Shadow In The Cloud

Shadow in the Cloud is easily the first and best movie of this year 2021. A perfect mix of war film, closed-door thriller, fantasy film and a vibrant tribute to women soldiers during World War II. From the very first minutes of the film we are taken back to 1943 which presents as an introduction a short animated film reminding us of the book The Gremlins by Roald Dahl (published in 1943) but also the cartoon Falling Hare by Bob Clampett in which Bugs Bunny was fighting against a Gremlin.

As a reminder, a gremlin is a malicious folk creature that causes malfunctions in airplanes or other machines. Representations of these creatures vary, but they are often described or depicted as animals with spiky backs, large strange eyes and small clawed mounts with sharp teeth. Popularized in 1984 by Joe Dante's masterpiece and produced by Steven Spielberg, these creatures have made their mark on our film culture and have forever marked several generations of filmgoers. Shadow in the Cloud is not a prequel to Joe Dante's film but pays tribute to him in the same way that he manages to capture all the emotional power of the cult series The Twilight Zone (Richard Donner's Nightmare at 20,000 Feet and its remake in the film The Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) by John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante and George Miller).

In the middle of World War II, Captain Maude Garrett (Chloë Grace Moretz) joins the all-male crew of a B-17 bomber with a top-secret travel bag. Caught off guard by the presence of a woman on a military flight, the crew tests Maude's behavior and tries to find out what she is hiding. Just as her keen mind is trying to convince them, strange events and shady areas in her story incite paranoia about her real mission. But this crew has more to fear... lurking in the shadows, something sinister is tearing at the heart of the plane. Stuck between an air ambush and a dangerous presence hiding inside, Maude must go beyond her limits to save the unfortunate crew and protect its mysterious cargo.

Shadow in the cloud turns out to be an excellent film based on the script co-written by Max Landis (John Landis' film) and the director of this film Roseanne Liang (My Wedding and Other Secrets (2011)). It manages to hold the viewers' attention without any false notes by unfolding almost exclusively the action of the film aboard a B-17 bomber. Whether it is the attacks of enemy aircraft or the Gremlin that is attracted by the presence of Maude Garrett's duffel bag. The latter will not only have to face the male taunts of the crew of this plane but also find a solution to get out of the ball turret in which the crew has placed it and whose exit door is no longer functional. By skillfully juggling different genres of film (war, fantasy, closed-door thriller), Shadow in the Cloud offers a truly intense cinematic experience in which the many very successful special effects created by Weta Digital give it a very special aura.

Certainly, some sequences seem quite unrealistic, such as those in which Captain Maude Garrett finds herself outside the plane, but they don't spoil our pleasure as the omnipresent action makes Shadow in the Cloud an excellent movie choice to start this year (the movie is now available in VOD in the United States). Once again, Chloë Grace Moretz is perfect on screen, both in the action scenes, especially the final fight that has nothing to envy to the one in John McTiernan's Predator, but also in the dramatic scenes. His presence gives this film a very special aura and one comes back to regret not being able to discover this film on the big screen at the cinema as was the case during its screening at the TIFF last September.

Shadow in the cloud is also a vibrant tribute to the courage of women soldiers during the Second World War as shown by the character played by Chloë Grace Moretz but also an end credits which we advise you to stay until at least the middle. While most movie theaters are closed, it is understandable that this film is coming out today on VOD in the United States but it was better to discover it on the big screen as it immerses the viewers in full action throughout its duration and shows us once again that it is possible to make great action movies outside of Hollywood studios. We come out of this film with the pleasure of seeing it a second time, which is rather rare at the moment, both by its rhythm of a formidable efficiency but also by the presence of Chloë Grace Moretz, it imposes itself as an undeniable success.

Shadow in the Cloud
Directed by Roseanne Liang
Produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Kelly McCormick, Tom Hern, Fred Berger
Written by Max Landis and Roseanne Liang
Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Beulah Koale, Taylor John Smith, Callan Mulvey, Nick Robinson
Music by Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper
Cinematography: Kit Fraser
Edited by Tom Eagles
Production Companies : Automatik, Four Knights Film, Endeavor Content, Rhea Films, New Zealand Film Commission, Fulcrum Media Finance, Screen Auckland
Distributed by: Vertical Entertainment, Redbox Entertainment
Release date: September 12, 2020 (TIFF), January 1, 2021 (United States)
Running time: 83 minutes

Viewed on January 1, 2021

Mulder's Mark: