Did it come in with a bang? Well, there certainly was a big thing made before it was released. The viral marketing campaign was nothing short of inspired and there was this sneaking suspicion that January was going to see something out of the ordinary. Of course the behind the scenes whispers fuelled no doubt by very clever strategies, had everyone believing that the New Year would witness some truly satisfying viewing pleasure.

Let’s take a look at the line-up. The producer, J.J. Abrams of ‘Lost’ fame, the writer Drew Goddard of Alias and of course, the director, Matt Reeves. It really is his film and his view of how a monster movie should be. Does the audience want to see the monster and go ‘oooooooooooooh’? Well, he wouldn’t be overly concerned because he tells his story the way he sees it and it ultimately is for the best.

The plot is simple and could be described as hackneyed and done to death but somehow it does not go down that spiraling descent. We have four young people at a party that is a send off for one of them - Michael Stahl-David, on his way to an overseas promotion. And what was supposed to be a simple farewell turns into a rescue operation trying to get a friend played by Odette Yustman out of her apartment where she is trapped. By what? A monster of course that rises from the Hudson River and lays siege on the Lower East Side.

This monstrous reptile is ever present and makes more of an impact thanks to the reactions of all around than by the way it looks. In fact, you hardly see it. There isn’t much of an attempt at logic or explanations either. There are so many questions about the monster that are not answered but who cares? No one knows from whence it came, or what would happen if it were to bite you but no one’s asking and no one’s missing anything. The focus is so absolutely clear that what is happening is what is of importance that there doesn’t seem to be any need to tie up what would have normally seemed like loose ends.

The handheld camera effect is riveting and to a generation that is quite at home with this kind of thing, this is probably a milestone heralding in movies of this ilk, breaking away from the formal conventional style of special effect extravaganzas. In that sense, it is the movie of the times. It is contemporary, it is relevant as far as techniques go and it therefore gains acceptance. Are we watching history being made?