Cloverfield


 * Cloverfield and our Nation's Paranoia-** by Joshua Castellanos

=Cloverfield=

//Synopsis//: The movie Cloverfield follows a group a friends who become stranded in Manhattan following an attack by a mysterious monster.

In preparation for their friend leaving New York to go to a new job in Japan, Jason (Robert's brother) and his grilfriend Lily plan a going-away party for Robert Hawkins. Their friend Hudson is tasked with filming the going-away party and giving a copy to Rob to help keep him from getting homesick.

At the party, Hudson goes around from person to person and video tapes their testimonies for Rob. A little while into the party, the building that they are in starts to shake and the power goes out. After the power comes back on, many of the guests head toward the roof to try and get a glimpse of what had happened. Those that make it to the roof quickly run back inside or go down the fire escape because of a large explosion that sends debris flying out in all directions.

By this time the streets are filled with panicking people. The guests rush into the streets and witness even more destruction. It is soon decided that the best course of action would be to leave Manhattan. A group of the guests make their way to the Brooklyn Bridge in order to evacuate the city. Before they can get across the bridge, however, a monster attacks it and hundreds are killed including Jason. Distraught, the survivors make their way back to Manhattan.

While on the bridge, Rob had received a voice message from Beth (his love interest) on his phone. This is what separated them from Jason. Once back in Manhattan, they loot an electronics store to get a new battery for his cell phone. While they are there they see some footage of what is going on, on the news. They see that the military has arrived and that it is fighting what appear to be monsters.

Their goal at this point is to find Beth and help her to escape (we find out that the message says she is trapped in her apartment). In order to avoid the monsters and the military, they head into the subway. Once there, they decide to walk through the tunnels until they get to the point nearest Beth's apartment. While in the tunnels, they are attacked by a group of small, parasitic, spider-like creatures. After getting rid of them and locking themselves in a room, they believe that they are all okay. They soon discover that not all of them made it out okay and that Marlena had been bitten by one of the parasites.

Soon after this discovery, they meet Sgt. Pryce and a group of soldiers that have created a makeshift hospital and command post inside of a department store. The soldiers quickly take Marlena to a curtained operating room after they learn that she has been bitten. Through the curtain you can see Marlena's stomach explode. The group is permitted to return to the streets once they explain their situation and how they are trying to save their friend but they are warned that the last helicopter out of the city leaves at 6:00 AM. They also find out that after the last helicopter leaves, the military is going to begin its Hammerdown protocol which will most likely destroy the entire island.

When they get to Beth's apartment they see that it has fallen against another building and is now leaning on it. They decide to get to Beth's building from the stable building. When they finally find Beth they discover that she is badly wounded.

The group then makes their way to the evacuation site. Lily is separated from Rob, Beth, and Hudson and is believed to have made it out of the city safely via a helicopter. The latter three all got on the same helicopter. Shortly after takeoff, the helicopter is hit by the monster and crashes. Hudson is then partially eaten by it when he attempts to grab his camera. Rob and Beth then take the camera and hide under a bridge in central park. Shortly thereafter, the Hammerdown protocol begins and the city is pummeled by bombs.


 * Cloverfield and our Nation's Paranoia-** Cloverfield is in many ways, modeled after the attacks on September 11, 2001. There are many things about this movie that remind people of the real life events. Take a look at this video comparing actual footage from 9/11 and a scene from the movie. media type="youtube" key="5-JR6UoU3aU" height="295" width="480"Cloverfield feeds on our new found fear of terrorist attacks. Like the monster in Cloverfield, the attacks on 9/11 happened without any public warning. I say public warning because just like it is hinted in the movie, many believe that our government had prior knowledge of what was going to happen on September 11th. Many accuse the movie of playing on the real life events to earn money.