History YMMV / Cloverfield

* FanNickname: Clovie, Clover, MGP, [[{{TooDumbToLive}} Darwin]].

* IAmNotShazam: None of the characters are named Cloverfield, not even the monster. Cloverfield was the designation the government gave to the videotape that was in the camera throughout the film.

* BetterOnDVD: Even if the shaky-cam style of the film didn't make some theater-goers queasy, the fact that on DVD you can pause or rewind at will greatly enhances the idea that you're viewing [[spoiler:a tape found in the wreckage that's been kept in some government archive]].

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Watch the entire movie, and then tell yourself it was made for $25 million. You can't.

* TearJerker: Jason's death, as well as Rob having to call his mom to tell her the news.

* HypeBacklash: Dear God, the HypeBacklash...
** Mostly due to people being nauseous.

* [[JustHereForGodzilla Just Here For Clovie]]

** The films plays out very differently when you keep in mind that Clovie isn't evil or a horrible agent of destruction. According to creature designer Neville Page, he's more like a lost puppy. D'awww...

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Clover. Apparently, there's evidence to support both claims, but since we never [[CrossesTheLineTwice see its genitalia]], we'll probably never know.

* FridgeHorror: The ending of the film makes you realise how many people died in the disaster, but unlike the protagonists we don't know anything about them because they lacked a camera. If Hud had not had the camera, then the protagonists would also be forgotten.
** If that big monster was just a baby, then how big is the mother?

* CrowningMomentOfFunny: Flaming hobos.
** Not in the film itself, but the various "Cloverfield Monster Revealed!" videos that appeared on Youtube, "revealing" it to be [[{{Ghostbusters}} Stay-Puft]], [[BurgerFool The King]] and [[SouthPark Crab People]], among other things...
-->'''Beth:''' ''(seeing the monster for the first time)'' What is that?!
-->'''Hud:''' A...terrible thing.
-->'''Beth:''' ''(slightly later, when one of the parasites attacks)'' What ''was'' that?!
-->'''Hud:''' I don't know! Something else! Also terrible!
** "One of us is gonna have to tackle you, and that's gonna be VERY uncomfortable for everyone involved!"
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: "Roar!", a piece of music composed by Michael Giacchino, which is only played during the credits. It is intended to be a tribute to the music used in the movies that inspired ''Cloverfield'', such as ''King Kong'' and ''Godzilla''. It works, and it's ''brilliant''.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: Giant tick-things appearing to grin, with eyes glowing in the dark.
** And the octane rating only goes up once you get bitten.
---> "I don't feel so good."
** Much like how the original Godzilla was a metaphor for the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there's a good amount of terrifying 9/11 imagery here.
*** The Clover monster is actually an infant, so imagine how big the mother is.
** The fact the movie leads with a title card reading "...retrieved from the area formerly known as Central Park." ::shudder::

* Narm: The [[spoiler:parasites]] sound rather like an angry Donald Duck.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: When we finally see the monster, it is a very impressive bit of work.

** Much like how the original Godzilla was a metaphor for the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there's a good amount of terrifying 9/11 imagery here.