CLOVERFIELD
An intense monster thriller best saved for discerning adults.
Should You Watch It?
Cloverfield succeeds at bringing energy to the giant-monster movie. Its destruction is tense, its special effects are impressive, and its story includes heroic moments and a strong positive view of the American military.
But the film’s handheld camera is unrelenting. Many viewers may become sick; the reviewer experienced a headache and stomachache before the movie ended. The script, dialogue, and character relationships are also underdeveloped, making it harder to become invested in the people beneath the panic.
The content is the larger family concern: frequent foul language, very strong scary violence with blood and brief gore, light sexual references, and some pagan attitudes. Watch it at home only if you are a discerning adult who can handle those elements; it is not a family movie.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESA homemade digital video, reportedly found in what was “formerly Central Park,” records a night when New York City comes under attack.
Rob has just landed an important job in Japan and is celebrating with friends at a going-away party. Then an earthquake shakes the city, an explosion tears through buildings, and a giant, strange-looking monster appears. When Rob receives an urgent call for help from Beth, he and his friends race through the destruction to reach her while Hud records everything.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means Cloverfield is a somewhat successful attempt to revive the giant-monster movie. It offers a very tense thrill ride with great special effects, and its unusual homemade-video approach gives the disaster a different feel.
The approach also creates the film’s largest flaw. The camera movements are constant enough to cause headaches or nausea, potentially spoiling the suspense. The party scenes run too long and do little to advance the story or deepen the characters. The script needs better dialogue and better-defined relationships, especially among Rob, Beth, Rob’s brother, and his brother’s fiancée.
The Worldview
Cloverfield presents a light moral worldview and a strong positive view of the American military. Its lead characters sometimes make questionable lifestyle choices and display pagan attitudes, but they also show courage and heroism while trying to save one another.
The film’s moral strengths are weakened by frequent profanity, sexual implications, and the brutality of the attack. Still, its military personnel are shown fighting the monster and smaller creatures, and its ordinary characters choose to help someone in danger rather than simply flee. Those heroic moments provide the clearest moral light in the story.
The film’s central longing is loyalty under pressure: Rob risks the devastation of the city to reach Beth, while friends remain with him. Scripture honors sacrificial love: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Light moral worldview with strong positive view of the American military, marred by some pagan attitudes and lifestyle choices from the lead characters, who are, however, sometimes heroic; at least 35 obscenities, seven strong profanities and 32 light profanities; very strong scary violence with some blood and brief gratuitous gore (but not extremely in your face) includes explosions, soldiers battle giant monster and smaller monsters, bombs explode, buildings explode, large chunk of statue comes flying into street, giant monster destroys buildings as it attacks and as it fights soldiers and tanks, small monsters attack people in tunnel, woman has gashes on her torso from small monsters attacking and her nose starts to bleed, woman’s torso explodes in silhouette in a spray of red against a hospital sheet, images of victims being treated, monster bends down and grabs man with its mouth but the chomping and eating is not shown, copter crashes, man hit and killed by flying chunk of a bridge or building, and bridge sways and crumbles, killing hundreds of people massed on it; unmarried young man wakes up unmarried young woman in his bed, implying pre-marital sex or fornication; upper male nudity in one shot and some brief shots of female cleavage; alcohol use at party; no smoking or drug references; and, people are shown looting in one brief scene and young man foists a job he’s been given by his fiancé on a friend.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Rob and his friends risk themselves to help Beth during a disaster. What does sacrificial love look like when helping someone is costly?
John 15:13 · Philippians 2:3–4The film shows soldiers fighting to protect people during the attack. How should Christians think about courage, protection, and service?
Romans 13:4 · John 15:13Rob’s relationship with Beth is complicated by choices made before the monster appears. How do honesty and faithfulness shape relationships?
Ephesians 4:25 · Proverbs 12:22The characters face fear while surrounded by destruction. Where can you turn when you are afraid?
Psalm 56:3–4 · Isaiah 41:10The Final Word
Cloverfield delivers tense monster-movie thrills and impressive effects, but its shaky camera, underdeveloped characters, profanity, and intense violence make it unsuitable for families. WAIT FOR HOME — ADULTS ONLY. For a family movie night, choose from.
