The 2008 found footage horror movieCloverfieldsometimes gets lost since there are so many popular films from that decade, fromThe RingtoOrphantoJennifer’s Body. ButCloverfielddeserves to be revisited thanks to its intriguing premise and a great performance from Lizzy Caplan. The movie centers around a monster who has taken over New York City and forced the main characters to figure out where to go and how to make it through this strange time.
Cloverfieldstands out because the whole movie is shown through one character’s camcorder. This makes it a bit more interesting than most monster movies. What happens duringCloverfieldand how does it end? And how does the first movie in the franchise tie into the two other sequels?
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What Is Cloverfield About?
Cloverfieldfollows Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) and his girlfriend Beth McIntyre (Odette Yustman) as they attend a goodbye party for Rob as he’s moving to Japan because he got a promotion. The monster makes celebrating impossible and Rob’s brother Jason (Mike Vogel) gets killed. Lizzy Caplan plays Marlena Diamond who attends the party and who Hud Platt (T.J. Miller) is romantically interested in.
Hud is the person who recorded everything that the audience is seeing, which adds a unique element to the story.Cloverfieldis anexample of a good found footage horror moviebecause this filmmaking style makes the movie more engaging. It makes the tone feel even eerier as it feels like something bad could happen at any moment. The setting of a goodbye party for one of the characters is also smart because it adds some emotional heft to the story.
Cloverfield’s movie marketing is awesomeand also sets it apart from being just another monster or disaster movie. The trailer is a lot of fun to watch before seeing the whole film because it keeps a smart air of mystery.
How Does Cloverfield End?
TheCloverfieldending is chilling but also sweet. Hud, Beth and Rob manage to escape the monster, but Rob unfortunately gets killed. Beth and Rob find a place to hide and talk to the camera about what they have experienced. As they are under a bridge, the bridge gets destroyed, and they say that they love one another. While this is definitely scary, it’s also proof thatCloverfieldhas amemorable horror movie love story. Rob and Beth might not be the most well-developed couple in the genre, but it’s still emotional seeing them grapple with the end of their lives.
Cloverfieldcuts to Beth and Rob having fun on a Ferris wheel at Coney Island, which is meant to show a time that was simpler and more carefree. As Beth says “I had a good day,” an object flies out of the sky, proving that something strange was happening even then. It turns out that this was a satellite and that the baby monster was born then.
TheCloverfieldending is also memorable because, once the credits have rolled, audiences hear a voice asking for someone to “Help us.” People can also hear “It’s still alive” if they rewind and listen to it backward.
How Do The Other Cloverfield Movies Tie Into The Story?
There are twoCloverfieldsequels so far:10 Cloverfield Lane, which was released in 2016, andThe Cloverfield Paradox, which was released in 2018. The originalCloverfieldleads into both sequels because it proves that the monster is still at large and people are still in danger. It also shows a world that has been forever changed.
10 Cloverfield Lanehas an unnerving premise: Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) finds herself in a bunker with Howard Stambler (John Goodman) who tells her that something terrible has taken place and they can’t live in the world anymore. One thing is true of bothCloverfieldand theCloverfieldsequel10 Cloverfield Lane: neither movie has amovie monster as terrifying as Godzilla. But at least the second movie tries to do something different than the first, which is always a good thing.
The Cloverfield Paradoxconnects to the first film by suggesting that something bigger is going on and that is why these monsters came to Earth. In the third movie in the horror franchise, astronauts are trying to help the energy crisis that is happening on Earth.The Cloverfield Paradoxdidn’t fare well with critics or horror fans. This movie doesn’t work becauseCloverfieldisn’t ahorror franchise that has deep loreand it doesn’t really connect to the previous two films.
Babak Anvari will direct a fourthCloverfieldmovieand it will be interesting to see how the story continues. According to Cinemablend.com, the fourth film won’t be a found footage horror movie. This seems like a good idea since it will make the movie feel fresh and engaging, which is necessary when it has been several years since the original movie was released.
