Jan 21, 2008,
C. Robert Cargill
NOTE: While this article doesn't reveal any major spoilers for the film, if you want to stay 100% pure before seeing Cloverfield, you might want to bookmark this article and revisit it later.
So you've got questions about Cloverfield, huh? Well, of course you do. We all do. That's the beauty of Cloverfield. Writer Drew Goddard and director Matt Reeves have taken the classic giant monster movie and showed it to us from a different angle – that of the person running, pointing and screaming "GODZILLA!" You know, the person who never gets to know about what the scientists, the military and the president are up to – and the information on the beast that they have. But many aren't satisfied with that. If you're anything like my friends who I took to see it this past weekend (my second viewing) then you're wondering, "Where the hell did that come from?"
For the answer to that question, one simply needs to turn to the classic monster movies of old. There's not supposed to be an answer. Why? Come on. Is there any one answer that hasn't been done a billion times already? Is there any answer that would really satisfy everyone? No. There's not. So why bother? The movie wasn't about the monster. It was about the people trying to survive. But if that's not good enough for you, here are some answers from the classics to hold you over until Cloverfield 2: The Inevitable Follow-up.
It Came From Outer Space:
Easily the lamest…okay, the second lamest…theory is simply that it came here from another world. Whether a microbe that arrived on a meteorite, an egg found on Mars by the military or it simply traveled here on a gigantic vessel, Cloverfield ain't local. So, he's decided to sample some of the local cuisine.
Slusho! Mutation:
Okay, THIS is the lamest theory out there. Someone drank a tainted Slusho! beverage and went berserk in New York City. Could there be more of these creatures popping up as a result of tainted slushees? I sure hope not.
Hud's Unleashed Beast Theory:
The classic, rolled out and explained by Hud in the film. An ancient beast from prehistoric times living deep within the trenches of the Atlantic Ocean has found its way to the surface. But without its steady supply of fish to eat, it has to find something else to quench its unending hunger.
The Ancient God Rises!
H.P. Lovecraft is a classic pulp writer best known for his Cthulhu Mythos – the horror stories revolving around ancient alien gods called "The Old Ones" who flew to this earth millions of years ago and sleep beneath the ocean until they have the energy to consume the beings of earth and then enslave the rest. Many of "The Old Ones" aren't really depicted in the stories; they are simply described as maddening, indescribable beasts of enormous size. Sounds…oddly…familiar.
A Government Project Gone Awry:
You want a most likely candidate, here it is. Why is the movie called Cloverfield? Because that's the code name the Department of Defense has issued it. If this was a public event, something as devastating and on par with 9/11, why does it have a code name? 9/11 doesn't have another name, does it? Perhaps Cloverfield has been its designation since long before its attack on the city. Maybe this is just another misbegotten attempt at finding a better way to kill people on the other side of the planet. Or maybe this is someone else's attempt at finding a better way to kill us.
The Grand Unified Theory:
Cloverfield is a government project from the 50's to create life from the DNA of "the old ones" but went horribly awry. The result was dumped into the ocean, but a recent earthquake released it from its underwater prison where it has been growing for 40 years. Now it's back and it's pissed. Or thirsty for a Slusho! (I had to fit it in there somewhere…)
C. Robert Cargill - - - Email Me
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Austin-based Cargill, who not only loves but owns The Cutting Edge, writes on movies and DVD five times a week.
