Cloverfield’ stomps its way atop the weekend box office

It was a record-setting weekend for the low-budget horror film “Cloverfield,” as it plowed its way through the competition. The Paramount Pictures flick scared moviegoers out of $41 million, almost twice the total of second-place finisher, “27 Dresses,” which debuted with $22.4 million. Two records were broken as “Cloverfield” set the mark for a January release, surpassing the $35.9 million re-release of “Star Wars” in 1997. It will also set a record for the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. “Black Hawk Down” earned $33.6 million during the four-day period in 2002. “Cloverfield” may earn an estimated $48 million once the holiday weekend is complete. The film begins with Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) and Beth McIntyre (Odette Yustman) enjoying an April day together while her father is out of town. From the moment Beth wakes up all the way through towards the end of the day, everything is captured via videotape. Fast forward to May, and Rob’s brother Jason (Mike Vogel) and girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas) are planning a surprise going-away party for Rob. Apparently, Rob is being promoted to vice president within his company and transferred to Japan. Lily wants Jason to handle the videotaping duties for the evening, including farewell testimonials from all party attendees. Jason passes the job off to Hud (T.J. Miller), who’s enticed to do the job since it will allow him to speak to his crush Marlena (Lizzy Caplan). So, Rob walks in, everyone yells “Surprise,” and the party commences. Within minutes, Beth arrives at the party, and she’s bringing a date with her, much to Rob’s chagrin. While on the fire escape lamenting to friends about unpleasantries exchanged between himself and Beth, Rob and his friends notice an explosion a few city blocks away. Lo and behold, a giant creature is wrecking havoc, and it brought along some scary little creature features who attack humans as well. With several more explosions going on, along with flickering electric and screams of panic, Rob, Jason, Lily, Marlena and Hud all run to the streets. By the way, Hud is still filming everything in its entirety — talk about dedication. After a tragedy strikes, Rob decides he wants to go to Beth’s apartment to make sure she is safe. The group ends up running through sewers and encountering military personnel who are fighting the giant creature. While it’s been the movie trailer that’s enticing moviegoers to see “Cloverfield,” it’s the actual film is what keeps you glued to your seat. However, with the all-too-often shaky camerawork, there have been reports of nauseated moviegoers leaving their seats. Some may get used to it after the initial uneasy feeling though. Once that is over with, you’ll find a decent horror film with a plethora of no-name actors dealing with mass hysteria, dogs and cats living together (oops, wrong film). You have to give Rob his due for wanting to go to Beth, but to drag your friends along on your act of heroism is a tad bit far-fetched. The giant creature certainly isn’t Godzilla-like, but you’re never given a clear and precise view of what it looks like until the very end. Perhaps that is for the best so moviegoers won’t be disappointed at the lack of creativity that went into this creature. All in all, “Cloverfield” does pack a horror punch, but not quite a devastating blow at three out of four stars. “Cloverfield” is rated PG-13 for violence, terror and disturbing images. Running time is 1 hour, 24 minutes. For more information and show times, contact Regal Cinemas Marketplace 24, 180 Mill Road, Oaks, at 610-666-6697. Dennis J. Wright can be reached at dwright@phoenixvillenews.com