[poll] Coverfield - Thumbs up or thumbs down? (Warning: Spoilers)

[airelement01]

So I'm currently at work goofing off and talking to my co-workers about movies. Cloverfield came up and the discussion ensued about the questions that remains after seeing the film. First, I appreciate the film being filmed from the point of view of a hand held video camera. Some might argue it is unnecessary but it's tolerable to me. I didn't get motion sickness but my friend did. But here are the lingering questions:

1) What happened to Rob and Beth?

2) Where did Cloverfield come from? I know it is shown falling into the ocean at the end but where did it fall from?

3) What is Cloverfield?

4) Who won, humans or Cloverfield?

5) Why would the evac helicopter fly next to Cloverfield while it is being bombed? Why not fly away from it?

6) What happens to those people bitten by the the mini-Cloverfields? I know the victims explode but do mini-Cloverfields come out of them?

It would've been extremely helpful if at the end of the film the entity that was showing the recording give us the current situation because some time has obviously passed between when the video was shot and when the video is now being shown. Even a "To be continued" would be appreciated so we know a conclusion is coming. What does everyone else think? Btw cake will be served tonight.

 

[Flippy the Squirrel]

[quote1202850355=airelement01]
1) What happened to Rob and Beth?
[/quote1202850355]
I'm pretty sure they're dead, or about to be so. Remember that the start of the movie mentions that the tape was found in what used to be Central Park after the event.

[quote1202850355=airelement01]
2) Where did Cloverfield come from? I know it is shown falling into the ocean at the end but where did it fall from?
[/quote1202850355]
Strictly speaking, that's not been explored, nor is the monster known to have a name. The title Cloverfield was actually picked because it was meaningless and a good way to hide the true nature of the movie until it was released. Also, J.J. Abrams has said that the item falling into the ocean is not the monster, but a satellite crashing into the ocean.
[quote1202850355=airelement01]
3) What is Cloverfield?
[/quote1202850355]
That's part of the mystery. Although, if you do a little sleuthing around on the internet, you can find a few clues. Did you see the characters with "Slusho" shirts on?

http://www.slusho.jp (dig around on that site for a while, and find the next web site)

http://www.tagruato.jp

Now, doing a little research on that site, there's mention of an "incident" at an offshore drilling operation call Chuai station.

J.J. Abrams, the producer, has stated that the creature is not from space, and has implied that it's been on the Earth for a long time.
[quote1202850355=airelement01]
4) Who won, humans or Cloverfield?
[/quote1202850355]
I think the monster won. Again, there's a pretty strong suggestion from the "area formerly known as Central Park" and the soldiers saying "whatever it is, it's winning" before evacuating the city.
[quote1202850355=airelement01]
5) Why would the evac helicopter fly next to Cloverfield while it is being bombed? Why not fly away from it?
[/quote1202850355]
Two reasons. Dramatic license, and there was no reason to expect that the creature would jump up like that, as it had not (to my knowledge) done so before. In fact, they all thought it was dead.
[quote1202850355=airelement01]
6) What happens to those people bitten by the the mini-Cloverfields? I know the victims explode but do mini-Cloverfields come out of them?
[/quote1202850355]
The implication is that being bitten causes your chest to rupture. If you watch closely, right before the girl dies, there's a man wheeled by on a stretcher whose chest had already exploded. The implication is that those small creatures, referred to as parasites (not actually a part of the monster, but parasitic organisms all their own) cause that kind of death.
[quote1202850355=airelement01]
It would've been extremely helpful if at the end of the film the entity that was showing the recording give us the current situation because some time has obviously passed between when the video was shot and when the video is now being shown. Even a "To be continued" would be appreciated so we know a conclusion is coming. What does everyone else think? Btw cake will be served tonight.
[/quote1202850355]
The bit you saw at the end is from before the monster attacks. Recall that Jason asks if Hud changed the tape. He had recorded his date with Beth six weeks before, and those are bits we see leaking through whenever the camera is stopped, just like a real video camera.

They're talking sequel... so there's lots of room for growth of this legend!

UPDATE: Check out these links too...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloverfield

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloverfield_(creature)

 

[Flippy the Squirrel]

Okay, I just unearthed some more odd stuff by digging around on the Tagruato website... in order, there are a few news items posted that are of interest.

http://www.tagruato.jp/headlines.php?story=news_08_01_03

Read the articles starting with "Hatsui Satellite Works for the Futura" upwards. This implies that a satellite was launched right before a terrorist attack at the Yoshida Medical Research station, which specializes in taking organisms off of the sea floor and growing them for possible medical uses.

Then, there is mention that one of their Slusho line of products was accepted by the FDA for import into the US, and that the head of the company was on a boat to visit New York. Of interest is the fact that, at the beginning of the film, after the initial blackout, they talk about a tanker being upended in the bay.

That tells me that the creature was being brought into the US by this company, possibly to sell to the US government or to do research on, and it escaped.

This is all conjecture, of course, but is supported by the stuff on this website.

Oh, and this would explain the satellite falling at the end of the film. After all, if the ocean research station controlled the satellite, and it was destroyed, there'd be little to keep the satellite orbit from decaying until it crashes, right?

 

[airelement01]

Wow. this has turned into a conspiracy hunt. I love it. Good job Flippy. I have several additional questions though?

1) How can anything possibly extract something like Cloverfield from the ocean floor and put it into a tanker?

2) Why would the FDA be involved with the transportation of something like Cloverfield?

3) Even if you damage the platform, I think there are different methods to re-establish communication with a satellite. Also, a satellite is usually core programed to stay in orbit unless overridden.

Good stuff!
Hope your wife lets you come out and play tonight. I'll probably be in dustbowl.

 

[Flippy the Squirrel]

[quote1202853962=airelement01]
1) How can anything possibly extract something like Cloverfield from the ocean floor and put it into a tanker?
[/quote1202853962]
I was thinking that the terrorist attack was either a cover-up or that when the terrorists attacked (more likely, to my mind) a creature escaped and grew huge in the sea. In fact, there's some allusions to this cloaked in the "history" section of the http://www.slusho.jp site. My guess is that if it was put into a tanker, the company captured it and was attempting to get help. Alternately, it may have gone after the tanker because it was familiar to it or perhaps contained some of its parasites/spawn/food?
[quote1202853962=airelement01]
2) Why would the FDA be involved with the transportation of something like Cloverfield?
[/quote1202853962]
I don't think they were, but it's possible that both a creature and shipments of Slusho were on the tanker.
[quote1202853962=airelement01]
3) Even if you damage the platform, I think there are different methods to re-establish communication with a satellite. Also, a satellite is usually core programed to stay in orbit unless overridden.
[/quote1202853962]
True, and I wondered about that. Maybe the terrorists downed the satellite on purpose.
[quote1202853962=airelement01]
Hope your wife lets you come out and play tonight. I'll probably be in dustbowl.
[/quote1202853962]
Wow. So, my name is Andrew too. Cool.
At any rate, it's not a matter of her letting me, so much as me choosing to spend time with her tonight, 'cause she's a pretty kick-ass woman.

 

[bLackout {RD}]

Check out 1-18-08.com and check out the pictures.

There's so many clues.
The directors wants us to find more clues..
So, Cloverfield is more of a mystery movie.
There's going to be CloverField 2, that's for sure.

 

[airelement01]

OMG, this is suddenly the craziest thing I have ever seen. Here I am thinking why I wasted $10 on Cloverfield and come to realize how complicated this phenomenon is. Thanks for the link blackout.

 

[Moose]

You have no idea. I had been following it since the preview came out last July. There's the 1-18 website, slusho, tagruato, and even an "environmentalist group" site called T.I.D.O. wave. The clues were everywhere, viral videos of an oil rig being destroyed, etc. I'd been in all the forums I could get my hands on since minute one, and so I have a veritable well of useless knowledge at my disposal when it comes to that movie; like, what the sound clip says at the end of the credits both forwards AND backwards. Yeah...I'm a nerd.