21st
Cloverfield (spoilers)
Yeah, yeah, I know Cloverfield is old news. But recently I re-watched the movie, and it kind of got me interested in its history and how everybody reacted to it. The first anybody heard of it was as a trailer before the first Transformers movie. It showed a camcorder tape of a party being interrupted by an unknown monster, and it didn’t even show the movie’s title. But I think it’s safe to say that seeing the head fly off the Statue of Liberty was so awesome that we all got interested.
USA Today said it was going to be something like Voltron, NYT said it was a new Godzilla, somebody else said it would be called “The Parasite”, and many others said it was a LOST spinoff, since JJ Abrams was the one producing it.
And then the hype heightened even more when viral marketing campaign sites such as http://www.1-18-08.com/ and http://www.slusho.jp/ showed up to confuse people. They also made official Myspace accounts for the main characters. (one of the characters’ height was 2’ 7”. Possible forshadowing?)
So once the movie’s title was announced as “Cloverfield” for reasons that still remain unknown, and the release date came around, everybody had to go see it to see what knocked the head off the Statue of Liberty. Walking out of the theater, there were tons of mixed reactions. Many people hated the shaky camera on the big screen and the fact that it wasn’t Godzilla, LOST, or anything else already established. Others loved it because it did something totally different and was overall enjoyable.
Honestly, I didn’t see Cloverfield in theaters. I didn’t know what it was about, I just knew its name at the time, so I didn’t have a reason to go. Then, after it was released on DVD, I saw reviews of it with extremely different opinions. Usually when that happens, I have to see the movie to find out for myself if it’s good.
My opinion: It is a good movie. It has its flaws, sure. I understand the characters holding the camera aren’t trained professionals, but would it kill them to hold the camera straight for just one second? It’s not a big problem on computer screens or iPod screens as much as it is on giant TV screens. Also, I couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed at the generic monster they used. However, the flaws are few and far between in my opinion. The greatness of the movie shines through. It creates the perfect atmosphere; it starts the movie out by introducing us to the characters and making them three-dimensional and even likable. That makes it more important to us when they’re facing certain doom. It makes it more emotional, it makes us care more. The complete lack of a musical score is brilliant; it creates the right mood, and it creates realism at the same time.
Speaking of realism, that’s one thing I loved about Cloverfield. Most monster movies don’t scare me; they just entertain me. I’ve never really believed in the monsters like Godzilla when they’re attacking cities; it’s just not believable. But with Cloverfield, we’re seeing the monster from the people’s point of view, and it makes it somewhat more believable and suspenseful. It’s more realistic that way.
One thing I also like is when a movie is mysterious. This applies for films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film I’m a fan of. We may never truly know what that film is about, and that’s part of why it’s so great. Cloverfield has a little of that quality. A lot of people on the Internet have pointed out secrets in the movie, like at the end where you see something falling from the sky into the water at Coney Island. It’s in the background and barely noticeable, but when you see it, you know it’s no accident. There’s also a sound clip at the end credits. Some say it says “Help us” when played forward. Others say when you play it backward it says “It’s still alive.” I find both of those to be likely.
There are lots of people who also think about the meaning behind Cloverfield. Some said that it’s about 9/11. I disagree; the only clear connection is that New York is under attack. That’s about it. I think it might have Godzilla innuendos. Director Matt Reeves said he’s a big Godzilla fan, and he made Cloverfield because it was about time the West had a monster too. (he said King Kong was too small and too much of a wimp.) There’s one part of the movie where the camera picture’s breaking up, and for just one frame, you can see a screenshot from the original Godzilla movie. Also, I think the plot of the movie could have something to do with it. Rob’s new job in Japan was Vice President of Marketing for Slusho! drinks. His job was to make those drinks marketable in the West like it was in the East. Maybe that has something to do with bringing the East’s monster movies to the West with Cloverfield.
I should stop rambling now. Thanks J.J. Abrams for a cool movie.
-Derek
