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The Mystery of ‘Cloverfield’: 10 Years Later

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Paramount Pictures announced yet another shift in release for the next installment of perhaps the weirdest and most secretive sci-fi franchise in cinematic history, the Cloverfield series. The J.J. Abrams-produced American monster movie by way of found footage became an instant success upon release on January 18, 2008, yet it took another eight years for a follow-up. Except it wasn’t exactly the sequel audiences were expecting. Instead of the giant, mysterious beast that destroyed nearly all of New York City, we got a claustrophobic thriller with a sci-fi twist. It too raked in the profits, solidifying Paramount and Bad Robot’s plans to unleash a series of films set in the Cloverfield universe. With not just one, but possibly two Cloverfield films set to release this year, we look back at the history of the Cloverfield series, the future of the series, and the Alternate Reality Game that connects them.

Sprouted from a small seedling of an idea that Abrams had while visiting a toy store in Japan with his son, Paramount secretly greenlit Cloverfield, written by Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) and directed by Matt Reeves (Let Me In). The entire film hinged on its secrecy; not even the cast knew what they were auditioning for. The actors weren’t allowed to read the script until they’d actually signed on for the movie.

Then there was the marketing. Attached to the theatrical release of Transformers in July 2007 was the first teaser for Cloverfield, and it fully lived up to the definition of the word. Enough was shown to let the viewer know there was something beyond the party in the scenes featured and that it was big and pissed off. But Paramount opted to not reveal the movie’s title, only the date 1.18.08. It wasn’t until November of that year, in a teaser attached to the theatrical release of Beowulf, that Paramount would finally clue audiences into the film’s title. The speculation ran wild. Would this be tied into Abrams’ hit series Lost? Would it be a new Godzilla movie?

While Bad Robot and Paramount remained frustratingly tight-lipped about the project, Paramount doled out clues in the form of the Alternate Reality Game, or ARG. This highly intricate and cryptic ARG enhanced the film in a way that had never been done before; months of clues dispersed across the internet built a backstory for diehard players that fleshed out some of the narrative that the film itself never had time to answer. The biggest of which was that Japanese mining company Tagruato, and its Chuai drilling station in the Atlantic Ocean near New York City was ground zero for the monster’s attack preceding the events of the film. Most important of all, aside from insight to the creature’s origins, is that Tagruato is a large corporation with subsidiaries. One of which was Slusho!, which was featured in  Cloverfield as Rob’s going away party was centered around his job promotion to vice president of marketing for the company. Tagruato also developed paraffin wax via their ParafFun! Wax Distributors branch, deep-sea genetic research via Yoshida Medical Research, and advanced technology via Bold Futura.

Why is that last subsidiary important? Because on January 15, 2016, a mysterious trailer featuring the word “Cloverfield” in its title would begin the speculation anew. A month later, suspicions that we’d finally get another Cloverfield came with the launch of the next ARG game. This one, also centered on the Tagruato Corporation, fixated on subsidiary Bold Futura. And who would be featured as a key employee of the subsidiary? John Goodman’s character Howard Stambler. Though much shorter than the original ARG game, this iteration would give key backstory to Howard and the relationship with the daughter he so doted upon in 10 Cloverfield Lane, and his role in the company.

As for the film itself, it proved to be nothing at all like its predecessor. While both Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane feature lead protagonists fleeing from relationships, their journeys are vastly different. From New York City to a rural underground bunker, and giant demolition monster to a paranoid human monster, it doesn’t seem to have much in common besides a moniker. Until you get to the end, and Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has to contend with monsters of an extraterrestrial variety. Oh, and the clues revealed in the ARG placing this movie in the same universe as Cloverfield, though Abrams has stated that it exists in a different timeline.

Why did it take so long to come up with a sequel, though, and why was it only connected in the loosest of ways? While Abrams had always intended a sequel, especially thanks to fan demand, Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim and Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla sort of made his original plan to create an American giant monster obsolete. So it reshaped how this franchise would continue, for the better I think.

The third entry in the Cloverfield universe was announced in the ARG for the avid followers. Well, sort of. The ARG for 10 Cloverfield Lane revealed a sound clip from the International Space Station, which had many looking for the next entry to take place in space. Then came the announcement that God Particle, a space thriller/horror film written by Oren Uziel and Doug Jung would be the next entry, to be released on February 24, 2017. Like 10 Cloverfield Lane, God Particle wasn’t one written with Cloverfield in mind but retrofitted into the universe. Die-hard fans of the ARG game geared up to participate, and then waited for its arrival. And waited. And waited. The release date then shifted to October 27, 2017, then to February 2, 2018, before an official announcement for April. While it still remains to be seen if and when the ARG game will commence (I think it might a month before theatrical release, considering Tagruato corps’ website has undergone recent changes), I’d like to speculate that another Tagruato subsidiary makes its entrance in the franchise. Namely ParafFun! Wax Distributors, since God Particle (or whatever it will be renamed) is set on a space station and revolves around a particle accelerator and paraffin wax is used in moderating neutrons.

Tagruato’s footage from the Atlantic seabed in Cloverfield’s ARG

While we only have months to discover just how much the currently unnamed and formerly titled God Particle will tie into the Cloverfield universe, there’s yet another potential franchise entry to consider: Overlord. Another joint venture between Abrams’ Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures, Overlord is a World War II horror film that will follow the story of two American soldiers behind enemy lines on D Day, as they discover the Nazis are using supernatural forces against them. Set for release on October 26, 2018, there are elements there that would suggest this could be another Cloverfield. Same two companies behind the series, similar genres, and a potential connection to Tagruato, considering the fictional company was founded the final year of World War II, in 1945.

Cloverfield took the box office by storm, in large part thanks to the clever and secretive nature of both Abrams and Paramount’s clever marketing. More than that, it was a fantastic film. From Rob’s human relationships to the creepy parasites that dropped from the creature, Cloverfield was a unique entry in the American monster pantheon. When the long-anticipated sequel felt obsolete thanks to similar films being released, Abrams and Paramount adapted and shifted, instead choosing to produce scripts with similar themes and retrofitting them into the same universe. There’s something inherently exciting about never being able to fully anticipate the type of film you’re going to get in the Cloverfield series, or even what type of monster, sometimes even plural. You can count on similar themes among the protagonists at the center of the film, and that it will be a genre film in some way. Most of all, though, is that you can count on evil Tagruato Corporation to be behind it all.

With two stellar films released so far, and a vast potential ahead, I can’t wait to see where the Cloverfield universe brings us next. Ten years after the release of Cloverfield, it’s still as much of an enigma as it was in 2008.

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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