The latest monster film, Cloverfield (IMDB), has drawn a massive buzz online. This film will not leave you with a middle-ground, so you’ll either hate it, or you’ll love it.
We saw Cloverfield last weekend, and for a moment it felt as if I’m the only person in the theatre who liked it. The visualization of the film sank into my mind, and as I read more about its backdrop, I now feel like a self-confessed Cloverfield fan. Without spoiling it for anyone who hasn’t seen the film yet, I’ll just say that it can be loosely called a cross between Godzilla and Blair Witch Project. However, its unlike any other monster film I’ve ever seen. The whole first-person amateur camerawork and the extraordinary special effects adds a lot to the cinematic ambience.
When I watched Cloverfield, I was left with questions, which can easily make a curious mind give up completely on the screenplay. But the unanswered juicy bits of this film, lie not on the theater screen, but on the web. See, even before the film was out in theaters, a very creative online viral campaign was underway to promote the film. There are actual (although fictitious) web sites related to some organizations in the movie, there are active MySpace pages of the characters, and a whole lot of guesswork going on among the fans.
The “clues” found online make the plot even more interesting. Its like a game, with the fans speculating about the larger plot of the film every time they uncover a new clue. And it won’t be surprising if J.J. Abrams (who’s also associated with Lost and Alias) announces a sequel or a prequel to the film.
For satisfying your curiosity around the plot of the film, checkout (*SPOILERS*) the article at Geeks of Doom, this forum post at IMDB (and this one too), and the site CloverfieldClues.com.
I can’t say yet, but Shyamalan’s upcoming flick titled The Happening might be interesting as well.