Cloverfield

Cloverfield carried out a is a 2008 monster/horror film produced by J. J. Abrams, directed by Matt Reeves, and written by Drew Goddard. Prior to the film’s release, Paramount Picturesviral marketing campaign to promote the film. The campaign included viral tie-ins similar to the Lost Experience. The film follows five young New Yorkers who throw their friend a going-away party on the same night that a gigantic monster attacks the city. First publicized in advance screenings of Transformers, the project was released on January 17 in New Zealand and Australia, on January 18 in North America, and on February 1 in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Plot summary

The movie opens with a “Property of the U.S. Government” watermarked screen declaring that the viewers are watching a “Digital SD Memory Card” of video pertaining to U.S. Case Designate “Cloverfield”, found in an area “formerly known as Central Park”. The found footage that follows makes up the rest of the movie, all shot via a hand-held camera point- of-view.

The movie follows the journey of five friends after the shock attack from an unidentified entity on New York City interrupts a going away party for Rob, as filmed by Hud. The five initially attempt to escape the city, but after losing one friend, Jason, on the Brooklyn Bridge, change plans to rescue Beth, a friend caught in the attack in a different part of the city.

The story reveals some details about the eponymous monster but does not focus on the combat against the beast. As the characters travel through the city, trying to avoid threats caused by the monster’s rampage, the damaged footage shows flashbacks to an earlier day Rob and Beth spent together.

The film ends with Rob, Beth, and Hud escaping via helicopter as the military attempt to bomb the creature. After surviving the initial bombing, the creature promptly attacks the escaping helicopter causing it to crash. Although the three survive they are again attacked by the creature (resulting in Hud’s death) and the remaining characters escape to the underpass of a bridge, where they are subsequently caught in an explosion and trapped beneath rubble. The film ends with the camera cutting out. Post credits, there is a garbled message heard.

Cast

• Michael Stahl-David as Robert Hawkins. The film’s central protagonist. On the night of the incident, his friends are holding a surprise party for Rob in celebration of his promotion to vice president of Slusho!’s advertising division. He is in love with his friend Beth McIntyre, and clips of their one date are shown throughout the movie (previously recorded on the same tape). Rob survives the helicopter crash and is with Beth under a bridge in Central Park when the army bombs the city. It is unknown if he survives.
• T. J. Miller as Hudson “Hud” Platt. Rob’s best friend. He is given camera duties by Jason to film the party. During the party, he tries to gain the attention of Lily’s friend, Marlena. He survives the helicopter crash, but dies after being attacked by the monster in Central Park.
• Jessica Lucas as Lily Ford. Jason’s girlfriend. She planned Rob’s surprise party with Jason. After Jason dies, she decides to go with Rob, along with Hud and Marlena to go save Beth. She is last seen being airlifted to safety by helicopter after the group reaches the army’s pickup point.
• Odette Yustman as Elizabeth “Beth” McIntyre. Rob’s love interest. During jump cuts in the movie, we see clips of Rob and Beth on a date at Coney Island. She brings a date to Rob’s surprise party, upsetting Rob, and leaves when Rob confronts her. When the monster first attacks, Beth is injured and trapped in her apartment. Rob and his friends go to rescue her. She survives the helicopter crash and is with Rob under a bridge in Central Park when the Army bombs the city. It is unknown if she survives.
• Lizzy Caplan as Marlena Diamond. A friend of Lily. She doesn’t know Rob personally and the only times Rob has seen her, she was “drunk”. She is Hud’s love interest in this movie and at certain points Hud tries to get her attention. She sees the monster during the initial attack, and is extremely reluctant to go on the trip to save Beth (however, she does not leave when she has the chance). While walking through a subway tunnel, she is severely bitten by one of the monster’s parasites, and eventually dies (she appears to explode).
• Mike Vogel as Jason Hawkins. Rob’s brother and Lily’s boyfriend. He is seen wearing a Slusho t-shirt, which was given to him by Rob. He dies when the monster’s tail crushes the Brooklyn Bridge.

To prevent the leaking of plot information, instead of auditioning the actors with scenes from the film, scripts from Abrams’s previous productions were used, such as television series Alias and Lost. Some scenes were also written specifically for the audition process, not intended for use in the film. Despite not being told the premise of the film, Lizzy Caplan stated that she accepted a role in Cloverfield solely because she was a fan of the Abrams-produced television series Lost, and her experience of discovering its true nature initially caused her to state that she would not sign on for a film in the future “without knowing full well what it is.” She indicated that her character was a sarcastic outsider, and that her role was “physically demanding.”

Shaky camera

The film was filmed using shaky camerawork, because according to the plot it was filmed with a hand-held video camera by one of the characters, Hud. However, this style of cinematography leads many who view it inside dark movie theaters to experience vertigo, causing nausea and a temporary loss of balance. Some theaters showing the film have posted warnings, informing viewers about the filming style of Cloverfield.