Cloverfield has the honor of being the latest movie that I disliked watching but love thinking, reading, writing and talking about. It’s not so much that it’s the kind of movie that’s better in concept than execution (as I was bored, millions of others were thrilled), but it is the kind of movie that — intentional or not — has much more depth off-screen than on. Originally I was going to devote a whole week to discussing all the different things Cloverfield has been said to be about, but the monster flick has been out for more than a week and its attendance has diminished so much that instead I’ve decided to put all the theories into a single post. I hope it gives you enough to ponder on its own.
Specifically, I present you with different perspectives on what the Cloverfield monster is. Even if the movie isn’t necessarily about the monster, these thoughts on what the monster represents carries over into what the movie is as a whole. First, though, I’d like to relate a story about my experience seeing the film. I saw Cloverfield with an audience that included some of its stars, including T.J. Miller, who plays the obnoxious cameraman character “Hud”. At the end of the movie, he thanked everyone for coming and invited a question from the audience. A number of people shouted, “What is it?” Miller replied, “We have no fucking idea!” What may have seemed like a cop out or even an invitation for viewers to come up with their own answer was in fact one of the many explanations. Find out what I mean after the jump.
