Cloverfield craze?

[tube]

Sure, hype isn't what it used to be. It's all bacterial, sorry, viral nowadays. See, they know that an extremely subtle (obscure) teaser well before release, a slightly less subtle trailer and the name of JJ Abrams suffice to create all the hype needed. They let Lost fans, forums like this and of course articles in major internet movie portals do the rest. Just check the 2 740 000 google results for "cloverfield".

I'm sure this is considered a brilliant strategy in marketing circles. Won't affect me, as I got vaccinated against advertising when I was a baby.

[Stupot]

People always talk about advertising and market like it's an evil of the world.  And in some respects it is a little scary to think we are being subtly brainwashed into buying products etc.  But sometimes it's nice to take a break from being a pseudo-moralist and just enjoy the hype as part of the experience...

It is only a film after-all and it's up to the individual whether or not they want to fork out the money to go and see it, or buy the DVD.

These new forms of viral marketing are fun and if my wanting to watch this film means I am gullible and have fallen for the hype, then so be it.  I enjoy being part of it.

[veryweirdguy]

Won't affect me, as I got vaccinated against advertising when I was a baby.

This is quite a funny comment. I have been studying advertising recently and a this is a common thing for people to think - most people believe they are completely unnaffected by any form or advertising. This is not necessarily the case, it is just that people are fully aware of the purpose of advertising - to guide consumers in a certain direction.

People know that advertising is meant to push people one way or another, but they still are often affected by it. If you have ever wanted to see a movie before it has come out, then advertising and marketing has worked in some way. Same if you choose any product over another product.

Basically, what I've found is that most people think advertising is something that affects everyone else, when this is really not the case.

Stupot put it best;

These new forms of viral marketing are fun and if my wanting to watch this film means I am gullible and have fallen for the hype, then so be it.  I enjoy being part of it.

Anyhoo, as I said before, I like this new form of advertising. If viral marketing can keep my interest even slightly, then it is a step in the right direction.

Looking for information about this movie (if you are interested in actually seeing it) it quite fun and exciting. And I am looking forward to the movie more than I would have if it had been crammed down my neck in the media. The advertising has worked, and I don't care.

[m0ds]

Ooh, awesome - they have increased the size of the statues head!! In your photo Stupot there's a bright window just above her mouth and a bin to the left. In the new version that window isn't visible at all. They obviously do listen, which is one of the good things about viral marketting. Like the "alive" line. In the original trailer it was I saw it, it's alive, it's huge! and because so many people got confused by that I think they completely rinsed them by doing it again this time, and purely because of that I'm sure! :p Rob, Rob[ pause I saw it...it's alivBOOOOM.. lol. Yippee Kay-Ay mother GUNSHOTS to you TOO!

As for the advertising strategy....let's just say they're lucky on this occasion, it's one of the only viral campaigns that's ever actually excited me. I wouldn't normally give a toss! But monster movies have a lot of potential, everytime I think they're finally breaking new boundaries in monster-movie making lol. I'm not saying every new monster movie should be shot as if its on a hand-held camera, but providing every new one is as innovative to find a way to shock the audience they have a very good chance of it being hugely successful. Godzilla was highly anticipated but it didn't break any boundaries. It was an averagely shot film relying on it's centerpiece "new look" Godzilla CGI. And Matthew Broderick. Go figure Something like the new King Kong really works like that because it's more about gloom, almost more sophisticated, and set in an earlier time. So I think Cloverfield's going to be quite successful. & I'm expecting some Godzilla intertextuality in there somewhere too

[tube]

Won't affect me, as I got vaccinated against advertising when I was a baby.

This is quite a funny comment.

I'm glad someone found it funny. Believe it or not, it was intended as a joke, not an assertion of my superior willpower. I'll be sure to replace the smiley with some kind of a written disclaimer next time.

Still I think I can safely say that there are definite differences in the way people react to specific types of marketing. As far as I can tell, it seems pretty certain most people share Stupot's view about viral marketing though. Heck, I'm all for making ads more entertaining even if they won't make me actually buy the stuff.

[TheJBurger]

Hey guys, I made a Dinosaur comic to express my feelings about this movie. Enjoy or don't!

Btw, I like LOST.

Spoiler

Plot twist--T-Rex is actually the monster that everyone is running from but he doesn't know it!

[close]

[lo_res_man]

For some reason, when ever I see those dinosaurs, I always picture them wearing rolerskates, and I have too look at the feet to remind myself they are not.

[m0ds]

Hahahaha awesome comic! I have no clue about Lost but it still makes perfect cloverfield sense!!!

However, that raptors head is way out of proportion. If you ask Stupot, he'll explain in graphic detail how the raptors head is out of scale compared to the little blokey  : But thats not the only mistake. Raptors are not even raptors. Why did jurassic park do that to us?



ps; its not alive, or a t-rex, its a lion!!!11! lol

[OneDollar]

I'm guessing the only time you see the monster will be for quarter of a second in a reflection in a car windscreen, and that'll only raise more questions. There'll be minimal plot with a twist at least every 12 minutes and there'll be a cop out ending like "So what was the monster really and what was it doing?" "I'm sorry but that's classified". Just like Mission Impossible 3 and probably Lost.

Yay for JJ Abrams!

I have to admit though, it does look fun and I'm quite likely to go and see it

[m0ds]

It's out tomorrow, YAY! Should be good!!! HAHA! AND Matt Reeves, the films director saw my fake "Cloverfield" YouTube video WOOO!!! LOL

http://laist.com/2008/01/09/laist_interview_88.php

[Moresco]

I want to see it...hopefully since my wife has tomorrow off, we can cruise over to the theater and check it out.  Hope it's good ^^

[Stupot]

It's not out til Feb 1st in the UK.

So all that 011808 stuff was useless.

I've just seen the four minute extended clip and I must admit I got some vibes of "teen-horror" cheesiness... I hope it's better than that, I've been looking forward to this film for six months.

[Ponch]

Just saw Cloverfield.  Mostly spoiler free review hidden just in case.

Spoiler

Parts of it were amazing, but the characters the movie follows were mostly unlikeable and prone to the bewildering sort of Hollywood decision making that always gets people killed in movies like this.

It sort of struck me in the same way the remake of I Am Legend did a few weeks back. The first half is really riveting, but the longer it goes on, the harder it was for me to buy into the experience. It's a breezy hour and a half (if that!) but, in the end, I was a bit let down. More than anything, I wish they had never showed the monster in its entirety.

I knew nothing about the movie except for what I saw in the trailers (I knew there was viral marketing for it but didn't follow it... maybe that would have filled out the story more, I don't know...). For most of the movie, what little you see of the monster is so disjointed and brief that I couldn't figure out how to connect all the dots. Actually, that "bits and pieces" approach was smart and well done. They should have left it at that. When the finally showed it, I thought it was a bit of a let down. Several people in the theater laughed at the big reveal. But that may have owed more the the sudden, ninja-like appearance out of nowhere trick that the monster pulls. My girlfriend loved the movie but she complained even more than I did about the monster on the drive home. That's the trick with something really alien. In small doses it's frightening. Once you see the whole thing, it may just look silly instead. I feel it's important to say that with the exception of The Thing and the first Alien movie, most movie monsters usually leave me cold, so your mileage may vary when the big reveal comes.

The mini-cloverfields (or whatever they were) are pretty cool though. However, they are wildly inconsistent. They can tear through a platoon of machine gun toting soldiers like tissue paper, but a couple of slacker with cell phones in a dark tunnel can fight them off with only a few scratches to show for their trouble (except for one poor girl... her fate is the only moment in the movie that really shocked me).

The military is typically inept (as you would expect in any monster movie). They can't hit the broad side of a barn for the most part and when they do, the monsters is unaffected by their firepower, for no adequately explored reason. Standard stuff, really.

If you can overlook good looking young people doing very dumb things as the world goes to hell around them, then you'll probably like the movie. I did, but it's a bit like a run of the mill adventure game. Once you've played it, you know you'll never play it again. I can safely say, I don't think I'll buy it on DVD but it was worth seeing on the big screen. In fact, I'm not sure it would work on the small screen at all. I would recommend seeing it on the biggest screen you can, with the best sound system available. The sound design is amazing. The little cloverfield's chittering, chewing sound was creepy as fuck (pardon the language, but the noise really chilled me. Hair stood up on my neck and everything!)

Some of the people in the theater loved it. A few booed and shouted "bullshit!" at the end. I thought it was pretty middle of the road... which is too bad. It could have been GREAT. It SHOULD have been great. Oh well. Still worth ten bucks.

[close]

That's my take on it anyway.

- Ponch

[Evil]

I am so god damn excited about this movie. But from what I've been hearing it's just ok, not genre changing. I'm going to be so disappointed.

[R4L]

I just watched it...

It was really good. I haven't been following this thread, so bear with me.

Spoiler

The best thing about aliens is that we don't know what they look like, so we can make them into anything. This movie does it so well IMO. New York City is a complete wreck near the end.

[close]

[m0ds]

The Thing is probably still one of the scariest and frankly freakiest horror movies I've seen. Still, thanks for the heads up Ponch, I will be seeing this in February! Goddamn release dates! I know what happens in the movie now, which is a bit sad, but I'm still really looking forward to seeing it "all go down"

[Arboris]

A rather blunt spoiler

It reveals the monster for those who are curious and can't wait till they can see the whole movie

[Stupot]

Just seen it.
Brilliant. Worth the hype.

Spoiler

I'd been avoiding reviews and possible spoilers so I wasn't sure if we were going to get to see the monster properly or not.  I was kind of glad that we did but on the other hand, it might have been quite cool if we didn't.   For me the film could well have ended when the helicopter crashed.  That scene was intense and would have been a great moment to end it on.  The fact that they walked away still able to run was a bit far-fetched.

That was my only gripe, though.

[close]

I had high hopes and I wasn't let down.
Now I'm looking forward to Cloverfield 2.

[deltamatrix]

An enjoyable film. Yes you do see it!

[hedgefield]

I agree completely wit Stupot. Great film.