying a late night party on a New York rooftop. Of course everything appeared perfectly innocent until suddenly a deafening roar causes chaos and confusion as everyone rushes to see what is going on. Then things got really interesting as fiery remains scattered the night sky and with a huge crash the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty plummets into the street below. Afterwards the trailer faded to black and all that appeared was a date that read 01-18-08 and a name, J.J Abrams.

Talk about grabbing an audience's attention. Naturally people immediately hit the Internet desperately trying to find out more about this new promo. The name J.J Abrams more than enough to justify the search after the Mission Impossible 3 director had previously created the TV series Lost; now in its fourth season, still enticing millions of viewers. But all that was to be further revealed in the following months was the title Cloverfield and that it would be a monster movie of some kind.

After finally sitting down and absorbing J.J Abrams monster picture I am very happy to report that the film is not a disappointment. I start by saying that because after what has to be the best teaser trailer in years plus all the build up and hype surrounding the films release, Cloverfield hasn't fallen into the trap that so many modern day pictures do, where a great trailer campaign shows so much promise but then fails to deliver.

J.J Abrams left the film in the hands of fairly unknown director Matt Reeves, who expertly adopts a slow-build up by only revealing snippets of the monster until finally fully unveiling it much later on. The hand-held camera method used also helps create a sense of realism as well as a heightened sense of fear for the audience. You almost feel like part of the horrid experience the characters are going through, which is Cloverfield's strongest point; the whole picture is one big movie experience. Something we haven't had for quite a long time.

It's not the only refreshing thing about Cloverfield, all the characters feel genuine

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