Shadow in the Cloud (2020).

“You have no idea how far I’ll go!”

Directed by Roseanne Liang

Written by Roseanne Liang (and Max Landis? Some of it? Maybe?)

Starring Chloe Grace-Moretz, a plane, and a gremlin

The Stage.

In World War II, an enigmatic woman boards the Fool’s Errand, a bomber plane. She’s got her arm in a sling, carries a mysterious package, and has orders from their higher-ups to join the flight. They reluctantly stick her in the bubble turret. Unfortunately, the hatch to the turret becomes stuck, leaving Maude trapped in a plastic sphere as she notices there’s a passenger on the wing that wasn’t on the manifest.

The Review.

This movie is a blast. It’s a B-movie that knows exactly what it’s doing, it’s wild and it’s a ton of fun. It’s got everything a schlock flick needs - a badass main character, a creative looking beast, and a plot that continuously goes from bad to worse as the clock ticks down.

There’s an obvious feminist slant to the film and Chloe Grace-Moretz is the perfect woman to play Maude, the mysterious woman aboard the Fool’s Errand. She’s strong, takes no shit, and will stop at nothing to protect her package. The other men aboard the plane don’t even really matter, since we’re with Maude the entire time. For the first thirty minutes, we never even leave the bubble turret as she communicates (or rather is sexually harassed and berated by) the other crew members over the radio.

In the second third of the film, it switches genres from a war film to creature feature when that shadow in the cloud rears its ugly head. The ‘gremlin’ is a large mutated bat and it looks pretty menacing. We don’t know why it wants Maude’s package, but it’s hunting season. It also gives us a few very effective jump scares as it infiltrates the airship.

Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper’s ominous, thumping synth score is awesome and had me looking for it on Apple Music minutes after the film was over. It harkens back to early-80’s Carpenter films. I loved it.

The main complaints that I’ve seen online about Shadow in the Cloud is that it’s unrealistic. This film isn’t trying to be realistic, if you’re looking for a true to life WWII film, exit the theater now. It knows it’s ridiculous and leans into it. As a genre fan, I really appreciated that. The other complaint I’ve seen is about the overt feminist slant. It obviously didn’t bother me, but if you’re a weenie with a really fragile ego, well maybe this isn’t the film for you.

Admittedly, the film takes a while to really get going, but once it does, the last half of the film is a barn burner.

I was under the impression that Roseanne Liang wrote the film, so color me surprised when I saw Max fucking Landis’s name in the credits. There are varying accounts of his actual involvement, Roseanne Liang has said that she re-wrote 90-95% of the film, while Landis says that most of what he wrote remains. The script is available online, so maybe I’ll do a comparison soon. Until then, it just seems icky that Max Landis’s name is on a film that’s so blatantly about female empowerment.

The End.

This film is not going to be for everyone, but it was certainly for me. I love it when a movie takes me on a ridiculous ride and makes no qualms about being absolutely insane. The film is a showcase for Chloe Grace-Moretz and she absolutely crushes.

While you’re at it, check out Roseanne Liang’s short film, Do No Harm. It’s about a surgeon performing a late-night surgery on a Yakuza boss when a rival gang busts into the operating room, but this surgeon isn’t letting anything get between her and her patient. It’s a really fine action short and a perfect prelude to Shadow in the Cloud. You can find it by heading to www.donoharm-film.com.