Shadow in the Cloud

Lore & Background

The film follows WAAF Flight Officer Maude Garrett in August 1943, who boards a B-17 bomber named The Fool's Errand with a top-secret package. The crew is initially hostile, and she is confined to the ball turret. She spots a gremlin on the wing, which attacks her, and later reveals the package contains her infant child, fathered by crew member Walter Quaid. The gremlin kidnaps the baby, leading to a climactic struggle where Maude retrieves her child and kills the creature after a crash landing.

Reader's Guide

Shadow in the Cloud is notable for its blend of war film, creature feature, and feminist themes, set almost entirely within a B-17 bomber. The film's production was marked by controversy: Max Landis was removed as a producer following sexual assault allegations, and Roseanne Liang rewrote the script. Despite this, Landis retained screenplay credit per Writers Guild rules. The film received generally favorable reviews, with a 77% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 66. It won the People's Choice Award for Midnight Madness at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, and Liang won the 'Director to Watch' award at the 2021 Palm Springs International Film Festival. The film's limited release in January 2021 was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Did You Know?

• The film's original script had the protagonist named Maude Gardner, after a real person acquainted with Max Landis; the surname was changed to Garrett for legal reasons.
• Principal photography took place in Auckland, New Zealand, beginning in June 2019.
• The film includes a prologue animated training film about gremlins from the US Army Air Forces.
• Chloë Grace Moretz announced the script had been rewritten several times following allegations against Max Landis.