CLOVERFIELD

    Cloverfield is a hybrid of a film that teeter-totters precariously on the line between American style kaiju (giant monster) horror and good old science fiction films ala’ The Beast From 20000 Fathoms. It is a film about an attack on the many as documented by the few. A group of twenty something’s are throwing a party for one of their own who is going away to live in Japan when they experience what they at first believe is an earthquake. It turns out to be a lot more than an earthquake and the rest of the film revolves around the six main characters attempting to rescue a friend and simultaneously try to stay alive themselves. The party, and then the attack, is chronicled from the lens of a hand held video camera. It’s odd watching as we first see video testimonies from the upwardly mobile young crowd segue-way into scenes of destruction and carnage. It’s easy to see why the film could be considered a metaphor for the 9/11 attacks; the enemy is at first unknown and the initial show of force is on a treasured landmark, in the film it’s the Statue of Liberty. 9/11 occurred merely seven years prior to the release of Cloverfield. We are just beginning to heal from that day in 2011, so one only imagines how deep the wounds ran in 2008.

    Cloverfield is the American Godzilla movie that the (Roland)Emmerich Godzilla movie should have been. Emmerich’s  film was more about Matthew Broderick acting cute, Jean Reno acting embarrassed and GINO (Godzilla In Name Only) wanting to crawl into a hole and die. Cloverfield is more about the people than the monster. It is about what they do in the face of adversity and the decisions they make when hard pressed. They don’t always make the right choices, but, hey, that’s life.

TRIVIA

The first trailer for this movie played before Transformers. It showed a giant explosion in the heart of New York City and the Statue of Liberty’s head being thrown down a street. It was shot with a hand-held video recorder. There was no title.

The title “Cloverfield”; initially just a codename for the movie, is named for the boulevard in Santa Monica where the Bad Robot offices were located during the making of the film.

The decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty in the street is inspired by the poster for John Carpenter’s Escape from New York, which depicts the head of the Statue of Liberty lying in the middle of the street.