When Rob Hawkins is surprised by a going away party with all his friends, he views it as a sign that his upcoming move to Japan is the right decision. And then everyone hears the explosion. The lives of everyone in NYC are suddenly put in jeopardy as an unknown force begins to destroy the city. Can Rob ensure the safety of all of his friends in leaving Manhattan?

Cloverfield (2008) certainly proves how successful a well thought out viral marketing campaign can be. Since the trailer debuted during the summer of 2007 with no title or production credits, Internet fans have buzzed about the next Blair Witch Project. But could all that build up possibly amount to a satisfactory film?

The answer cannot be viewed as a simple yes or no. While the film debuted at number one in the US box office over an extended weekend, critical and fan reaction has been decidedly mixed. The problem is: Cloverfield is everything and nothing that was expected. It's certainly a film about a monster leveling NYC. It's shot in first person perspective with a digital camcorder. Countless people are seen fleeing NYC. And the major characters are the young people attending a going away party.

But it's also not focused on the monster. The monster is seldom seen but always present. It's not a film about the destruction of a major city and triumph over insurmountable forces. And it's certainly not the next Blair Witch Project.

Cloverfield attempted to do something very different with a stale genre. Long relegated to joke status among American audiences, the giant monster film is more likely to illicit laughter than shrieks. The monster may rarely be a man a suit anymore, but all the digital effects in the world seemed incapable of rendering the desired result of a horror film: fear. Writer Drew Goddard, director Matt Reeves, and producer J.J. Abrams use suggestive camerawork, realistic dialogue, and a more intimate storytelling device to provide a spark of hope for more inventive production styles in genre film.

Cloverfield may deal with the total destruction of Manhattan by a giant beast at a fundamental level. The true story is the power of great tragedy to bring people together in a bond of selfless heroism. When a group of five guests join up to escape the unknown force of destruction, one simple phone call from a trapped friend changes the plan to a rescue mission. Following the singular perspective of one digital camera, the destruction of New York City

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