Let's Talk Cloverfield

[Depressio]

Am I the only one excited about this movie? Probably.

Also, I know this board is probably more mature than it was 4 years ago, but if you're the kind of person who doesn't like giant monster movies, you should probably stop reading now.

For anyone who has no idea what I'm talking about, let's get FAQ-ing. If you want to avoid any sort of plot speculation or anything like that, you should probably not read this thread. Keep in mind, however, that specific details (particularly involving the plot, the monster, etc.) are all speculative at this point.


Q. What the crap is Cloverfield?
A. Most people who saw Transformers last summer saw a trailer for an unnamed movie, shot with handheld cameras, that focused mostly on a guy who came home to a surprise party. The festivities are interrupted, however, when an explosion is heard, and a bunch of a crazy stuff starts to go down. The original trailer only listed the film's release date - 1/18/08. The newest trailer has revealed the name of the film to be Cloverfield. That's about all we know as far as "plot" goes. If you haven't seen the trailers yet, I've linked them below.

Q. Who is in it/making it?
A. A majority of the cast/crew are not big names in Hollywood at this point. The most famous person associated with the film is likely J.J. Abrams, best known as the producer of 'Lost.'

Q. What's the movie all about?
A. As far as we know, it's about a monster attack as documented by a group of friends.

Q. Is the movie going to be shot entirely with handheld cameras?
A. Looks that way.

Q. Why haven't I heard very much about this movie before?
A. Probably because the film is being marketed almost entirely online, through a number of teaser websites and stuff like that. Hey, it worked for Halo 2. Snakes on a Plane...not so much.

Q. What are the main teaser websites?
A.  http://www.1-18-08.com/ (pictures from the party from the first trailer)
http://www.slusho.jp  (somehow linked to the film, but it's unclear how)

Q. Any word on what the deal with the monster is?
A. There have been a number of speculations since the original trailer about what the deal with the creature is. If you're trying to avoid any possible spoilers (though at this point nothing is official), STOP READING. FOR REAL.


Seriously.




-Some sources claim that the monster is aquatic in nature, possibly some kind of whale or octopus
-Some sources claim that when the monster is attacked, pieces of it break off to create new monsters (does this thing sound a little like Sin from FFX to anyone else?)
-This image supposedly shows concept art of the creature, though this is not yet confirmed in any way.
-This is the most credible evidence we have so far about what the thing might be. (Scroll down the page a bit until you can play an audio file). This sound apparently comes up if you hang around the 1-18-08 site for long enough. It's apparently the monster's cry. I can definitely hear something aquatic.

Q. Trailers?
A. Trailers!

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I'm not what you would call a monster-movie fan, but I am definitely intruiged by this movie. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stomach the shifty cam, but I think I'll be in line opening day.

[Revan/anakinjmt]

The most famous person associated with the film is likely J.J. Abrams, best known as the creator/producer of 'Alias', 'Lost'; director of 'MI-III', next Star Trek film

Edited for his other "best known" works.

It definitely intrigues me. It seems like a perfect movie for a viral marketing campaign, similar to what The Dark Knight is doing.

[Mr. Teatime]

When I first saw the teaser during Transformers, I got chills. It struck me almost as powerfully as Transformers itself (and I thought it was a fantastic movie). I totally agree with Depressio: I'm normally not a huge fanboy of the "oh-noes-monsters-destroyin'-teh-city!!!1" movie archtype, but this looks like it's gunna be amazingly well done. I really like the idea of it being hand shot with simple cameras. It could be like Blair Witch Project, only not totally suck.

[Depressio]

You guys think the concept art is anything close to accurate?

It seems to be true in some respects (particularly in terms of relative size between it and the Statue of Liberty). Also, it seems that someone faces off against two of those "mini-monsters" in the trailer (though you can only see the shadow).

There's another theory going around that Slusho's parent corporation is somehow responsible for the monster, possibly involving some sort of undersea drilling operation (that maybe wakes up the monster?)

Any comments? Speculations? Do you think it's not aquatic at all?

[Mr. Teatime]

There's another theory going around that Slusho's parent corporation is somehow responsible for the monster, possibly involving some sort of undersea drilling operation (that maybe wakes up the monster?)

Any comments? Speculations? Do you think it's not aquatic at all?

Yeah, I did some...journalistic investigation...yesterday, and I definitely think Tagruato is behind the monster. On the interactive map on their site, the newest drilling site being opened up is right off the coast of New York. And, take a look at this. To summarize, Slusho (owned by Tagruato) is made using a secret ingredient called "sea nectar" that's dug up from these drill sites. "Sea nectar" has been shown to "accelerate growth, increase strength, increase soft muscle tissue growth, sharpen eyes, better digestion, and smoothen skin." Imagine if some regular aquatic create got trapped underneath a bed of sea nectar for centuries, eating nothing but it that whole time? It would steadily evolve into that monstrosity in the concept art.

[Depressio]

Yeah, I think you're likely correct. Though that concept art is apparently fan drawn, it seems like the thing will originate from the water.

[that_lufis]

Wow. I'm the first person commenting on a new movie after it's come out. That's a trip.

So, yeah, I went to see Cloverfield tonight. And let me just say...

...whoa.

I'm not going to spoil anything, but it's intense.

Whoa.

[Depressio]

Aw, Lufis beat me to it.

I loved this movie. Amazing.

[Spidysonjrs]

I don't want to spoil anything either, but I was satisfied.  I was expecting a little more, but a lot of people in the theater hated it.  I don't want to say why.  I recomend that everyone sees it.  I don't think I'll get it on DVD because it's something you have to see once on the big screen.

[Mr. Teatime]

I am very pleased.

Though disappointed that they never actually showed the monster.

lol jk

[Dustinmyles]

Good stuff, good stuff.

I might have to go see it again here pretty soon to catch all the little stuff I missed, for example (possible spoilers I suppose)










Supposedly something falls from the sky into the water in the last shot when they're at Coney Island. Did anybody notice anything?

[Depressio]

I like how pretty much all my November "insider info" was completely incorrect.

I kinda wish it was the horrible mutated whale though.

Also, I still probably could not give a solid impression of what the monster looks like. Particularly, whether or not it is bipedal. It seems to walk on two legs sometimes and four legs other times, but it's hard to tell which of its "limbs" are legs and arms. What do you guys think?

[Alexisonfire]

I need to know: would you consider this show a Sci-Fi movie (like a Godzilla or whatever) or a horror sci-fi (like aliens). I've been increasingly interested in this movie once I saw footage and I want to go see it, but, as I have mentioned several times before, I am the biggest chicken on the planet when it comes to horror movies and games.

[that_lufis]

Think Godzilla mixed with Aliens and the Blair Witch project, and you've got the basic gist.

[Depressio]

Hmm...well, it's a PG-13 movie (bumped down to a PG in my part of Canada), so the amounts of gore/frighteningness is limited by this sort of MPAA classification (though one scene does show quite a bit of blood). I think of it mostly as a suspense movie: a lot of the "action" is unseen or only partially seen, and you're biggest fear is a completely lack of information about this monster, where it came from, what it's capable of, etc. I can think of only a few points in the movie that were designed to spook/shock in an Alien-esque way.

I'm not going to tell you to rush out and see it if you're uncomfortable with the genre(s), but that was my impression of the movie. Does anyone else agree/disagree?