Title: Shadow in the Cloud
Director(s): Roseanne Liang
Screenwriter(s): Max Landis & Roseanne Liang
Released: 2020
Runtime: 1h 23m
● In August 1943, Maude Garrett (Chloë Grace Moretz), a flight officer, boards a B-17 bomber in New Zealand. The flight is to carry supplies to Samoa. Garrett is carrying a confidential package. The crew are obviously all men. Most of them not only question the last-minute change in orders but are just mean. For her safety, Garrett rides in the ventral ball turret during takeoff. From there, she catches a glimpse of another aircraft and then a small creature on the wing…
● What follows is a silly action-horror, presumably inspired by cheesy 80s horror films. This is fine but the opening is too forced.
When Garrett is trying to find the plane, she is already “seeing things”. Yes, it is dark and foggy but multiple objects suddenly appearing and disappearing is too much.
Boarding the plane and verbally arguing about her orders is pointless as anyone in that situation would have the written orders in hand and say, “Here it is, read it.”
Most of the male crew are overtly nasty and relatively incompetent as if to push the feminist theme. We have a strong female character, which is cool. We have Chloë Grace Moretz, a good actress who typically has a strong screen presence and, depending on the genre, also brings a certain physicality. There is no need to push it unless it is satirizing it which it doesn’t.
● Also worth noting is that Garrett is in the ball turret for a substantial amount of time. I won’t spoil it except to state that it is not the entire film. It does not go as far as Phone Booth (2002) but, either way, there is good dramatic tension despite the single, isolated location. The amount of chatter over the comms doesn’t come across as realistic but it is necessary interaction. It is to the credit of the director and the performances to make this work.
● If one accepts or can tolerate the above, then what follows is a silly action-horror that borderlines on crazy and is not meant to be taken too seriously. Given that approach, the film would benefit from a few moments of (black) comedy. Nonetheless, the film as it is is surprisingly entertaining.
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