Cloverfield (Blu-ray)

(Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008)

Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success.

You probably know the story by now, but here it is anyway: a bunch of quasi-yuppy New Yorker twenty-somethings throw their buddy Rob a farewell party (providing an ideal framework for the film's handheld aesthetic), just as a giant monster begins an attack on the city and all hell breaks loose. Once the party is disrupted, we follow Rob and co. through the lens of moderately charismatic goofball pal Hud, as they attempt to escape from the creature carnage, as well as save Rob's offensively attractive (girl)friend, Beth, whom he shared a romantic rendezvous with the week prior.

If the premise seems a little stale, it's actually not so much. In theory, it all sounds very derivative and insincere, but the execution is actually considerably top-notch. The characters -- who also thankfully never perform any overly-ridiculous stunts -- gradually grow on the viewer in a frustratingly self-indulgent-yet-charming, Felicity-esque sort of way (note: Felicity was co-created by Cloverfield producer J.J. Abbrams and director Matt Reeves). Also noteworthy is the film's generally badass capacity to kill off these characters with tactful nonchalance and its willingness to conclude with delightfully open-ended, inconclusive indifference. In other words, this aint no War of the Worlds.

The film adds fresh ingredients to the monster mayhem formula, taking its cue from the likes of Godzilla and, more recently, The Host, blending it with a stylistic approach akin to homemade video websites such as the ubiquitous YouTube and, likely, first-person perspective videogames. The sound design -- developed by Skywalker Sound -- is equally minimalist yet engrossing. The marriage of relatively unknown actors and low-concept, unassuming sound and photography luckily all add-up to an innovative and genuinely engaging experience. Compared to recent, over-produced efforts like Transformers, Indy IV or any blockbuster starring Will Smith, Cloverfield is somewhat of a small-scale revelation.

Speaking of revelation, the film looks astonishingly attractive in high-def. Who could've expected visuals such as these to appear as sharp and crisp as they do on this Blu-ray disc? After viewing the film on standard DVD, it's quite a pleasant surprise to see it looking as good as ever on the small screen. While I certainly wouldn't advocate a double-dip, for those out there who think the film can't look any better, think again. Even better is the disc's reference quality TrueHD 5.1 surround track that perfectly captures the grandiose spectacle that we may not always see, but can certainly always hear.

In terms of extras, the Blu-ray release contains several advantages over the bonus-packed standard DVD release. While there may be only one exclusive extra (an amusing "special investigation mode" option that contains an overview of the city that tracks the whereabouts of the creature, as well as military and human protagonists, accompanied by some factoids periodically thrown in for good measure), it is definitely cool to see all of the original special features presented in HD. Hopefully this trend will continue, considering we don't often get new and/or worthwhile additional extras on high-def releases.

While some elements of Cloverfield may not be the least bit pioneering, the film has a lot more going for it in terms of overall integrity than nearly every Hollywood disaster movie in recent memory, thus making up for the film's minor shortcomings. Lastly, unlike 1998's impossibly heinous Godzilla, the coolness of the creature actually does justify the anticipation. -- Neil Karassik