- Film Review
- Reviewed By Alan Jones
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3 out of 5
A gigantic creature of unknown origin pulverises its way through Manhattan in this YouTube-style monster mash-up co-produced by Lost creator JJ Abrams. There are clever dashes of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and The Host, but the characters - partygoers filming a going-away do - lack emotional depth and stumble a little too carelessly into danger. The interesting gimmick here is the intimate approach to epic disaster provided by the action unfolding via an amateur camcorder. This Blair Witch flair often creates a gripping, up-close-and-personal portrait of events, and the shaky-cam terrors meld effectively with loud bangs and glimpses of the HP Lovecraft-inspired behemoth. The fearful wonderment generated by such exciting mayhem is palpable as the documentary approach adds enormous resonance to what is essentially a fun repackaging of one of those stop-motion Ray Harryhausen fantasies from the 1950s and 60s.
Plot Summary
Science-fiction action thriller produced by JJ Abrams, creator of TV series Lost. As a group of New York friends throws a leaving party for one of their number, the event is recorded on a video camera. But the city is thrown into panic by an unknown force, with the camera acting as chief witness to the destruction.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Marlena Diamond
- Lizzy Caplan
- Lily Ford
- Jessica Lucas
- Hudson "Hud" Platt
- T J Miller
- Rob Hawkins
- Michael Stahl-David
- Jason Hawkins
- Mike Vogel
- Beth McIntyre
- Odette Yustman
- Bodega cashier
- Anjul Nigam
- Jenn
- Margot Farley
- Antonio
- Theo Rossi
- Charlie
- Brian Klugman
- Clark
- Kelvin Yu
Crew
- Director
- Matt Reeves
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