Introduction
Cloverfield is a found-footage science fiction thriller that came out in 2008. The film was directed by Mattt Reeves and produced by J.J. Abrams. Drew Goddard wrote the script. The film is unique because it uses the classic monster-movie story and combines it with a first-person, handheld camera style. It allows the audience to witness the destruction in an up-close and personal way.
Cloverfield was a cultural phenomenon that everyone seemed to be talking about. J.J. Abrams produced the movie and used a unique approach to marketing called a viral campaign. The campaign kept all the details a secret. The film was a mix of adrenaline-pumping action, mystery, and a unique visual style that was later used in other attempts of the same genre in the following years.
Synopsis
The film does not start with the ferocious monster attack, but with a personal note, which is a handheld camera recording of a couple, Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) and his partner Beth McIntyre (Odette Yustman) enjoying a day out in New York City. The video is then recorded over by a clip from a surprise going away party which is meant for Rob after he is offered a job in Japan.
Friends join Rob in celebrating his birthday, and the best friend, Hud (T.J. Miller), captures the event on film. The gathering brings together Lily (Jessica Lucas), Marlena (Lizzy Caplan), and others who are likely going to be part of the night’s adventure. Just as they are having fun, a sudden jolt of an earthquake coupled with an explosion in the distance loosely hints toward the fun they were having to be ‘shattered’.
Their fun is halted as they step outdoors. The group is greeted by a horrifying and jaw-dropping scene of the Statue of Liberty’s head tumbling down onto a street in Manhattan. Shortly afterward, the monster responsible for the destruction unveils itself. The city is in a Massive Amount of Destruction, and the armed forces are completely useless as the ‘conventional weapons’ they used are useless against the monster.
In all of the destruction, Rob realizes his ex is stuck in an apartment and is desperately trying to help her. To do so, Rob persuades Hud, Lily, and Marlena to accompany him on a risky journey to the rototilling ruins of the city. During their adventure, they encounter the monster not once, but multiple times, as well as smaller, vicious parasitic creatures that attack humans.
During the group’s trek, Marlena gets bitten by one of the parasites, which leads to a disturbing medical scene set within the subway tunnels. The group proceeds to subway tunnels, and they eventually make it to Beth’s building. They manage to free Beth, who is trapped under debris, and begin heading toward a military extraction point.
The surviving characters battle the clock in the last segment of the movie as the military begins a full assault on the creature, causing massive destruction in certain areas of Manhattan. During the evacuation, the helicopter with Rob, Beth, and Hud is shot down. Hud is killed by the creature while Rob and Beth are forced to take shelter under a bridge as the military assault opens fire.
Rob and Beth’s footage from earlier the same day plays while the movie ends alongside an explosion, which earlier footage serves to ground the visceral violence in the tragedy of a life interrupted.
Cast and Crew
Rob Hawkins is portrayed by Michael Stahl-David. He is the central figure whose rescue mission drives the plot law.
As Odette Yustman portrays Beth McIntyre, she plays Rob’s love interest who is trapped during the attack.
T.J. Miller plays Hud Platt, the one who provides comic relief as the story’s cameraman.
Jessica Lucas portrays Lily Ford, showcasing her as a practical and handy member of the group and as a friend.
Marlena Diamond, who meets a tragic end, is played by Lizzy Caplan. She is a cynical attendee of the party and her death is a major shocking highlight of the movie.
Reeves Matt directed the movie Cloverfield, which J. J. Abrams produced under his company Bad Robot. Drew Goddard’s screenplay intertwines intimate character moments with large-scale destruction. The visual effects team created a convincing monster considering the handheld format.
Themes and Approach
Cloverfield isn’t just a typical monster movie; it’s a comprehensive analysis of viewpoint and dimension.
Key themes include:
The chaos of survival — The film’s viewpoint is limited to the camera’s perspective, which mirrors disorientation real-life disaster situations.
Amid the catastrophe, personal stakes — An emotional anchor is provided by the core mission to save Beth, which thickens the plot beyond senseless destruction.
Helplessness of the viewer — Backstory for the monster, its origins, and even a full view of its form is never provided.
The style of found footage also draws on the obsessive interest of contemporary media. It allows the audience to witness a disaster as it unfolds, and also become participants.
The Monster and Its Design
The creature in Cloverfield is shown only in fragments and strange angles. Its vast pale and rough skin, covered in parasitic creatures, towers over skyscrapers while it moves in an animalistic, unpredictable fashion. This not only adds to the monster’s unpredictability, but adds danger to the humans on the ground.
The effects teams from Tippett Studio and Double Negative put together the monster in such a way that they do not turn it into a simple clone of Godzilla. It remains disoriented, scarred, and alien, like a living inexplicable force that aimlessly moves and destroys.
Marketing and Viral Campaign
Cloverfield’s unique marketing is what carried forth the movie’s cultural impact. During the 2007 Transformers movie, a trailer was showcased but only the date: January 18, 2008 was displayed. The date and footage hinting a monster attack that offered no answers created rampant speculation everywhere.
The promotional work continued in the form of fake MySpace accounts for the characters as well as fictional corporate websites that were part of the movie’s universe. Fans were left with expanded lore that added fictional company ties with the monster. This trailer and marketing created Cloverfield buzz like never before.
Reception
Cloverfield was received well after it was first released. Critics praised the found-footage technique for bringing a fresh feel to the monster-attack genre, as well as appreciating the realism of the character interactions, destruction sequences, and the film as a whole.
Some viewers criticized the film for its shaky-cam style, claiming it was too zoomed in and caused motion sickness. Others said the characters had little to no development, which is often considered one of the weakest aspects of the film. Regardless, the film was considered a commercial success as it grossed over 10 times its spending and released many loosely connected anthology films, such as 10 Cloverfield Lane in 2016 and The Cloverfield Paradox in 2018.
Legacy
Cloverfield is often considered the founding film for the monster and found-footage genres. It marked an era where a singular viewpoint could tell a story for wide-scale events, a concept that would later inspire films and video games. The film’s undefined marketing is often regarded as a perfect example of marketing through audience engagement.
The film also acts as an early example where intimacy due to low-budget techniques could blend with large-scale visual effects, a concept movie studios would play around with for years.
Conclusion
Cloverfield transforms the monster film from an expansive odyssey into a handheld narrative of individual survival. It uses found footage to immerse the viewer into the anxiety, disorientation, and pandemonium of a besieged metropolis, which turns the escape into a participatory experience.
It is a blend of enigma, action, and emotionally-driven narrative that sets the film apart. It serves as a reminder that sometimes, the unseen can be as terrifying, if not more, than the visible.
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