The line between horror and comedy is thin at the best of times. What's terrifying to some is hilarious to others, but the slightest strange creative decision can push one into the other. A horror film like Shadow in the Cloud occupies both genres, with a healthy mess of action and social commentary thrown in for flavor.
World War II is often a stodgy setting for a film. It's the most frequently discussed conflict of all time, both in reality and in fiction, but the most realistic takes on the concept seem primarily fit for someone's dad. However, if a creator is willing to get away from the grounded historical elements, there's a lot of tension and endless personal stories to play with.
Shadow in the Cloud takes place almost entirely inside a B-17 Flying Fortress, a 74-foot-long heavy bomber. Chloe Grace Moretz portrays Maude Garrett, an RAF Pilot Officer who is tasked with boarding the aforementioned plane with an important package. She'll be flying from New Zealand to Samoa with a diverse crew of Allied soldiers. As a woman, she faces a ton of derision and mocking from her colleagues, and is sequestered in the unused gun turret. Before long, Maude spots something abnormal in the sky next to them. The rest of the crew laughs her off, but it quickly becomes clear that they are among enemies. Maude is hiding something, but as the tension ramps up, the B-17's crew discovers that they're up against more than the Axis powers. There's a monster on the plane that threatens the lives of everyone on board and turns this relatively straight-laced aerial combat film into a wacky period creature feature.
The film is a tight 83 minutes in length, which is key to its appeal. It doesn't take long to get where it's going, but it does comfortably hide its true direction for the first act. If one stumbled into Shadow in the Cloud without ever having heard of it, they could genuinely believe it was a new example in the long history of dogfight movies. Then, around half an hour in, a bat-like monster insistently referred to as a gremlin appears on the wing of the plane. Many comparisons were drawn to "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," the 1963 Twilight Zone episode that most only remember for parodies of William Shatner's performance. The idea of a group of people trapped in a small space with a monster is not new, but the setting makes it more interesting. The monster looks a bit like Man-Bat and a bit like the Sumatran Rat Monkey from Braindead. It's well-framed in dark jump scares and close-ups. When it's out in the open, it's appropriately absurd to look at.
Shadow in the Cloud was written and directed by Roseanne Liang. The film was inspired in part by Steven Knight's 2013 film Locke and James Cameron's Aliens. There's definitely an air of absurdity to the film's structure, but it takes itself 100% seriously. Liang is a groundbreaking creator. She was born in New Zealand to immigrants from Hong Kong. Her debut feature My Wedding and Other Secrets was the highest-grossing local film of the year. She went on to form multiple filmmaking collectives and work on comedy shows like A Thousand Apologies for TV3. Since the release of Shadow in the Cloud, she directed and co-wrote the black comedy series Creamerie, which earned excellent reviews. She's set to executive produce the upcoming Netflix live-action adaptation of The Last Airbender. She clearly has a lot of her career ahead of her, but Shadow in the Cloud is probably her highest-profile project so far.
Shadow in the Cloud is an exceedingly weird film. It doesn't all work in concert, but the breezy pace makes it a joy to watch. There's a big reveal that may lose a lot of audience members, but it won't stay in the mind for long. The film does have something to say about the role of women in the military and the treatment of ladies in the era. It feels alternatively hollow or out of place, in the same way that the Marvel movies occasionally throw a bunch of superheroines together as some sort of statement. Many critics considered the film too silly or not silly enough, demanding that it draw a hard line. Instead, Shadow in the Cloud is simultaneously a thrilling WWII action piece and a bizarre claustrophobic horror movie at the same time. It's weird, but it works.
Shadow in the Cloud is a lot of fun. Chloe Grace Moretz is charming and compelling, Liang's direction works in both action scenes and jump scares, and the premise is consistently entertaining. The film had a limited release, largely thanks to the pandemic, but its appeal became clear when it came to streaming services. It's available now on Hulu, and anyone with an interest in weird monster movies should check it out. Shadow in the Cloud is a thrilling action-horror film that refuses to explain itself, and it's a lot of fun.