Cloverfield
A farewell party becomes a frantic camcorder-recorded rescue mission when an unknown giant creature tears through Manhattan.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- frantic
- claustrophobic
- paranoid
- late night scare session
- monster movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film economically paced and stylistically inventive, praising its amateur-footage perspective and creature thrills while noting thin characterization and potentially frustrating camerawork.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Hud's handheld recording is the film's primary viewpoint and frames the characters' experience of the Manhattan attack.
The friends navigate collapsing streets, evacuation routes, and military chaos without institutional knowledge or protection.
The unexplained assault on New York, emergency response, and imagery of urban destruction evoke modern terror anxieties.
An enormous reptilian creature levels Manhattan and destroys recognizable landmarks including the Statue of Liberty.
Films like Cloverfield, and why
The Blair Witch Project
found-footage survival horror, amateur-camera perspective, and escalating urban panic
Godzilla
giant-monster destruction, disaster spectacle, and a city under attack
[REC]
claustrophobic found footage, sudden creature attack, and frantic civilian survival
War of the Worlds
handheld disaster filmmaking, large-scale urban destruction, and intimate human stakes
Movie Details
- Director
- Matt Reeves
- Release Date
- 2008-01-15
- Runtime
- 85 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (8133)
Cast
- Lizzy Caplan
- Jessica Lucas
- T.J. Miller
- Michael Stahl-David
- Mike Vogel
- Odette Annable
- Anjul Nigam
- Margot Farley
- Theo Rossi
- Brian Klugman
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel
- Rent
- JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Cloverfield about?
- A farewell party becomes a frantic camcorder-recorded rescue mission when an unknown giant creature tears through Manhattan.
- What is Cloverfield like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Cloverfield as breakneck, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Cloverfield violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Cloverfield as moderate.
- What did critics think of Cloverfield?
- Critics broadly found the film economically paced and stylistically inventive, praising its amateur-footage perspective and creature thrills while noting thin characterization and potentially frustrating camerawork.
- Which films are like Cloverfield?
- Films with a similar feel include The Blair Witch Project, Godzilla, [REC], and War of the Worlds.
- How long is Cloverfield?
- Cloverfield runs 85 minutes.
- Where can I watch Cloverfield?
- In United States, Cloverfield streams on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel.
