I'm obsessing over this new movie, Cloverfield. I'm not sure what I can say about it without spoiling something or another, so I'll push the rest after the jump.
If you've seen Transformers, you've probably seen the trailer. (1-18-08, yadda yadda yadda.) Shrouded in mystery and swirling with rumors, this much would at least seem to be true: It's a giant monster movie, shot on handhelds with a "realistic" style, and it ain't Godzilla.
Smartly, the marketing has very intentionally kept everyone in the dark about the film's nuances. Specifically, we don't know what the monster is going to be. While various early rumors were totally far-fetched by any stretch (Come on, did anyone really believe this was going to be a live action Voltron film?), others seemed a little more grounded in reality. Some reports have claimed that the monster was named "Parasite." Others say that "Parasite" was just the production nickname for an as-of-yet-unnamed creature. Others say that the "Parasite" name is totally unfounded on all fronts.
And I kind of hope it is, because I hear "Parasite," and I think "giant bug." It's much, much easier to make a realistic monster-sized movie bug than, say, a realistic monster-sized movie wolf, but I'm really hoping it's closer to the latter. Giant bugs and giant lizards are great, but I'm praying for something different.
I want that monster to be a mammal. I want it to have a scary lion head, vaguely defined wings and oil-stained paws. None of these wishes will be granted, but this is what has people talking about Cloverfield: Everyone had their own vision of what the big bad guy is going to look like.
It could be dangerous for the film to have this much hype when it's still so many months away. Look at Snakes on a Plane. It did okay, but people have their limits when it comes to staying amped. I've been looking for more info on the movie on a daily basis, but will I be doing that in four months? Doubtful. From what I can gather, it's a film I'll like, but I'll probably never like it more than I do right now -- before I have any opportunity to blow money on it.
That aside, I think Cloverfield, or whatever it's going to be called, is a terrific concept. While the trends and traits of pop culturedom over the past decade have seeped into the horror market and reshaped that genre to a degree, this is something new. The modernized giant monster movie.
The modernized giant monster lion with wings movie.
Click here to visit the official site, which informs you of absolutely nothing but will still manage to get your juices flowing.
Posted by Matt on 07/27/2007. E-mail me!
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There are also rumors of Lovecraft and Cthulhu inspirations. C’mon Matt, wouldn’t you love a guy with a squid head attacking NYC? Or maybe an octosquid? >D