Years before Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla reboot ushered in a new era of kaiju movies in Hollywood, a rather small-scale project served three roles: bringing monsters back into vogue, spawning a franchise, and giving one of the industry’s biggest producers a signature style. Not since Jerry Bruckheimer‘s testosterone-fueled, diesel-coated action movies of the 1990s and 2000s had a producer developed such a distinct aesthetic as J.J. Abrams did in the mid-to-late 2000s with shows such as Lost and the movie we’re talking about here. Released in 2008, it also served as a stepping stone for director Matt Reeves, who would go on to establish himself as one of the most respected mainstream filmmakers of his generation.
The movie utilized a cast of lesser-known actors, a refreshing framing device, and a hugely successful viral marketing campaign to achieve significant success both critically and commercially. The film’s arresting teaser was attached to Transformers, and that, too, without a title. The film’s title was only some time later, ahead of screenings of Beowulf, that the film’s title was revealed in a second trailer. It featured Michael Stahl-David as the protagonist, alongside Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman, and T.J. Miller. It grossed more than $170 million worldwide against a reported budget of $30 million; the film’s effective marketing campaign pushed it toward a then-record $40 million opening weekend haul domestically.
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The movie we’re talking about, of course, is Cloverfield. It now holds a “Certified Fresh” 78% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “A sort of Blair Witch Project crossed with Godzilla, Cloverfield is economically paced, stylistically clever, and filled with scares.” The movie inspired a standalone prequel titled 10 Cloverfield Lane, directed by Dan Trachtenberg; it grossed more than $110 million against a reported budget of $15 million. A third film, The Cloverfield Paradox, was released directly on Netflix in 2018 after a troubled production and poor internal reactions. The franchise is set to continue with a fourth film, directed by Babak Anvari. It was also revealed that A Quiet Place was initially going to be roped into the series, but that idea was axed.
You can watch Cloverfield on Paramount+ until April 1, when it will leave the paid subscription catalog along with 10 Cloverfield Lane. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Release Date
January 15, 2008
Runtime
85 minutes
Director
Matt Reeves