10 Jul, 2007
What Is “Cloverfield”/1-18-08?
By: Kayode Kendall
By now, I think most of us have seen Transformers, and if you did, you more than likely saw the teaser for the latest project from JJ Abrams, the mastermind behind shows like Alias and Lost, who is serving as producer. Shot with a digital camcorder, the teaser shows a loft filled with young and pretty New Yorkers, throwing a “going away” party for a friend. Suddenly, there’s a flickering of lights, and what appears to be an earthquake. Eventually the guests head to the apartment building roof to see what could be the cause, and are shocked to see a huge explosion in the distance that hurls fireballs in every direction. They quickly scurry back into the building and head down to the street, as hell breaks loose. A thunderous roar fills the sky, then we get another object hurled into the street, but this time, it’s the head of the Statue of Liberty.
It’s easily one of the most frustrating yet intriguing teaser trailers I’ve seen in a good long while, much if it due to the fact that there isn’t even a title for the film yet! Supposedly, it revolves around a giant monster wreaking havoc through New York. Some have referred to it as “Cloverfield”, while some sites merely list the teaser by its tentative release date “1/18/08”. Either way, it’s got a lot of people buzzing. Already, a number of sites thought to be associated with the film have surfaced (www.ethanhaaswasright.com, for example), but a message from Abrams himself, posted on Ain’t It Cool News, reveals that only one site is attached directly to the film, www.1-18-08.com, that merely features two photos that you can move around against a black background.
Really, it comes as no surprise that Abrams would even take this approach. Fans of his shows tend to have a love/hate relationship with him, and even I’ll admit, he’s more about the tease than the payoff. Between watching Alias for its entire run and hearing about all the weird shit that happens on Lost, I have to wonder what Abrams tries to accomplish as a storyteller. To that effect, speculation about this project is certainly reaching a fever pitch. So far, the cloak of mystery has sparked debate about what form this giant monster movie will take on; some believe it may be an American remake of any number of Asian monster films, including The Host. Others think it might tie into Cthulu, the creature from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. Some even think it might be a live-action adaptation of Voltron, although it’s easily the most far-fetched (i.e. “fucking retarded”) of all the theories I’ve read thus far.
All things considered, the next six months should be interesting. A lot of genre films have used the internet rather inventively when it comes to promotion, but at times, it can be hit-and-miss. This time last year, there was a lot of internet-generated hype surrounding Snakes on a Plane, and we all know how that turned out. I think the big issue with the Abrams project is that it may be a little TOO vague, at the moment. So much is left to the imagination of the public, that we have all these theories regarding its premise, and what could ultimately happen is that what we get may pale in comparison to our expectations. As always, I’ll try and take the “wait-and-see” approach as best I can, until more pieces of the puzzle fall into place.
