Not to take anything away from my friends in the great land of Japan, but somehow director Matt Reeves and producer JJ Abrams have managed to create something entirely new for the giant monster movie genre—a gripping and engrossing giant monster movie without a giant monster.

I was even more pleased when the movie came to a close and the other people in the audience around me were completely perplexed and unsure of what they had just seen. Given the level of promotion for Cloverfield, I'm not sure where people got the idea that this would be some sort of kaiju extravaganza.

In fact, I'm glad it wasn't that at all. Not to spoil anything, but if the sheer terror of your everyday life being turned upside down without any rhyme or reason doesn't evoke even the most basic of emotions from you, then it's probably better that you stick to men in rubber suits.