'Shadow in the Cloud' Trailer Debuts

Chlöe Grace Moretz cements herself as a new "name above the title" star in the first trailer for the pulpy, horror infused, WWII-set actioner Shadow in the Cloud

Chlöe Grace Moretz in 'Shadow in the Cloud' (CREDIT: Vertical Entertainment)

                         by Jack Linsdell

The outrage around Warner Bros. releasing their entire 2021 theatrical slate on HBO Max and the buzz generated after Disney announced new Marvel and Star Wars flicks very ironically "overshadowed" the trailer debut for Shadow in the Cloud. The Chlöe Grace Moretz-led actioner, a joint release between Vertical Entertainment and Redbox Entertainment, is due to hit our screens on January 1st, but (sadly) not as a theatrical release. The fact that nobody watched (or even cared about) the trailer because they were too busy using Twitter to complain that Warner Bros. is killing theatres and/or celebrate the new MCU Phase Four release schedule shows you exactly why Shadow in the Cloud is skipping theatres all together. It's reached a point now where movies like this (very low-budget or out and out genre flicks) just aren't bothering with theatrical release dates because they know they're just going to get pushed onto VOD anyway. 

Starring Chlöe Grace Moretz in her first "name above the title" solo headline role ever, Shadow in the Cloud looks set to be just the kind of pulpy, escapist and aggressively "fun" entertainment we need right now. Moretz plays Flight Officer Maud Garrett, a headstrong and fearless young women thrust into the world of domineering men and mercless, bloody conflict in the heart of WWII. In charge of flying a detachment of important documents across the Atlantic, Garrett and the fellow airmen on board soon encounter supernatural "demons" that threaten to cut the flight and their lives short. The 60 second-long trailer does everything you want and expect, teasing us with enough plot exposition to get us hooked before a quick-cut montage of "Moretz fighting demons!" provides us the entertainment value. Above all else, the trailer completes the sell perfectly by establishing that Shadow in the Cloud is indeed going to be a lot of fun. It's not a serious "real world" actioner, rather a pulpy, lean (only 89 minutes) and well-acted piece of popcorn entertainment. 

Written and directed by Roseanne Lang, the flick also (and rightly so) champions it's leading star. It's no secret that Moretz is one of my favourite actors of all time and has been and continues to be one of the best working actresses around yet to be Oscar nominated. But, despite the quality of her movies, both indie dramas and studio programmers, she's never been a box office draw. She's certainly an added value element in ensemble flicks like Bad Neighbours 2, but up until now, she's never been given the opportunity to be a sole "name above the title" star. Hell, even last year's terrific psychological horror Greta was billed as a two-hander between Isabela Huppert and Moretz. 

Anyway, Shadow in the Cloud feels like long overdue recognition for Moretz and a turning point in her career. That's made especially true because this movie unites her with The 5th Wave co-star Nick Robinson (one of her most underrated films) and studio Vertical Entertainment, who released her Ansel Elgort teen drama November Criminals (another underseen masterpiece). Based on the quality of those two movies and her performances in them alone, Shadow in the Cloud is set to fly high. 

I for one can't wait.