“I Saw… I Saw Something Move on the Right Wing…” – Maude Garrett

Shadow in the Cloud, released in 2020, is an action-thriller with a remarkably intriguing premise, playing into the fables of the mischievously dangerous creature known as the “Gremlin,’ a folkloric rodent that originated in the 20th century to explain malfunctions with aircraft operations, primarily during World War II. Depictions of these creatures have varied widely over the years, with their most well-known incarnation being in the 1984 horror-comedy classic; Gremlins. Before that film’s release, however, stories regarding the creatures often referenced them as the cause of the inexplicable technical and psychological tribulations many pilots faced during the Second World War, Shadow in the Cloud being one of those stories. Yet, despite this potential, aside from some impressive set design and the earnest attempt by its leading actress, Chloë Grace Moretz, to schlep the film as a ‘one-woman show,’ it’s largely a chore to make it through the entire runtime of Shadow in the Cloud, fleeting though it may be.

Plot Summary: In the throes of World War II, pilot officer, Maude Garrett, joins the all-male crew of the B-17 bomber, the Fool’s Errand, with a top-secret package. Caught off-guard by the presence of a woman on their military flight, the crew tests Maude’s every move. But, before they can enquire further about her assignment, Maude notices something sinister clinging onto the underside of their aircraft…

Co-written and directed by Roseanne Liang (Banana in a Nutshell, My Wedding and Other Secrets), the somewhat clunky screenplay for Shadow in the Cloud was originally penned by Max Landis, but was later heavily rewritten during pre-production by Liang due to sexual harassment allegations made against Landis at the time. Liang and Moretz claim that Landis was distanced from the production, with his screenplay being rewritten several times before filming began. But, after watching the film, Landis argued that about 90-95% of the screenplay is still his.

Chloë Grace Moretz undertakes the role of the film’s protagonist, adept pilot, Maude Garrett, or at least, that’s how she introduces herself, as Maude’s true identity and the nature of her assignment is actually a mystery for much of the runtime. Nevertheless, Moretz does a great job carrying the acting load, while Maude receives a serviceable amount of characterisation. The rest of the crew, portrayed by Taylor John Smith, Callan Mulvey, Nick Robinson, Beulah Koale, Byron Coll, Joe Witkowski and Benedict Wall, are well-acted yet lack any real depth or distinct character traits, only serving to hammer home the film’s underlying feminist themes as masculine caricatures. So much so, that as soon as Maude steps aboard the aircraft, she’s immediately met with sexist wisecracks and condescending nicknames.

Given that the majority of the film takes place aboard an aircraft amidst the clouds, it’s understandable that much of Shadow in the Cloud‘s visuals are confined to Maude and the camera crammed into the ball turret on the underside of the aircraft after the crew shove her down there to keep her out of their way during take off. From that point on, almost every shot maintains a steady level of motion to match the constant turbulence of the aircraft in the thick of the vicious storms and enemy fighters that surround it. Simply put, whilst the cinematography by Kit Fraser isn’t anything unprecedented, it is exceptionally accurate to the film’s wavering setting.

However, the same cannot be said for the original score by Mahuia Bridgman Cooper, which is bewilderingly inappropriate for both the narrative and its time period, beginning as a melodious yet out-of-place synthetic score before transitioning into something far more chaotic and tumultuous by the third act, draining away much of the suspense through tracks, like True Stories and Dangerous Feelings. Similarly, the film’s stylistic choice of occasionally cutting away from Maude in the ball turret to see the other crew mates in a blackened space with kaleidoscopic lighting feels at odds with the remainder of the visuals, especially since it obscures much of the aircraft’s detailed set design.

On a more positive note, the film’s opening does feature a nifty animated sequence based on the cartoon shorts of Private Snafu, a series of 1940s adult-oriented instructional videos meant to educate enlisted personnel on army discretion, hygiene, combat readiness and daily life. While the designs of the gremlins in these shorts might appear playful, the design of the actual creature in Shadow in the Cloud leans into a more lifelike approach, admirably constructing a creature that possesses a grey-haired, monkey-like body structure with minor traits of bats and rats. Unfortunately, the visual effects for the creature often do the film more harm than good, as although certain shots of the gremlin are passable, almost all of the shots of Maude on the exterior of the aircraft via green screen look dreadful, likely suffering as a result of a stretched-thin effects budget.

In summary, whilst Shadow in the Cloud bears a fantastic premise, it’s continuously so poorly executed that it becomes difficult to appreciate it, forcing its audience to significantly suspend their disbelief even more than you’d expect for an action-centric creature-feature, frequently coming across as pulpy and overly dramatic. Thus, by the time Shadow in the Cloud trots out historical footage of real servicewomen alongside an inspiring pop song during the end credits, the film has essentially veered into self-parody in spite of the tremendous conviction Moretz conveys in her performance. Rating: 4/10.