Cloverfield is one of the most middle-of-the-road films on its own, but is a central hub that ties a lot of Horror/Thriller ideas and artists together. It used the found footage format to weaponize viral marketing back when it was a fairly new concept, with a mysterious teaser trailer that got everyone buzzing. People knew J.J. Abrams was involved, but it was the directed by Matt Reeves, whose work before this is as forgettable as his work afterwards is not. The script is by Drew Goddard (Cabin in the Woods, Project Hail Mary). The mysterious plot ultimately proved to be about a giant monster in New York City, and the epic disaster at a street level made people think of the September 11 terrorist attack, much like how Godzilla was a metaphor for nuclear destruction. While it’s a PG-13 Horror film, some of it is very scary, especially a sequence inside a dark tunnel.
The film was open to launch a franchise of loosely connected stories, and like with Quatermass, the next film is so similar in quality it’s coming up very soon. This type of film usually launches several careers with its cast of well-chosen unknowns, but the ensemble here has continued to struggle finding success. It’s biggest name is Lizzy Caplan.
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