Who in carnation doesn’t go bozo over monster movies? Especially when it’s a beyond-mammoth, skyscraper-tall titan taking out some metropolis. Whether it’s Godzilla ripping apart a miniature Tokyo, King Kong working New York City, or even an Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman, it’s a sight to behold. Reminds me of a five-year-old me and my LEGOs.

Cloverfield is the latest. And once again, NYC gets the brunt. (Replicating 9/11 catastrophe is a good hook, I reckon.)

I dug this J.J. Abrams event. Really did. Whatever it was that the viral campaign promised, the movie pretty much delivered. It offered some vintage Tippett Studios creature design and the whole conceit works just fine: a Blair Witch Project type of video cassette, discovered in what was “formerly known as Central Park.” When we witness this beast of unknown origin going apeshit — captured through the lens of a rather dim, killable fellow named Hud (of all things), I must admit, it tapped into some of my repressed childhood nightmares. For me, it illustrated the awe and helplessness of being at the mercy of such a terrifying dream. (Not to get too armchair Jung, of course.)

One thing that’s curious; I’ve been trying to find images of the monster online, but no dice. However, the toy is available. It’s a strange way to study what the heck this thing is. Or, I guess, you need to buy the movie and bust the freeze-frame like no tomorrow.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 11:22 am and is filed under Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.