REVIEW: Shadow In The Cloud - A Smashingly FUN Ride of a Modern "B-Movie"
Chloe Grace Moretz delivers a career performance in Roseanne Liang's horror-action adaptation of a Max Landis screenplay.
"In the throes of World War II, Captain Maude Garrett joins the all-male crew of a B-17 bomber with a top-secret package. Caught off guard by the presence of a woman on a military flight, the crew tests Maude’s every move. Just as her quick wit is winning them over, strange happenings and holes in her backstory incite paranoia surrounding her true mission. But this crew has more to fear…lurking in the shadows, something sinister is tearing at the heart of the plane. Trapped between an oncoming air ambush and an evil lurking within, Maude must push beyond her limits to save the hapless crew and protect her mysterious cargo."
Official Synopsis via www.shadowinthecloudfilm.com
Shadow in the...HOLY HELL!!! WHAT DID I JUST WATCH BECAUSE THAT MOVIE WAS PURE BONKERS!!! I don't think I would have even heard of this one had it not been for a recommendation by a good friend who has very similar tastes as myself. He insisted I would love it but that was all I could get out of him about the movie so going into it, I knew nothing about the story or plot other than the basics; It is a period film set in World War II on a B-17 bomber starring Chloe Grace Moretz who has a top secret package and for some reason the plane is falling apart. Not knowing more made the experience so much more enjoyable and fun! Being the father of an 8 year old daughter myself, this is the kind of female driven and empowering story that I wish she was old enough to watch because the entire time I found myself saying "hell yes" as Moretz met every roadblock, be it mechanical or supernatural, head on and kicked major ass while doing so. Before we get to it I must caution you first...
IF YOU GO INTO THIS WATCHING THIS FILM EXPECTING AN OSCAR WORTHY FILM YOU ARE SILLY AND THIS IS NOT THE MOVIE FOR YOU. WATCH THIS MOVIE WITH ZERO EXPECTATIONS AND YOU WILL COME OUT OF IT A FAN!
83 mins later I found myself sitting on the edge of my couch fully engrossed and wanting so much more. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I will say this; Chloe Grace Moretz is a diamond in the rough who carries this film from the opening shot to the closing credits and did it coming off as a bad-ass “bitch who has over 200 hours in the air flying in enemy territory as she puts it. She gives one of if not THE most convincing performance of her career and she does it in a glorified “B-Movie.” I LOVE IT. She gives it her all while spending most of the film inside the plane’s small gunner turret. You can genuinely feel how uncomfortable she is in her tiny new-found quarters. Shadow in the Cloud is part thriller mixed with a whole lot of WTF on top of parts that harken back to a certain classic Twilight Zone episode with some extra WTF sprinkled on top for good measure. Please do not take my description of it as a "B-Movie" as a negative what-so-ever because while it may feel like a "B-Movie," that is convincingly accomplished through the filmmakers love, cheekiness, tons of fun and a phenomenal bad-ass actress.
Kevin Thomas is an illustrator & graphic artist who uses the pseudonym Death Kat Design. He founded Studiohouse Designs & has worked with Fangoria Magazine, AMC Television, the Halloween franchise, Vinegar Syndrome & more!
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