Kaiju movies have been all the rage lately. In the past decades, audiences have flocked to theaters to see monsters like Godzilla and King Kong duke it out in Legendary’s Monsterverse. More recently, audiences have raved over filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki’s new movie, Godzilla Minus Zero, the sequel to the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One. This movie, in particular, left me craving more thrilling, heartfelt kaiju films. Thankfully, Cloverfield, one of the century’s best kaiju movies, was already streaming for free on Pluto TV.
Directed by The Batman filmmaker Matt Reeves, this 2008 movie follows a group of 20-somethings in New York who get caught up in a giant monster attack during a friendâs going-away party. As the military tries to evacuate Manhattan and kill the creature, the core group tries to rescue one of their friends after she gets trapped in the ruined city.
Cloverfield pays homage to classic creature features like Godzilla while putting its own spin on the kaiju movie formula. The entire movie is shot with a camcorder used by the characters. With its found-footage filmmaking, Cloverfield gives us an immersive look at the regular people on the ground trying to survive the monsterâs attack on New York. We feel like we’re right there in the middle of the chaos, which makes it one of the most unique kaiju movies out there.