Cloverfield

[fucthest8]

Maybe it's an English thing JC. I watched in a packed cinema and at the end there was an audible sigh that sounded like everyone going "oh" in a very disappointed way.

And no, I hadn't smoked any dope, before you go off on that tangent again.

It was also followed by overhearing snatches of conversation on the way out which seemed to consist mostly of the words "shite" "was" "that" and "it" and one dose of "... still at least I got some Nachos out of it".

To be totally honest, as so often now, the marketing beforehand led a lot of people to expect something truly awesome; which it just was not.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Maybe it's an English thing JC. I watched in a packed cinema and at the end there was an audible sigh that sounded like everyone going "oh" in a very disappointed way.

And no, I hadn't smoked any dope, before you go off on that tangent again.

It was also followed by overhearing snatches of conversation on the way out which seemed to consist mostly of the words "shite" "was" "that" and "it" and one dose of "... still at least I got some Nachos out of it".

To be totally honest, as so often now, the marketing beforehand led a lot of people to expect something truly awesome; which it just was not.

When I saw it, people weren't leaving, when they started flashing those credits on a black background.

I think different cultures do react differently to things, in a group. I think young UKers pride themselves on being diffident.

We saw the Planet of the Apes remake in Chicago, in a downtown cinema. It was a weird experience. People laughed too loud, and too harshly, at things that were mildly funny to us. We were a little bit uncomfortable in that theatre.

 

[Bomber]

It looks like 9/11 re-packaged as a monster movie ?? That's not big or clever ..... is it ??

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Personally, I think that some of the early scenes when the creature first makes its appearance, right through the part where the people hide behind the display counters in the darkened store, as the creature walks by outside down the street, capture the very essence of what we've all imagined that such an event would really be like.

 

[Epona]

Maybe it's an English thing JC. I watched in a packed cinema and at the end there was an audible sigh that sounded like everyone going "oh" in a very disappointed way.

And no, I hadn't smoked any dope, before you go off on that tangent again.

It was also followed by overhearing snatches of conversation on the way out which seemed to consist mostly of the words "shite" "was" "that" and "it" and one dose of "... still at least I got some Nachos out of it".

To be totally honest, as so often now, the marketing beforehand led a lot of people to expect something truly awesome; which it just was not.

Same happened at the cinema we were in, the thing is though that I can say hand on heart that without seeing any marketing beforehand and not knowing what to expect, it was truly awesome!!!! If anything ruined the basic excellence of the film, it was the preconceptions they had due to the marketing (I suspect that, like most trailers these days, you'd already seen all the best bits!)

I also think people are expecting a lot more out of the big screen these days in terms of CGI and huge visual effects throughout, whereas Cloverfield was as much about what you didn't see as the bits you did. The scene where they were standing in the alleyway, camera pointed away from the 'action', characters yelling across the alley at each other deciding which way to go - you could hear the main action going on very close but couldn't see a thing, and I think that could have disappointed people who were expecting more. Lack of any real explanation or conclusion I am sure would be to many people these days a disappointment (I think people have got used to really having things spelled out for them in films with a narrative and a plot with a clear beginning, middle, and end). But to me the 1st person perspective throughout, what you couldn't see going on just around the corner, was what made the film a great one!

 

[Reno]

It looks like 9/11 re-packaged as a monster movie ?? That's not big or clever ..... is it ??

Giant monster movies have always traded on recent political traumas. In the 50's it was Hiroshima/Nagaski which lead to all the radiation fuelled giant beasties from Them! to Godzilla. As with the recent War of the Worlds, Cloverfield repackages 9/11 as a monster movie, so nothing new there really. It's big, if not neccessarely clever.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Giant monster movies have always traded on recent political traumas. In the 50's it was Hiroshima/Nagaski which lead to all the radiation fuelled giant beasties from Them! to Godzilla. As with the recent War of the Worlds, Cloverfield repackages 9/11 as a monster movie, so nothing new there really. It's big, if not neccessarely clever.

I think a lot of the Fifties monster movies were Cold War allegories.

 

[Epona]

Horror/monster/thriller films have always played to the socio-political fears of the time/culture in which they are made. The vast majority aren't 'about' aliens or monsters or ghosts or serial killers if you scratch even just slightly beyond the surface - they are 'about' the common fears (whether real or media/government-hyped) held by the society in which they are made. Of course 9/11 and the 'war on terror' are and have been a huge feature of recent films, directors and writers don't empty their brains of their own fears and the things that affect their lives and the society or culture they live in before putting together a film. The most appealing scary films are those that speak to the audience in some way about their own fears, with which they can relate and put in a particular context, and engage familiar topics.

 

[hendo]

Managed to get taken to see this without having a fucking clue what it was even about, not having seen any trailers or read any reviews, and spent the first bit of the film thinking it was a not particularly great low-budget rom-com - then nearly bloody pissed myself with fright Absolutely brilliant, I don't think I've spent that long clutching the back of the seat in front of me for ages...

What Epona said; really excellent film, full of thrilling and scary moments, packed with clever and original ideas. Read this thread no further, just go, it's the rollercoaster ride of the year (so far...).

 

[janeb]

I knew too much before I went so was a bit disappointed tbh. Because I knew it was a monster movie I was disappointed when they showed the monster so early, much better I think to have waited right until the end - and the bit in the subway tunnel was pretty lame I thought, if there are lots of rats running in one direction then chances are there's something they are running away from.....and it's not that far from you!

Having said that, the troop hospital bit was good, the first attack made me jump and I really liked the framing device of the original video.

Not helped for me by having to tell a bunch of kids to shut up twice, just when I was suspending disbelief and so making me cross and not getting as into the film as I think I would have done otherwise

 

[fucthest8]

I also think people are expecting a lot more out of the big screen these days in terms of CGI and huge visual effects throughout, whereas Cloverfield was as much about what you didn't see as the bits you did. The scene where they were standing in the alleyway, camera pointed away from the 'action', characters yelling across the alley at each other deciding which way to go - you could hear the main action going on very close but couldn't see a thing, and I think that could have disappointed people who were expecting more. Lack of any real explanation or conclusion I am sure would be to many people these days a disappointment (I think people have got used to really having things spelled out for them in films with a narrative and a plot with a clear beginning, middle, and end). But to me the 1st person perspective throughout, what you couldn't see going on just around the corner, was what made the film a great one!

The disappointment for me though wasn't the lack of CGI or any of that; I really liked the fact that, as you say, much of it was about suggestion, there was a lot of really good use of sound that was off-screen; I also liked the complete lack of any pseudo science, or Jeff Goldblum popping up to explain everything in 7 neat sentences.

In the end though, it just left me cold. I couldn't have cared less about any of the characters, the end was completely inevitable and in fact 95% of the movie panned out exactly as I expected it to. Which was the root cause of my dissatisfaction; the 5% that wasn't what I expected was brilliant and I wanted the whole movie to be that good. It just wasn't.

 

[Groucho]

Horror/monster/thriller films have always played to the socio-political fears of the time/culture in which they are made. The vast majority aren't 'about' aliens or monsters or ghosts or serial killers if you scratch even just slightly beyond the surface - they are 'about' the common fears (whether real or media/government-hyped) held by the society in which they are made. Of course 9/11 and the 'war on terror' are and have been a huge feature of recent films, directors and writers don't empty their brains of their own fears and the things that affect their lives and the society or culture they live in before putting together a film. The most appealing scary films are those that speak to the audience in some way about their own fears, with which they can relate and put in a particular context, and engage familiar topics.

Marxist!

 

[fucthest8]

The most appealing scary films are those that speak to the audience in some way about their own fears, with which they can relate and put in a particular context, and engage familiar topics.

... and maybe that's part of the problem for me then; it just didn't speak to me.

 

[isitme]

Started to watch this last night and didn't stay. Load of rubbish.

 

[T & P]

Saw it tonight and overall was pretty satisfied with it. It is no mean feat to make an entire film intersting when it is filmed with a handheld camera.

It goes to prove that as far as showing certain things go, often less is more.

Could have done with a better ending though. I'm talking about the cheesy lines uttered under the bridge at Central Park. Wish they hadn't done that.

 

[May Kasahara]

Just got back from seeing this, absolutely loved it - pretty much echo what Wookey's said in post 33. I thought it was really well made, loved the gradual reveal of the monster, the terrifying subway tunnel sequence, I even liked the characters for the most part. Other half also loved it and we were both totally gripped throughout. Money well spent in the cinema as far as I'm concerned

 

[Disaster]

Nobody groaned when I saw it. Where did you see it: your living room, on the internet?

What the fuck are you on about?

 

[beeboo]

Managed to get taken to see this without having a fucking clue what it was even about, not having seen any trailers or read any reviews, and spent the first bit of the film thinking it was a not particularly great low-budget rom-com - then nearly bloody pissed myself with fright Absolutely brilliant, I don't think I've spent that long clutching the back of the seat in front of me for ages...

I'm very jealous!

I'd happily give myself temporary amnesia for that experience!

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

What the fuck are you on about?

Didn't you understand the question?

 

[Disaster]

Didn't you understand the question?

Of course I did. I didn't answer it because I don't appreciate what you're implying.

 

[May Kasahara]

Thinking about it last night, the fact that the characters were a bit blah actually works for me. The film intends to give the impression that you're watching actual found footage of ordinary people fumbling their way through an extraordinary situation, and as such it makes sense that they're all just middle class schlubs without snappy wisecracks at their fingertips (most of the time). Of course, this is kind of undermined by the fact that they often manage to survive horrific situations with minor injuries, but hey, it is fiction

Spoiler: the ending

It also really struck me how similar the very end is to the end of Miracle Mile - the lovers making an almost-escape in a helicopter which is brought to earth by misadventure, ending up trapped and declaring their love for each other as the (nuclear?) strike comes down...

 

[DexterTCN]

Agreed, May. However we didn't see the ending in that way it was only implied.

I'm very interested in the idea of a follow-up from other peoples point of view. Although, if it happened, it's more likely to be a fucking action-hero car-chase gunfight fuck fest.

 

[beeboo]

as such it makes sense that they're all just middle class schlubs without snappy wisecracks at their fingertips (most of the time).

I know, I can't really understand why people have been criticising the inane dialogue, it was totally in character for the guy who was carrying the camera, and exactly what you'd expect people to say!

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Of course I did. I didn't answer it because I don't appreciate what you're implying.

Well, excuse me!

 

[Kid_Eternity]

I liked it! Was quite surprised it was so short, didn't quite like the scene where they totally revealed the monster (looking down at that guy with the camera) but I thought it was pretty good. Really liked the sense of panic, the sheer no idea where they're going/what they're up against and the Sept 11 references really worked for the film imo...

 

[Addy]

Seen it last night at the cinema and I loved it.
My only criticism is that it was too short.

The other half didn't seem so impressed... she wanted an ending to the film.

It would have been beter if it were 3 short stories showing it from different persectives to satisfy everyones tastes maybe, but to me it was a great storyline and great way to show the movie.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Yeah my other half seemed like she wanted to know more about the monster, it's origins where I'm pretty happy with what I got from the film. Bits of it reminded me of Half Life 2 (the tunnel bit especially)...

 

[Groucho]

Yeah my other half seemed like she wanted to know more about the monster, it's origins where I'm pretty happy with what I got from the film. Bits of it reminded me of Half Life 2 (the tunnel bit especially)...

It was far better for not coming up with some half baked explanation.

Most films follow the heroic actions of those who save the World. In this film we do not even know if the World is saved or lost, although obviously somehow the film survives. We see the whole giant creature attacks city thing from the point of view of people like us. Well, not really all that much like me, but you know, not heroes.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

We see the whole giant creature attacks city thing from the point of view of people like us. Well, not really all that much like me, but you know, not heroes.

Yep, that's what I liked about it, that and the fact that everyone dies at the end!

 

[DexterTCN]

Yep, that's what I liked about it, that and the fact that everyone dies at the end!

Don't know that.