Monster movies have long held a captivating place in the landscape of cinema, offering audiences a thrilling escape into worlds inhabited by the unknown and the extraordinary. From the classic black-and-white horrors of the early 20th century to the CGI-enhanced spectacles of modern filmmaking, these films tap into primal fears and societal anxieties, reflecting cultural attitudes and human experiences. At their core, monster movies explore themes of fear, isolation, and the struggle between humanity and the monstrous “other.” Whether depicting the terror of werewolves or killer space aliens or the tragic story of a misunderstood beast, these films serve as a canvas for filmmakers to examine what it means to be human.
Matt Reeve’s “Cloverfield” (2008) stands out as a unique entry in the monster/disaster movie genre, blending the conventions of alien horror with a distinctive narrative style. Set against the backdrop of a city under siege, the film captures the chaos and confusion that ensue when a colossal creature emerges from the depths of the unknown. What makes “Cloverfield” particularly compelling is its commitment to a found-footage shaky camera style of cinematography and aesthetic, immersing the audience in a visceral experience that mirrors the characters’ own disorientation and fear. It follows a group of friends as they embark on a rescue mission through New York City during a massive monster attack.
Proceed with caution as there are MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Refrain from reading the article and save it for later if you haven’t watched the movie. Happy reading!
Cloverfield (2008) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film presents itself as recovered digital hand-held camera footage, purportedly discovered by the United States Department of Defense in the ravaged landscape of US-447, formerly known as Central Park. The opening bears a disclaimer stating multiple sightings of a case designated “Cloverfield.” Captured in real-time through the shaky lens of the hand-held camera, the narrative seamlessly integrates two distinct timelines offering an intimate glimpse into the lives of the two main protagonists before the catastrophic crisis unfolded. The earlier footage was recorded on April 27, 2008. at 6:42 a.m. and it shows Robert “Rob” Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) waking his long-time platonic friend, Beth McIntyre (Odette Yustman) in the cozy Columbus Circle apartment after spending the night with her. As morning sunlight filters in, they lazily solidify plans for a carefree day trip to Coney Island.
What Sparked Beth And Rob’s Argument?
The second footage, shot on May 22, 2008, shows Jason Hawkins (Mike Vogel) and Lily (Jessica Lucas) hosting a farewell gathering for Rob, who’s departing for Japan to assume a vice presidency role. Amidst preparations, Jason entrusts Hudson “Hud” Platt (T.J. Miller) to film testimonials for Rob during the party. However, Hud’s attentions are diverted by his unrequited interest in Marlena Diamond (Lizzy Caplan). The evening takes an awkward turn with Beth’s arrival accompanied by Travis (Ben Feldman), sparking Rob’s unease. Rob becomes further agitated when he discovers that Hud thoughtlessly recorded over cherished memories of his time with Beth, including their Coney Island trip, which intermittently resurfaces throughout the film.
While Hud is filming Beth, Rob interrupts them and takes Beth outside for a private conversation. Unaware of the camera still rolling, they engage in a heated exchange. Beth confronts Rob about his disappearance and she expresses her feelings of being hurt because Rob never called her back after their one night together. Rob, defensive and frustrated, shifts the focus to Beth’s decision to bring a date to his farewell party. When persuaded by Jason and Hud, Lily reveals that Rob and Beth slept together several weeks before. Even though Lily asks Hud not to film her spilling the secret, Hud indiscreetly films it and shares it with other people at the party, making the matter worse. Rob’s frustration boils over, prompting a confrontation with Beth and Travis, culminating in their abrupt departure.
What Attacked New York City?
Shortly after Beth and Travis leave, Hud and Jason attempt to console Rob. He justifies ghosting Beth by saying that it was a “spur-of-the-moment thing” and he was leaving for Japan. While Jason advises Rob to “forget the world and hang on to the people that you care about the most,” a massive earthquake occurs, causing a brief citywide power outage. When the power returns, everyone turns on the local news, and the anchor reports a capsized oil tanker in the middle of the harbor near the Statue of Liberty.
Intrigued and alarmed, partygoers and apartment dwellers go up to the rooftop for a glimpse of the disaster. They witness an explosion in the distance and flee to the street as flaming debris flies in their direction. The Statue of Liberty’s severed, charred head crashes beside them, the iconic symbol of freedom and hope, now a haunting omen. Hud’s camera captures a fleeting glimpse of an enormous, unidentifiable monster rampaging through the city.
How Did Jason Die?
The Woolworth Building collapses in its wake, forcing Rob, Jason, Hud, and Lily to seek refuge in a nearby convenience store. As the creature passes, an eerie silence descends upon the streets. The group discovers Marlena outside, shaken. United in fear, they devise a desperate plan to use the Brooklyn Bridge to exit Lower Manhattan. On the bridge, the group sees the capsized oil tanker and the headless Statue of Liberty. Walking across the bridge, Rob receives a phone call from a distressed Beth who informs him that she is stuck in her apartment and unable to move.
The call makes Rob stop and Hud calls out for Marlena and Lily, but Jason, unable to hear their calls to stop, presses onward. Without warning, the bridge begins to shake as the monster’s tail suddenly appears and crushes the bridge. The group along with others tries to escape the collapsing bridge, and many innocents are killed, including Jason. The bridge collapses finally and Hud films the destruction of the bridge and they retreat.
As Marlena attempts to comfort the grieving Lily over the loss of her boyfriend, Hud approaches Rob, who remains in shock from the chaos they have just witnessed. Suddenly he remembers that his phone call with Beth was abruptly interrupted. He spots an electronic store being looted and rushes inside, grabbing a cell phone battery before he quickly listens to Beth’s message. She tells him that the apartment wall fell on her and she is bleeding and unable to move. On the news, Hud watches in disbelief as the Brooklyn Bridge collapses entirely as well as military forces engaging the humongous monster. The soldiers are suddenly swarmed by parasitic, spider-like creatures that cascade down from the beast. Rob, Hud, Lily, and Marlena proceed to Manhattan streets to find Beth.
What Happened To Marlena?
Determined to find Beth, the group pushes through the devastated streets of Manhattan. They soon find themselves caught in a deadly crossfire between the monster and the military, narrowly escaping into the Spring Street Station. The group decides to walk through the tunnels to reach Beth’s apartment. In the shadows of the tunnels, they are ambushed by several parasites. One lunges at Hud, attempting to drag him away, but Marlena acts quickly, wielding a pipe to fend it off. In her bravery, she exposes herself to danger and is bitten by another parasite.
The group escapes into the abandoned Bloomingdale’s department store via the subway station and is engaged by Staff Sergeant Pryce (Billy Brown) and a squad of infantry, who had established a makeshift field hospital and command center within its walls. Rob asks assistance from Sergeant Pryce to save Beth and insists that he will venture into the heart of Midtown Manhattan himself if nobody accompanies him. Marlena suddenly begins to bleed from her eyes and nose; her right earring slips from her ear. When the squad realizes that she has been bitten, two men in hazmat suits take Marlena behind a curtain while Lily, Rob, and Hud are taken away by soldiers. Hud films the curtains just in time to see Marlena’s stomach expand and explode.
Is Beth Alive?
The group has little time to grieve the death of Marlena as Sergeant Pryce allows them back up to the streets. Pryce solemnly conveys the gravity of the situation, revealing the government’s implementation of the Hammer Down protocol. This directive is to abandon the entire area should the monster remain undefeated. The squad is going to make one final attempt to confront the beast, yet Pryce warned that failure would result in the obliteration of the city itself to kill the monster and the parasites. Pryce also warns them to report to a military evacuation site before 6:00 am, which is when the last helicopter evacuates Manhattan.
The group presses on to Beth’s apartment within the Time Warner Center, discovering that her tower has partially collapsed into the adjacent tower. The three climb the standing tower, cross onto the roof of Beth’s building, and work their way down to her apartment. There, they find Beth trapped and grievously impaled. After a harrowing rescue, they rush to an aerial evacuation site, where they encounter the monster once more, still under fierce military assault. At the landing zone, Lily is hurriedly ushered into a departing helicopter, separated from her friends in the chaos. Moments later, Rob, Beth, and Hud are taken aboard a second helicopter. As they ascend, they watch in awe as a B-2 Spirit bombards the monster, until it crashes to the ground, seemingly dead.
Cloverfield (2008) Ending Explained:
Is The Clover Monster Dead?
As Hud prematurely proclaims the military victorious over the monster, it suddenly lunges upward and strikes the helicopter. The craft spirals out of control, ultimately crashing into a clearing in Central Park. The following day, May 23, the three survivors emerge from the wreckage, only to hear a voice crackling through the helicopter’s radio. The message warns of the impending activation of the Hammer Down protocol, set to take effect in just fifteen minutes.
The pilot’s urgent voice echoes a dire warning: if anyone can hear the air raid sirens blaring, they are within the blast zone and have merely two minutes to escape. Hud and Beth pull an injured Rob clear of the wreckage and try to flee. However, Hud turns back to retrieve the camera. As soon as he gets ahold of the camera, the monster appears behind him. The monster examines Hud for a moment before it attacks him. Hud’s body is cut in half by the monster’s jaws and his upper body is left behind.
Rob and Beth grab the still-filming camera and take shelter under a bridge in Central Park as air raid sirens begin to blare in the distance, indicating that the Hammerdown Protocol is about to commence. Rob and Beth take turns leaving their last testimonies on camera, just as numerous explosions occur outside and the monster can be heard screaming.
The bridge collapses and, as debris covers the camera, Rob and Beth can be heard professing their love to one another before another explosion occurs. The camera freezes up before the footage cuts. In the finale, the film cuts to Rob and Beth having fun on a Ferris wheel at Coney Island a month earlier. Just before Beth says “I had a good day,” an object can be faintly and briefly seen falling from the sky into the ocean before the camera cuts off. It turns out that this was a satellite and that the baby monster was born then.
After the credits roll, a static video message is heard saying “Help us!”, but when played in reverse it says “It’s still alive!” suggesting that the creature lives.
Closing Remarks
Where Did Clover Monster Come From?
In “Cloverfield,” the origin of the monster and its intention is shrouded in ambiguity. The monster is extraterrestrial and the Department of Defense names the creature LSA for Large-Scale Aggressor. When director Matt Reeves was asked if there is a backstory for the monster, he said: “It’s alien. In fact, at the end of the movie, you can see the moment when it comes to [Earth]. It’s another one of those little Easter egg moments, but when we revisit that footage where they’re on the Ferris wheel at the end, you can see the meteor flying down and hitting the ocean. That’s actually the beginning of the baby being on Earth.”
The satellite, plummeting from the sky into the ocean, might have unwittingly carried with it a baby, lost and alone. After a month of silence beneath the waves, a monstrous creature emerged from the depths of the Atlantic, awakened by the disturbance. Reeve’s central concept was that of an immature creature suffering from “separation anxiety.” This idea evokes real-life circus elephants, known to become frightened and lash out when feeling threatened. The director stated that “there’s nothing scarier than something huge that’s spooked.” Reeve has said:
And for me, the big secret was that the monster was a baby and was experiencing separation anxiety. The reason the monster was freaking out is because they were having fits based on looking for their mother. And so, [the monster] was just as afraid as the main characters, because it seems like there would be nothing more terrifying than the human element fighting this giant monster element and, actually, both of them are just terrified. That’s a mess. That’s not good. So that part of it was absolutely something that we talked about in the development of the creature and in terms of how I shot it.
The film adeptly delves into the panic and terror experienced by individuals during a crisis, with certain scenes reminiscent of the 9/11 attacks. Thematically, the film focuses on the characters’ struggle for survival and fear of a colossal monster, highlighting primal fears and the instinct to protect loved ones during the chaos. The monster remains largely hidden for much of the film, emphasizing fear of the unknown and the psychological impact of not knowing what lurks in the shadows. Additionally, the film also serves as a commentary on the fragility of urban life, illustrating how quickly society can crumble in the face of catastrophic events. Through these themes, it invites viewers to confront their own fears and anxieties in times of turmoil.
