Title: Shadow in the Cloud
Year: 2020
Director: Roseanne Liang
Country: New Zealand
Language: English
My 3rd of 10 digital films at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the marketing for Roseanne Liang's Shadow in the Cloud initially made me assume this would be a retelling of the famous Twilight Zone story Terror at 20,000 Feet, however many people on twitter proved me wrong as they've claimed it's an "inventive exciting action/horror romp with awesome budget cgi" That was enough to get me hyped!
In this, a female WWII pilot (Chloe Grace Moretz) traveling with top secret documents on a B-17 Flying Fortress encounters an evil presence on board the flight.
Holy hell! Shadow in the Cloud is a pulpy piece of B-movie gold that would have been a wild ride if it were screened live at Midnight Madness. It's more of a "wtf" did I just see flick than outright horror, with inventive surprises kept me on the edge of my sofa. The fairly short run-time (1hr 23min) ensures its familiar yet ludidrous concept never overstays its welcome.
"Did she just do that!?" I asked my spouse in disbelief. Moretz unleashes an explosion of feminist fury that Hollywood wishes they could capture. Captain Marvel (2019) was never this badass, not even close. Though Shadow in the Cloud is dripping with gender politics (the #metoo movement could use Liang's storytelling abilities) the gonzo actions scenes, complete with 80's synth, keep it from being preachy.
Roseanne Liang is a film-maker I definitley will check out again. I admire how crazed, creative and well made this picture is. Shadow in the Cloud is jaw dropping in how unrealistic it is; so fun and campy. I can't wait till more of my friends see it so I can say "DID YOU SEE HOW SHE KICKED SO MUCH ASS??"
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