'Cloverfield' is Out! It's Time to Talk Sequels
Filed under: Horror, RumorMonger, Remakes and Sequels
I've been excited for Cloverfield ever since I heard that Drew Goddard penned the flick. I can't say anything about Lost or Alias, but he penned some fun episodes of Angel, and better yet -- he got his start on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Yes, I'm a Whedonite of the vamp variety.) During his stint with the slayer, he penned part of the stunning Conversations with Dead People, and headed other eps like Dirty Girls and Lies My Parents Told Me. So, hearing that he was putting his spin on the whole monster movie thing was enough to hook me, and while it could potentially be a can't-live-up-to-hype Blair Witch, I'm still running my butt down to the theater tonight to see for myself.Of course, what we'll all see on the screen is not exactly what he intended. Bloody Disgusting chatted with Godard and director Matt Reeves on the red carpet of the premiere, and got the scoop. Drew was aiming for a "hard R" with lots of blood and disgusting bits, but was told it was "way too brutal." But maybe we'll see more on the DVD, or the sequel? Reeves wouldn't confirm or deny the possibility, but he did comment on what number two could be if they do go into sequel territory, and frankly, I love the idea: "Only time will tell. While we were on set making the film, we talked about the possibilities and directions of how a sequel can go. The fun of this movie was that it might not have been the only movie being made that night. There might be another movie!"
The whole monster-coming-back-for-round-two angle is getting old, so I would be all over a sequel that shows the same night from a different perspective. At least then, potential monster death or wrapped-up plots can still be actual endings, rather than fluff that gets twisted for round two, five, or ten. What do you think?










Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-28-2008 @ 1:32PM
Jerry said...
Okay ..basically Rob gets everyone killed because he is stupid and strongwilled. Who in their right mind would have kept walking twards the monster ? Especially after encountering the "lice" . I think it was a fantastic film, honestly , a fantastic film. The whole giant monster "come from the sea" to destry everything in its path...been there done that. But the effects and the underlying suspense of the actors , not really knowing whats going on, as people say that alot , "whats happening" all thru the movie. I think the initial encounter during the party was brilliant. There has to be a sequel, its JJ Abrams for gods sake .....loose ends are his forte'. That drink, Rob was going to Japan to work on, has something to do with the monster for sure.
The monster! I was sooo dissapointed. It looked like it could barely crawl no less knock down a skyscaper. Did not like the monster. The lice, thats a different matter , and why kill the ..people who got bit? what does it do to you ?
She freekin blew up for gods sake ......Anyway my partner who saw this with me got very nauseaous, and threw up in the parking lot when we left the movie. he said he was motion sick. So Cloverfield sickness is real....LOL.
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1-18-2008 @ 1:21PM
Eddie said...
I thought of that idea for ID4 when I was a young tot and tried to convince my friends a sequel was possible. Then I decided it would be kind of lame, because part of why you watch monster movies is to find out what happens. The only way to show multiple takes is to do it all at once, a la Babel or that new Forrest Whitaker flick, 8 Views or whatever it's called.
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1-18-2008 @ 1:40PM
Gregory Moore said...
I already posted this on the review, but here are my thoughts on a potential sequel:
I personally left the movie feeling like the film was kind of incomplete. Obviously "Cloverfield" was not about the monster at all, but i couldnt help but want more story on it. However, that to say i was not dissapointed.
I also must want to make a conjecture here and see if anyone else backs my sentiments. I feel as though there is a good possibility that the movie had an "incompleteness" to it on purpose. It seems totally in line with the advertising as well as Abrams goal of making a Godzilla type franchise in the US. All of the advertising was viral because it gave you just enough to go "what is this?" and then shrunk back. The film told a complete tale (our heroic team of friends), contained within, what i felt, was an incomplete tale (the monster and its background). So this led me to start thinking that perhaps the movie was built in such a way to give us enough to be satisfied with our first experience of "Cloverfield", but simultaneously whet out appetite for more of it.
Now, im not suggesting that there might be another film that picks up where this one left off, that just seems absurd, but rather another telling of an entirely different story from another perspective of the happenings.
As i thought about this i remembered much of the pieces of Abrams online viral puzzle that i had read about in some free time at work one day (thanks to links on cinematical), and began to think that much of those pieces, although available, were still not in place. I also remember hearing that Abrams suggested to fans that maybe those viral sites had to do with other projects of his, and werent guaranteed to be cloverfield related. However, after seeing the film, some of the "deep-pacific" references on the sites seem to be countered by the conjecture from a character in the movie that "maybe it came from a volcanic trench in the pacific."
I know im reading a lot in here, and maybe its just my inquisitive nature to feel owed more information on the events that fictitiously took place in NY in the movie. But the more i think about it, the more it just makes sense. I think Abrams (and hopefully Reeves) have themselves the beginnings of a very lucrative movie franchise. Anyone else share my sentiments?
ps. i dont claim to have kept up with everything, so maybe he already admitted this, or maybe im missing other information, but i still thought it worthwhile to throw out there.
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1-18-2008 @ 1:42PM
Adam P said...
Write "penned" a few more times...
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1-18-2008 @ 2:26PM
Nick Reinhart said...
Thought it was a fantastic film.
http://nick-reinhart.com/2008/01/18/cloverfield-rocked/
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1-18-2008 @ 2:29PM
Alex said...
I think a prequel is in order to explain Cloverfield. I do think this is a new franchise and all of the questions left from Cloverfield need to be answered. Personally I'd have the second film named Monstrous since we now know the monster.
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1-18-2008 @ 5:08PM
KEN said...
Is this a drama? Comedy? Suspense movie? What ever it is, it is a must see on the big screen. Don't wait for the DVD. Effects are fantastic! Some of the best I've ever seen. Even if you don't like monster movies, go for it !
This film is pure fun and fantastic entertainment!
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1-18-2008 @ 8:49PM
FutureColumnist said...
I just saw this movie, and actually, in talking to a friend about what else they could do (although she was more into the idea than I was by far) I brought up that exact idea. And I hadn't read this yet. I said basically those exact words: "I don't know how they could do this, unless they filmed another movie at the same time because of how hard it would be to piece those sequences back together perfectly, but there could be another story told of the same exact night."
While any other sequel would almost even bother me (the only other acceptable idea to me is to explain what this thing was in the first place), some sort of "Cloverfield B" where we saw more footage like this would be fun.
I LOVED this movie, so I'm all for letting it stay by itself, because I think greatness can be encapsulated in one film (unlike most studio execs). But maybe this'll happen.
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1-19-2008 @ 1:35AM
Ellory said...
I'm excited that he wants to use the same night for any possible sequel... because Thursday night after the movie my friends and I were talking about what we thought future Cloverfield movies could be and this is my idea. Utilizing the plan where we are seeing the same night.
In the viral marketing there's a discussion of an Oil Rig, a Japanese Company and an eco terrorist group. That Japanese Oil Company produces a strange beverage with an ingredient that promises to change your life. (This is the company Rob is going to work for in Japan btw, Slusho) The Eco Terrorists hate the oil drilling already but they also want to stop this beverage from making its way into the West. They know the secret of their "putrid drink". Anyway... sometime around the Coney Island footage (where Rob accidentally catches a giant splash in the middle of the ocean) this Japanese Oil Company has an Oil Rig collapse into the ocean off the coast of Manhattan. They claim the Eco Terrorists blew it up. The Eco-Terrorists claim they had members captured on a sabotage mission and that they and some employees were killed by the company. SO.... finally here's where I'm going.
We have our eco terrorists, making an attack on the Oil Rig trying to sabotage the place and they are captured. During their imprisonment the Monster attacks the Rig. In the midst of all the commotion someone or several people from the group make their escape and they take the "tape" to show the evidence that the Oil Company is doing something dangerous out there.
Here's the slide, they escape in an emergency boat and are picked up by the coast guard who brings them to Manhattan to process them and a few other miscellaneous people picked up by the same Coast Guard Ship. They spend about a month in the Coast Guard's holding facility in Manhattan. That's when All Hell Breaks Loose. Now we have a bunch of people picked up by the Coast Guard attempting to escape Manhattan Island, maybe they try the tunnels or to go to the bronx or queens. They traipse through Midtown much earlier and see the leveling of Times Square and get real footage of the Monster eating people. They see what the Lice do with the people they try to drag off. (Remember Hud said he thought they were trying to drag him away, not necessarily eat him right then) Most importantly though is the footage useful to the DoD later on which is during the initial sabotage mission they capture some innocuous footage that is then substantiated later by an action the Monster takes. They inadvertently supply a true motivation or an origin. It has to be like Rob and Beth's tape though, where it only makes sense to someone who's seen everything. The other important thing they could do is show that the Monster survived the destruction that killed Rob and Beth and destroyed Central Park. At the end of the movie and past all the credits you can hear a garbled voice say, “It’s still alive.” The voice sounds defeated and in extreme disbelief. I’d like to see the footage of that.
Now in this film we can see maybe the Mayor announcing the mandatory evacuation, on the giant Times Square screens; get some video of the military mobilization, our group may have a Coast Guard or Military Policeman in their ranks depending on when the Monster attacks; useful video providing insight from before it gets to Manhattan and useful video of after New York was leveled and the creature survives. Also since these are Eco Warriors someone in the group could actually be for the Monster. You know the Ocean getting revenge on the evil of Mankind. Anyway that's my thoughts... Hell I could get my friends together and make a fun fan film out of it anyway.
I loved Cloverfield and I can't wait to see what they come up with.
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1-20-2008 @ 7:59PM
robotplague said...
Holy shit...that is a GREAT idea for a sequel.
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1-19-2008 @ 8:47AM
mdp said...
Cloverfield was a great movie, and thats the problem. Whenever a good movie comes out people just 'expect' a sequel, and with a movie like this a sequel will surely be terribe. What can it be about? The only half-decent possibility is a backstory of the monster, which would still suck. I understand this movie was great, but that should not warrant a sequel. We don't need a sequel, we got enough of the story in the first movie. For Cloverfield especially, I personally would be appalled if they put out a sequel, becasue people would see it and blame its inevitable suckiness on the people who made it instead of the people who begged for it to be made, THEMSELVES.
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1-19-2008 @ 10:57AM
Ellory said...
I understand the fear that comes with the sequel. I get that a lot of times filmmakers end up overdoing it or making something too different or not different enough. I think that in the film world there is room for sequels but especially in the case of films like this. If you sat through the credits you heard someone say over the radio, "it's still alive". You have the writer when asked about a sequel say... what if someone else was making a movie that night? That leads me to believe we're in the previously conceived future elements space and not the cash grab is our only motivation space.
I'd like to see some more of this 'event'. I'd like to know what other people experienced. These can't be the only people to do something heroic, and also run into the Monster. If the filmmakers decide to continue this as a series which lets face it... it's a giant monster movie... Sequels are nearly mandatory... look at Godzilla. If it's bad they will feel a severe backlash from their audience. I'm willing to give them an opportunity to make something good.
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1-20-2008 @ 4:09PM
Holley said...
I loved the movie and saw it as early as the theater would let me in on Friday! I don't want a prequel and I don't want a sequel....for me, either one would take away from the original!
htw
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1-20-2008 @ 3:37PM
superbagman said...
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Cloverfield, but really doing the SAME concept just with another group of characters on the same night is just frickin' lazy and uninspired.
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1-21-2008 @ 9:58AM
Justin B. said...
I am really shocked at the comments I've been reading on this blog regarding Cloverfield. It was a fantastic movie. The points that people are using to down grade the movie are the things that make it good. Who wants to see another 'traditional' mega-monster movie? If that's what you want, got rent The Host. If you want something a little different, then go see Cloverfield. I think JJ Abrams set out to make a mega-monster movie that actually looks like it could happen. The lack of information to those actually involved in the fracas is what would happen in real life. And this moive was supposed to be from the point of view closest to the action. That's why it was from the hand-held camera. I loved the lack of information. It gives you soemthing to discuss/debate after the movie (which I saw alot of going as I was leaving the theater). Also, I think it is marketing genius. Think about it. You have a lot of people who have seen the movie and have all of these open questions. If they made another movie, shot traditional style with back ground information and an ending with closure, it would be huge ($$$$). I know I would go see it in a heartbeat. And if JJ Abrams is really smart, and wants to keep the hype up, he should not even realease a trailer (or at the very least, a trailer that shows nothing at all, but says its the same series of event, but told from another point of view - like the military's). All-in-all, I think this movie totally accomplished what it set out to do. Those that are cutting on the movie just do not get it! This movie is truly a story about mass chaos and confusion....
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1-22-2008 @ 10:42AM
Karn Eggie said...
you know what would have been really great if he had 3/4x (jj) had 4 stories of the same night premiere in different areas of the country (world) ... that would have made this mediocre movie better.
3/4 groups trying to find their way out of Manhattan, instead of the one, its not like we had character development ... or cared about any of the characters. this way you make the DVD release WAY more interesting, as you can have an almost babel like final editing creating a NEW movie for the home version (also including the original regional versions) ... that would have been smart, and the idea of a sequel is obvious it doesnt make it less opportunistic.
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1-22-2008 @ 10:47AM
Karn Eggie said...
my comment above wasnt really clear.
4 regional versions of the movie, that is, 4 separate perspectives "groups" involving the same event. in essense 4 complete movies that have an identical thesis being the monster, and how to cope in such an event. THAT would have been groundbreaking!
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