Delayed Reaction: Shadow on the Cloud

Premise: A female officer in WWII becomes a last second addition to a flight crew on a mission that quickly turns into something they didn't expect.

 

The ideal way to watch this movie is completely blind and with an open mind to see something wild. That's how I saw it thankfully. Despite being well under 90 minutes, this movie is packed with numerous twists, turns, and ever style changes.

 

I saw the movie because of Chloe Grace Moretz. I'm always curious to see what she's up to next. I noticed it was a WWII movie, and wasn't that thrilled for some kind of stuffy period piece. At best, I figured it would be about her putting up with a lot of shit to earn the smallest amount of begrudging respect from a male superior officer. Basically, I was imagining Private Benjamin while fighting Nazis. Then the movie starts, and it's this stylized opening set to spacy, hip music. That's when I realized I had no idea what movie I was signing up for. I wasn't crazy about Moretz adopting an Australian accent for the whole movie, but whatever. Almost right away, the movie moves her to the underside gunner seat of the plane. Then I thought, OK, I get it, this some kind of "Bottle movie" like Locke, where it's all about how Moretz sells the action in her performance from limited angles. Cool. I'm game. I figure it'll be a dog fight movie or something. Then she sees something. On the plane. So it's a "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" movie. Also cool. The whole time she's talking to the men on the crew who are ridiculously misogynistic. And there's the business about Moretz's special package they aren't allowed to see. Hold on. did her accent just disappear? Holy crap, there's a bat creature on the plane, destroying the engines. AND there are Japanese fighters attacking them. What the hell?! Her package is a baby! She's an imposter! She has to save her baby from falling by climbing across the bottom of the plane! What am I fucking watching?!

 

This movie is pulpy, B-movie brilliance. If I manage to convince anyone that this movie is worth watching, then I doubt they'll be quite as impressed with it as I was. For one, I've just spoiled most of the surprises. Also, now you know that it's a wild ride going in. So, this movie has my full-throated endorsement, but the second you hear that, I need to then somehow temper that endorsement.

 

That said, where else are you going to see Chloe Grace Moretz first fight a humanoid bat creature to the death?

 

Verdict: Strongly Recommend