One could write a book about giant monster movies as metaphors for cultural fears. Godzilla was the embodiment of Japan’s fear of the atomic bomb World War II: a giant fire-breathing lizard born from nuclear experimentation who came with no other purpose than to destroy Tokyo. (That is until he became Tokyo’s defender in later films.) King Kong represented America’s fear of technology, industrialization, and economic uncertainty.

In that same vein of cultural catharsis comes Cloverfield. Godzilla meets The Blair Witch Project with a little Aliens thrown in, on paper Cloverfield may not look like the most original project, but it is truly one of the most visceral and original mainstream films to come out of Hollywood in some time. Like Blair Witch, Cloverfield’s main conceit is that the film is made up entirely of “found footage” shot on a digital camcorder. The camera work is shaky and rough around the edges with jump cuts and older footage (previously recorded on the digital SD card) interspersed throughout. This style of filmmaking gives the story an immediate quality. You really feel like you’re in the story because you’re watching it through one of the characters eyes (or at least through his lens).

The Cloverfield monster is difficult to describe (and I won’t spoil it by trying to do so here), but needless to say it doesn’t look like anything you’ve seen before. Like Godzilla represented Japan’s fear of the atom bomb, I think the Cloverfield monster is America’s struggle with terrorism. The monster’s initial attack in New York invokes images 9/11, complete with clouds of debris rushing down the street after the buildings begin to fall. When attacked, the monster sheds little monsters kind of like when we strike at Al Qaeda and they scatter attacking in ways we least expect them to.

A few other ways in which the story is also reminiscent of our current struggle are in the characters’ lack of comprehension of what is going on, the reasons why this is occurring and the lack of a clear resolution (other than fire and death).

If you’re up for something different and a good scare, Cloverfield should be the first film on your list. It’s quite a stellar piece of filmmaking...