Something has found us…
Last summer, millions witnessed a clever teaser at the beginning of Transformers where low quality home video footage captured the head of the Statue of Liberty hurling towards the urban hipsters of New York.
1.18.08 flashed across the screen and fanboys had fantasies for months to come. What is it? Rumors flooded the internet in one of the most sought after films since the debacle of Snakes on a Plane. Could JJ Abrams maintain the momentum of the crafty teaser since the film hadn’t begun production?
The producers called various agents around town seeking talent. Their offer was the role in a JJ Abrams untitled monster picture without ever having read the script coupled with a lump sum of an opportunity and granting faith in the uber-producer/writer/directing threat.
It was untitled for a while then tentatively titled Cloverfield. The name derived from the cross-street of Bad Robot’s production office in Santa Monica; Olympic & Cloverfield. The name adhered.
The story is simple. Rob’s having a going away party as he heads for a job in Japan. (screenwriter- Drew Goddard’s nod to Godzilla). Rob’s best friend has duties of capturing confessions of his friends and their well-wishes for Rob’s journey abroad. A little bit of drama between Rob and his long time crush, secrets are revealed that the two hooked up and then she comes to the party with another guy. She leaves quickly and Rob’s depressed.
Just before the sappy Atlantic Coast melodrama plagues the film, something shakes the entire city. Thinking it’s an earthquake, they click on the TV and see news anchor talking about what they’re experiencing. Running to the roof, they look out into the Atlantic and see fireballs flying towards them and shell the building. Fleeing to the street, the head of the Statue of Liberty hurls through the city and lands right before their eyes. The evacuation begins as Rob sets out to find the love of his life and save her.
Structurally, the film works very well. I was skeptical of the handheld camera POV, but told in any other way I strongly believe that the film would’ve been bogged down with the crap that Hollywood’s been feeding us lately. This feels extremely real and pulls the audience into this 7 hour world of our characters.
When the military attacks the little-seen beast, it feels like full-on guerilla warfare and gives a sense of war-torn countries and the innocent caught in the middle. Rob and his band plod their way towards his crush’s apartment building to bring her to the extraction point that the military has set up for Manhattan.
Realism began setting in and one’s mind starts to wander…plausibility. The filmmakers fully realized this and with a simple scene hiding in a subway platform, Rob calls his mom and explains what happened to his brother. It’s an emotionally quiet moment that resonates and carries the rest of the film to an incredible climax.
Clocking in at a trim 85 minutes, Cloverfield is a white-knuckle thrill ride that never lets up. We have no idea where this thing came from, nor do we care due to our investment with the city under siege. When the military arrives and our characters ask what it is, their response is that whatever it is, it’s winning. It’s a chilling afterthought of a film that we just don’t know what’s in the Ocean.
Instinct tells me that America finally has its great monster film. Cloverfield is a must-see on the big screen.
– Jack Reher
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
