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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloverfield-poster.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:300:''[[{{Tagline}} Some thing has found us.]]'']]
3
4->''"My name is Robert Hawkins... Approximately seven hours ago, some...''thing'' attacked the city. I don't know what it is. If you found this tape -- I mean, if you're watching this right now -- then you probably know more about it than I do."''
5
6''Cloverfield'' is a 2008 monster movie co-produced by Creator/JJAbrams, written by Drew Goddard, and directed by Creator/MattReeves.
7
8The film follows a group of six New Yorkers as they attempt to rescue the girlfriend of protagonist Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David, ''Series/TheBlackDonnellys'') during an attack by a [[{{Kaiju}} massive building-sized creature]]. The film is seen through the perspective of Rob's friend Hudson "Hud" Platt (Creator/TJMiller, in his film debut), who [[InUniverseCamera carries around a camcorder throughout the film, documenting the events from his perspective]]. Creator/OdetteYustman stars as Rob's girlfriend Beth [=McIntyre=], and Creator/LizzyCaplan, Creator/JessicaLucas, and Creator/MikeVogel star as the other main characters.
9
10The movie was shot fairly cheaply for a budget of roughly [[http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=cloverfield.htm $25 million]], is seen fully through the aforementioned [[FoundFootageFilms point-of-view perspective]], and features {{homage}}s to older movies (e.g. the Art/StatueOfLiberty's head rolling down a Manhattan street was inspired by a poster for Creator/JohnCarpenter's ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'').
11
12The film has a SpiritualSuccessor in the form of ''Film/TenCloverfieldLane'' -- in spite of using the ''Cloverfield'' title, the movie itself is not a direct sequel, but shares many of this film's themes. The third film in the series, ''Film/TheCloverfieldParadox'', provides an explanation as to how they're all connected (even if it's only a minor part of the film itself).
13
14In 2018, the proof-of-concept film ''Film/{{Megan}}'' was released. Basically acting as a pitch for where the series could go in the future, it aims to tie together elements of the original film, ''10 Cloverfield Lane'', the ARG, and the comics, but ignores ''The Cloverfield Paradox''.
15
16On January 29, 2021, news of [[https://io9.gizmodo.com/a-direct-sequel-to-cloverfield-is-finally-in-the-works-1846162413 a direct sequel written by Joe Barton]] materialized. As of this writing, there is no cast attached, but Babak Anvari (''Film/ICameBy'') is attached to direct. It is not expected to follow the found footage format of this film.
17
18'''Note:''' There were rumors for a time that ''Film/Super8'', directed by Abrams and produced by Creator/StevenSpielberg, was a prequel. It is actually an unrelated film, though this hasn't stopped WildMassGuessing from fans who have noted similarities between the monsters in both movies. Similarly, at one point, the director of ''Film/AQuietPlace'' (Creator/JohnKrasinski) ''considered'' having his movie tie in with the ''Cloverfield'' multiverse, but opted against such a plan. ''Film/Overlord2018'' was also rumored to be a part of this franchise, but this was {{Jossed}} by Abrams, who stated that a "true, dedicated ''Cloverfield'' sequel" was in the works at Bad Robot.
19----
20!!''Cloverfield'' provides examples of:
21[[foldercontrol]]
22
23[[folder:#-L]]
24* AbhorrentAdmirer: Marlena does ''not'' appreciate Hud's interest in her at first, but they become closer throughout the film.
25* ActionGirl: When the protagonists are attacked by Clover's ticks in the subway, most of the characters run, apart from Marlena, who beats the shit out of one of them with a pipe.
26* ActorAllusion: Beth makes a joke at the start about Rob's footage ending up on the internet. Creator/OdetteAnnable starred in a movie called ''Reckless Behaviour: Caught on Tape'', about a teacher whose career is ruined when videos of her end up on the internet.
27* AllForNothing: [[spoiler: Much of the group dies during the mission to save Beth, only for her to likely die anyway during Hammerdown Protocol.]]
28* AllThereInTheManual: Information about the monster's possible origins and what happened immediately before the movie are all in the viral marketing campaign.
29* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Rather brutally deconstructed. [[spoiler: Rob's sole motivation in the film is to save Beth. This results in the deaths of all of his friends and himself. [[ShootTheShaggyDog And she doesn't make it anyway]]]].
30* AmbiguousGender: Clover. Apparently, there's evidence to support both claims.
31* ApocalypticLog: The entire film.
32* ArtisticLicensePolitics: or possibly ArtisticLicenseMilitary, DVD supplemental materials mention that Hud received a Medal of Valor [[spoiler: after his death]] for managing to record the events of the movie. However, in real life, the Medal of Valor is only eligible to be given to either active members of the military, or active members of other government services, such as firefighters, police, or similar. Regular civilians are specifically excluded from being able to earn the Medal of Valor. While the movie doesn't mention exactly *what* Hud does for a living, it seems unlikely that he'd meet the requirements.
33* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: The entire film is one big {{Reconstruction}}[=/=]{{Deconstruction}} of {{Kaiju}} films.
34* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: The ''camera''. The monster almost never appears in full field of view or for very long because the camera is always panning away for some reason or another. Or no reason at all.
35* BatScare: Non-winged example: a horde of rats runs toward, then right past, the main characters when they venture into the subway tunnels. The rodents don't attack, but they ''are'' running from something else...
36* BehindTheBlack: ''Tanks'' sneak up on the camera. [[spoiler:And eventually the creature itself.]]
37* BigApplesauce: The movie is set in New York City.
38* BigBad: Clover is causing all the destruction, though he's not doing so out of malicious intent.
39* BittersweetEnding: '''Very''' bitter. Yes, [[spoiler:the threat of Clover is seemingly eradicated via Hammerdown Protocol]], but [[spoiler:the whole of Manhattan goes with it]]. By the end, [[spoiler: almost every main character is either dead or implied to be dead]].
40* BookEnds: The movie starts at 6.30 am one month prior, after Beth and Rob have their night together; [[spoiler:it ends at 6.30 ish when the monster gets Hammer Downed, with Beth and Rob dying together, chronologically. We also see Beth's apartment before the monster kills it.]]
41* CallBack:
42** [[spoiler:Jason, Rob's brother, says something about "cherishing moments no matter how fleeting", and Rob does it.]]
43** [[spoiler:Marlena also mentions the monster eating people, and then it ate Hud.]]
44* CameraAbuse: Subverted; athough the camcorder held by Hud suffers from both numerous drops ''and'' [[spoiler:the detonation of an EarthShatteringKaboom]], it -- or at least the video tape -- still survives.
45* CameraFiend: Hud keeps filming throughout the night, capturing the full horror of Clover's rampage.
46* CannotKeepASecret: Lily only tells Jason and Hud about Rob and Beth sleeping together if they promise not to tell anyone else. [[GilliganCut Cue Hud telling everyone at the party about them hooking up.]]
47* CrisisPointHospital: The group are taken to a makeshift field hospital bursting with wounded soldiers being treated ASAP; however, rather than treating people who've been bitten by the crawling monsters, all the medical personnel can do is stand by and wait for the LudicrousGibs.
48* DadaAd: One of the hidden special features on the [=DVD=] is an ad for Slusho and... ye gods...
49* DamselInDistress: Rob's (and subsequently the group's) whole ill-advised foray into the city was to rescue his girlfriend Elizabeth.
50* DeadpanSnarker: Marlena does some snarking as the disaster goes on.
51-->'''Hud:''' Maybe this thing is from another planet.\
52'''Marlena:''' What, like Superman?
53* {{Deconstruction}}:
54** Instead of focusing on the monster pounding other monsters' faces in or wrecking the military, you're given the perspective from ordinary people... which makes one realize [[PlayedForHorror how horrific]] the bog-standard [[{{Kaiju}} giant-monster movie plot]] would be if it really happened, which brings it back to its original form. ''Film/{{Gojira}}'', often considered the first Kaiju film (and certainly the reason we use the Japanese word), is a very dark movie with long, lingering shots of the destruction and the long term injuries he caused.
55** The very idea of a kaiju in itself is deconstructed as well; instead of being a supernatural beast, an AllegoricalCharacter, or an out-of-this-world being, Clover is at his core a normal animal reacting to things the way any other animal would.
56* {{Determinator}}: Rob is absolutely intent on saving Beth, despite the fact a giant monster is in the middle of levelling the city, the military is going to annihilate the whole city in a few hours to try and kill it, and his friends are gradually killed off in the rescue attempt.
57* DeusAxMachina: When the group is ambushed by a parasite on their way to a stairwell, Rob was lucky to find a nearby fire axe and use it to kill the creature.
58* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: The party is disturbed by a loud boom at 17:35. It's something of a relief for some viewers when the monster finally appears.
59* DiabolusExNihilo: Unlike most giant monster movies, this one doesn't bother explaining the creature's origin, since the main character's viewpoint is too low on the ground. Thus, no scenes with generals or scientists standing around providing exposition. It just shows up and rampages around New York City.
60* DidNotGetTheGirl: [[spoiler:Hud can do little but watch in horror as Marlena dies horribly and messily in front of him.]]
61* DissonantSerenity: Upon seeing the first massive explosion of the film (having previously thought the rumble was just an Earthquake, and now seeing signs it's something worse), Hud is too stunned to say anything but a quiet 'Shit'.
62* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: According to the [[WordOfGod developers]], [[spoiler:the Brooklyn Bridge scene was changed from a hand destroying the bridge to a tail knocking it down]], because they wanted to imply that Clover was doing its damage to the city ''unintentionally''.
63* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Several critics have brought up the large amount of 9/11 imagery used in the film.
64* DoggedNiceGuy: Hud spends the first half awkwardly trying to hit on Marlena.
65* DwindlingParty: [[spoiler:Jason is killed when the bridge collapses, Marlena is killed by a parasite, Lily is evacuated, Hud is bitten in half by the monster, and Rob and Beth are caught in the nuclear explosion that kills it.]]
66* EasterEgg: As [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19210_7-insane-easter-eggs-hidden-in-movies-tv-shows.html Cracked.com]] points out, the monster's face was actually hidden in the movie poster months before the movie came out.
67* EmotionsVsStoicism: Rob is faced with this dilemma when the disaster situation kicks off, and he can't get hold of Beth to make sure she's alright. Everyone needs to get out of the city immediately so it can be nuked, but Rob gives that up to go on a suicide mission to find Beth. Rob's friends won't leave him, so they go too. Emotions prevail. Everyone except ''possibly'' Lily, is killed.
68* TheEndOrIsIt: [[spoiler:After the credits, there's a broken sound recording of Rob saying "Help us". When reversed, it sounds like he's saying "It's still alive".]]
69* EverybodyDiesEnding: [[spoiler:Presumably averted with Lily, although the movie [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse never actually confirms this]]]].
70* FakeRealTurn: Meta-example: a lot of the posters for ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'' showed the decapitated head of the Art/StatueOfLiberty lying in the street, an amazing shot which ''[[CoversAlwaysLie never actually appears in the movie itself]]''. ''This'' movie's poster, on the other hand, isn't lying; all these years later, ''Cloverfield'' finally delivers on the other movie poster's broken promise.
71%%* FakeVideoCameraView
72* FinalGirl: Possibly [[spoiler:Lily, and also Beth]] in an alternate ending.
73* FiveSecondForeshadowing: When the gang arrives at the field hospital, we see a body with a horrendous injury to the stomach being wheeled past the camera; someone mentions it being from 'another bite', telling the observant viewer ''exactly'' what's in store for [[spoiler:Marlena]].
74* FlashbackCut: Due to the fact that the "tape" that is the movie is being filmed on is taping over video from an earlier day, so when the video camera is paused and restarted bits of the original video remain.
75* ForebodingFleeingFlock: As the protagonists travel through the subway, they encounter a huge swarm of rats that are all running in the opposite direction, and [[ProportionatelyPonderousParasites for good reason]]. So the gang start to walk faster.
76* ForegoneConclusion: It says right at the beginning that the video was recovered in Central Park. That doesn't bode well for the characters, being still in the middle of New York.
77* FoundFootageFilms: The movie's style.
78* FreezeFrameBonus:
79** The very last shot of the film, depicting one last home video, shows ''something'' falling into the ocean in the distance for a split second. WordOfGod is that this "something" is [[spoiler:a satellite, the descent of which woke Clover up in the first place]]. It was later said that the "something" is [[spoiler:the monster falling to Earth, indicating it's an alien]].
80** It is hard to make out the fact that [[spoiler:Hud]] [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe gets his legs bitten off]] by the monster unless the scene is watched in slow-motion.
81** During moments of camera damage, stills from ''Film/KingKong1933'', ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'', and ''Film/{{Them}}'' are hidden amid the static.
82** During [[spoiler: Marlena's]] death, at most people will catch [[spoiler: a squelching sound and her blood being sprayed, but if you slow it down, you see the shadow of her body not only visibly swell but after it bursts you can see that all that's left of her midsection afterwards is probably her ''spine''.]]
83* GenderEqualEnsemble: Three boys (Rob, Jason and Hud) and three girls (Beth, Lily and Marlena).
84* GiantEqualsInvincible: In typical {{kaiju}} fashion, nothing the army throws at the monster is able to do more than annoy it. [[spoiler:Even the Hammerdown Protocol, which is either carpet bombing or outright nuking the entire island of Manhattan, seems to have failed to kill it.]]
85* GiantFootOfStomping: From behind an arch, Hud watches a tank desperately fire rounds at Clover, only to see a soldier frantically fleeing from the tank, just before Clover's foot squishes it, soldiers and all.
86* GilliganCut: Hud asks Lily why she wouldn't tell him that Rob and Beth slept together. Hud immediately tells the first random person that he sees and keeps spreading it.
87* GodzillaThreshold: The Hammerdown Protocol -- [[spoiler:the soldier tells the group that the government is willing to "let this whole area go" -- meaning MANHATTAN.]]
88* GoryDiscretionShot: Semi-averted. You get a nice, big, gooey spatter of body parts... from behind a screen.
89* GoshDarnItToHeck: Every utterance of "Oh my god!" in this movie would easily be "fuck" in a real-life situation, and the only reason it isn't is because it would've lost the movie its PG-13 rating.
90* GotTheWholeWorldInMyHand: Tagruato's logo.
91* GratuitousJapanese: The ARG makes continuous references to the Tagruato corporation's old name, 力の手, in kanji. Always. Yes, even in the middle of otherwise English text.
92* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: [[spoiler:Hud]], though nothing too graphic is shown.
93* HelicopterFlyswatter: Near the end of the movie, the monster takes down a helicopter full of evacuees.
94* HellishCopter: [[spoiler:The main characters manage to board evac choppers at the dawn of the second day of the disaster. Needless to say, Clover smacks down the one Hud is on.]]
95* HeroOfAnotherStory: The commentary refers to one background character, who happens to be recording the carnage like Hud, to be a potential one. Along with her, there are many people attending the party who go their separate ways after the attack. The ARG sheds light on a few others -- there's a girl slumped over on a couch at Rob's party. It turns out she's hungover after downing a bunch of the SuperSerum that may have been involved in Clover's creation. The serum was sent to her by her boyfriend, an EcoTerrorist never seen on screen who is trying to take down Tagruato, the corporation that accidentally unleashed Clover. The ARG also followed a few of the partygoers up to the night of the party.
96* HighHeelHurt: Downplayed. Lily gets stuck in heels due to Clover arriving in the middle of a surprise party. Although she doesn't complain, as the film goes on and she has to do things like walk several blocks and run through a subway tunnel in them, she begins to limp visibly, and finally gives up and just takes her shoes off.
97* HopeSpot: Twice. After rescuing Hud's best friend's love interest, and the monster appearing to die, though people know the latter's going to go wrong.
98* HowWeGotHere: Not entirely. Between filming the events, we see a previous recording of Rob and Elizabeth waking up after sleeping together the previous night and going to Coney Island. As we learned later on, Rob totally ignored Elizabeth after that day and was planning to leave to Japan for his new job. The movie and the recording ends with them on a ferris wheel looking towards the ocean [[spoiler:where something has fallen into it]].
99* IronicEchoCut: Twice in the same scene. Lily says she'll tell Hud and Jason why Rob and Beth are so angry at each other if Hud turns off his camera. The next cut is her telling them that Rob and Beth slept together before he decided to move, and Hud's camera is still on but hidden on the floor. Lily then makes the two of them swear not to tell. Cut to Hud telling nearly everyone at the party about it.
100* ItBeganWithATwistOfFate: The film would have been very different had Rob not insisted on going to save his girlfriend. While NYC was in the middle of an [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever attack by a giant]] EldritchAbomination.
101* ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure: The Hammerdown protocol.
102* JitterCam: Justified by the concept, but the film still took flak for triggering motion sickness symptoms in audiences.
103* JumpScare: See SmokeShield below.
104* {{Kaiju}}: Though whether it's a mutant, a reawakened prehistoric monster, or an alien is never explained.
105* LudicrousGibs: The fate of those who get bitten by a parasite. Poor [[spoiler:Marlena]].
106[[/folder]]
107
108[[folder:M-Z]]
109* MadeOfIndestructium: The ''freaking camera.'' It still isn't gone by the end, [[spoiler:surviving longer than the humans do]]. When Clover [[spoiler:eats Hud]], the camera falls ''70 feet'', lands on the ground with a thud, '''and carries on running'''!
110* MaleGaze: When Hud is filming Lily's goodbye to Rob, he instead focuses the camera on Marlena in the background.
111* MatchlightDangerRevelation: As soon as the night-vision goes on, there are parasites right behind them. Justified, because they turned on the night-vision in response to hearing the parasites.
112* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: See FreezeFrameBonus and HowWeGotHere above.
113* MeaningfulName:
114** Hud's name is a play on the term "heads-up display", typically found in first-person games.
115** For Cloverfield, some sources say it's a reference to the monster leaving behind clover-shaped footprints, turning Manhattan into a "cloverfield". Also, clovers are the first plants to grow back in an area after a nuclear strike, which makes a lot of sense if you tend to the theory that [[spoiler:the mysterious "HAMMERDOWN protocol" that was deployed against the monster was a nuclear weapon]].
116%%* {{Mockumentary}}
117* MonumentalDamage: The Art/StatueOfLiberty, if the commercials didn't clue you in. The Brooklyn Bridge gets smashed, too, and so does the [[spoiler:Empire State Building]]. The creature clambers over Grand Central Station in one shot, although it's unclear how much this damages the building.
118* MonsterDelay: A principle aspect of the movie and its marketing was showing as little as possible. For most of the film's runtime, you see only very brief, dark, out-of-focus, and jittery shots of small portions of the monster. Only in the last five minutes is the monster shown fully, in daylight, and close-up.
119* MonsterIsAMommy: Inverted. The monster's a ''baby'' looking for his mommy. [[AllThereInTheManual Not that there's even the slightest]] [[WordOfGod hint of it in the movie]].
120* MoodWhiplash: Intentionally done. Hud was accidentally taping over a cutesy video of the OfficialCouple and a few times when he stops the tape, it cuts to about 30 seconds of sweetness between them.
121* NewscasterCameo: [=NY1=]'s Roma Torre.
122* NextSundayAD: The movie came out in January 2008, and dialogue suggests it is set in May 2009 (Rob says the date is "Saturday May 23", which it was in 2009).
123* NighInvulnerable: Clover the monster. Nothing the military throws at it seems to hurt it; bullets, tank rounds, guided missiles, even a bomb run by a B2 bomber only manages to stun it for a moment. [[spoiler:However, it did not survive a Nuclear Weapon.]] WordOfGod says the creature came from the deep ocean, where [[AllThereInTheManual its strong hide protected it from the extreme water pressure.]]
124* NightVisionGoggles: The camera's night vision mode becomes useful during the subway sequence.
125* NonMaliciousMonster:
126** If WordOfGod is to be believed, the monster itself is not purposely trying to cause trouble -- he's just lost and wants to go home. It does intentionally eat people throughout the film, though.
127** It also attacks since it's confused and frightened, it being only a lost, scared baby animal, after all. (Awww... poor thing!)
128** The same can probably be said of the parasites that fall from Clover's body; they do go around killing everything they see, but don't seem to be more than hungry animals suddenly pried off their element.
129* NothingIsScarier:
130** The times when the characters (and audience) ''know'' the monster is out there but not in sight can be very frightening and tense.
131** The moments leading up to [[spoiler:Hud's death]] are nail-bitingly tense, considering that they consist solely of [[spoiler:Clover eyeing down a terrified Hud and not doing ''anything'']].
132** Also applies to the movie as a whole -- nobody (including the military) knows where Clover came from, no one knows why it's here, all they know is that there's a massive, dangerous monster destroying the city and they need to get the hell out of the city before it finds ''them''.
133* NotListeningToMeAreYou: A variation. Lily suspects Hud isn't even pointing the camera at her when she's saying goodbye to Rob.
134* NotUsingTheZWord: No one says "monster" or even compares Clover to any other Kaiju or monster movie through the entirety of the incident. Blame copyright.
135* NukeEm: [[spoiler:How they try to kill Clover in the end. It either fails or succeeds but draws in its mother.]]
136* OhCrap:
137** Hud's reaction to [[spoiler:Marlena crying blood]].
138** Everyone gets this when [[spoiler:the monster sneaks up on Hud and just ''stares'' at him. Then it eats him]].
139** Even the very beginning gets a bit of an OhCrap from the ''audience'' when "Area formerly known as: Central Park" pops up on the screen, foreshadowing just ''how badly'' New York is about to get trashed.
140* OneWomanWail: Used in "Roar!", the theme playing over the credits.
141* OnlyAFleshWound: Beth is found impaled on a pole in her apartment. She's pulled off it and suffers no problems at all for the rest of the film.
142* OutsideContextProblem: As stated in NothingIsScarier, ''nobody'' knows a damn thing about Clover or the parasites. It just appears, capsizes an oil tanker, decapitates the Statue of Liberty, and goes on an hours-long rampage across Manhattan. All the characters are really concerned with is escaping, while the military tries in vain to kill it [[spoiler: before leveling Manhattan in its entirety]]. The only true hint given is [[spoiler: near the end, while Rob and Beth are at Staten Island and ''something'' can be seen falling from the sky and landing in the water. Beyond that, nothing]]. Rob even says that whoever finds the tape probably knows more about the monster than he does.
143* PartingWordsRegret: Walking through the subway, Robert laments that his last words to Beth were 'Good luck tonight'.
144* PipePain: When the group is being attacked by the parasites in the subway, Marlena saves Hud by attacking one of the parasites with a rusty broken pipe. [[spoiler:Unfortunately this opens her up to get tackled from behind by another parasite and bit]].
145* PoliceAreUseless: Averted, the NYPD and emergency services apparently respond quickly and managed to organize the evacuation of Manhattan fairly efficiently.
146* PopGoesTheHuman: [[spoiler:Anyone's fate when they get bitten by the parasites/ticks, we get a good look at a corpse blown up as a FiveSecondForeshadowing for Marlena's fate.]]
147* Post911TerrorismMovie: The 9/11 imagery is all over the place during the monster's attack. At one point, a party-goer questions if an explosion that happened downtown is the work of terrorists.
148* ProductPlacement: Nokia cellphone batteries become so important to one character that he loots some from an electronics store; Nokia is also the company that places ads to keep you company in those stressful desolate subway room scenes. Nokia phones are vital to the plot. Not to mention thirst-saving, parasite-blocking Mountain Dew. Also, Hud's Nikes get an extended shot at the end.
149* ProportionatelyPonderousParasites: The flea-like creatures that live on Clover, which are roughly dog-sized and capable of hunting humans.
150* PunnyName: The main "cameraman" of the film is named Hud, a reference to "heads up display", an overlaying feature of camcorders, which is abbreviated as H.U.D.
151* PyrrhicVictory: The ending. [[spoiler:Thanks to the bombing, Clover is dead... but so is everyone in Manhattan.]] [[FromBadToWorse Even worse]]...[[spoiler:Clover might have survived HAMMERDOWN.]] Subverted on the last one. [[WordofGod J.J. Abrams confirmed that Clover is dead.]] On the other hand, [[FridgeHorror if this was only a baby...]] what's gonna happen when Mama finds out?
152* RealityHasNoSoundtrack: Has no non-diegetic music, except for the end credits.
153* RedHerring: Much of the marketing for the movie focused on a fictional Japanese drink known as a "Slusho". In the film proper, it has nothing to do with the story, nor is the extensive backstory provided by the marketing mentioned at all, and it's outright contradicted by the ending and the sequels.
154* RealityIsUnrealistic: The Art/StatueOfLiberty head is, according to IMDB, about 50% larger than actual size because audiences thought the true-to-life size head in the teaser trailer looked too small.
155* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Despite the military lockdown on pretty much everything, one soldier not only explains everything to Rob but lets him slip out the back to find Beth.
156* RiddleForTheAges: Because the film follows the perspective of a small group of random civilians, the nature of the monster is left unexplained. All they know is that it's big and it's wrecking up the city. WordOfGod has provided a few more details however.
157* RuleOfPerception: In the end, the monster just shows up, practically on top of the protagonists in Central Park, yet [[SeeNoEvilHearNoEvil no indication of its approach]] is given beforehand, like the fact that the ground quakes when it walks, and it tends to clumsily destroy the surrounding environment wherever it goes. Partly justified, since they're very disoriented after surviving a helicopter crash. Indeed, if you pay attention to the background as they are tending to Rob, you'll notice the remains of the helicopter (in particular a rotor stuck in the ground) [[spoiler:gradually shake more and more with Clover's approach]].
158* SceneryGorn: The movie thrives and thrills itself on absolutely destroying New York City.
159* SeeNoEvilHearNoEvil: The titular monster is somehow able to sneak up on the protagonists after the helicopter crash in the middle of a park with considerably less noise and movement than one would expect, despite the fact that he was in the middle of several buildings a few blocks away perhaps a minute before. In strict fairness, rewatching the key scene reveals warning footsteps and camera-jounce vibrations, but it's still somewhat credibility-stretching how quietly the monster manages to move for this key moment.
160* SequelHook: Pointed out by Abrams himself, being that during the bridge crossing you can see another individual with a camera trying to record everything. Not so much a sequel hook as a possibility for OnceMoreWithClarity. Additionally, some static after the credits that may be resolved into [[spoiler:"It's still alive!"]].
161* ShockParty: Escalated up to eleven: Rob's party turns into a monster invasion on Manhattan.
162* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler:The reason everyone stayed in NYC was to help Rob save Beth. And then Beth and Rob get nuked. So much for that, then. Did I mention that everyone else is either dead or their fate is left uncertain?]]
163* ShortLivedAerialEscape: Our heroes finally manage to get on an evacuation helicopter after their long ordeal. And then [[spoiler:the monster whacks it out of the sky]].
164* ShoutOut:
165** The music at the end especially, though during the blurring moments of the camera, they snuck in frames from Black and White monster movies ''Film/KingKong1933'', ''Film/{{Them}}'', and ''Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms''. The film itself is inspired by Franchise/{{Godzilla}} and other, similar {{B Movie}}s.
166** "Roar!" is one big shout out to the work Akira Ifukube did on the ''Godzilla'' films. The extensive use of brass was a signature part of his style, and it has been said that the piece is very Godzilla-esque.
167** There's the blink-and-you-miss-it [[Series/{{Lost}} Dharma logo]] in the very, very beginning.
168** ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' can be seen playing on a TV.
169* SilentCredits: For a minute or two, at least, then the above music starts up. The credits song, "Roar", has such a quiet build that it's barely audible until about a minute in.
170* SinisterSubway: [[spoiler:The protagonists are attacked by the tick monsters in an abandoned subway. Prior to this, Hud mentions a story he heard about a person who would light homeless people on fire in the subway; the rest of the characters understandably tell him to shut up.]]
171* SkewedPriorities:
172** Subverted. During one scene, a group of bystanders are shown looting an electronics store in the chaos, but eventually they all stop to stare at the live news report on the televisions showing the military attempting to fight the monster.
173** Played straight with Hud's awful, [[spoiler: life-ending]] decision to run back and grab his camera at the end of the film, which gets him screamed at by his two friends.
174* SlipknotPonytail: Lily's hair gradually comes out of its bun after the monster attacks.
175* SmokeShield: [[spoiler:As the characters get on an evac helicopter, they get front-row seats to Clover being bombed and disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Thinking the monster has finally been killed, [[HopeSpot the characters begin rejoicing]]...[[JumpScare only for Clover to jump out of the smoke with a roar and down the helicopter]].]]
176* SpiritualAntithesis: [[invoked]] To ''Film/SnakesOnAPlane'', another horror movie from two years prior about monsters/killer animals that was promoted heavily via internet-based ViralMarketing, in both its marketing campaign and in the film itself. ''Snakes on a Plane'' was a goofy HorrorComedy set in the small ClosedCircle of a passenger jet that fully leaned into and embraced its BMovie stylings, and promoted itself with humorous memes and let internet culture do a lot of the work for it. ''Cloverfield'', meanwhile, was a very serious, straightforward horror flick that took place across New York and relied heavily on NothingIsScarier, promoted with a cerebral AlternateRealityGame that the marketing team kept tight control over.
177* SpiritualSuccessor: The movie itself is considered to be one to ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject''. In fact, many critics referred to it as "''Film/TheBlairWitchProject'' for the Website/MySpace generation."
178* SteelEardrums: Averted. The protagonists are clearly visible holding their hands over their ears when a platoon of soldiers (complete with tank) comes rolling down the street and opening fire on Clover.
179* TheStinger: [[spoiler:After the credits, a voice (reportedly Rob's) can be heard saying "Help us." When reversed, the voice clip says, "It's still alive."]]
180** Zigzagged: [[spoiler: Clover is dead, but something much worse has come...]]
181* SuperCellReception: Most people took issue with how one of the main characters could use his cell phone in the subway station. This, however, was a savvy case of TruthInTelevision, since the MTA is actively wiring subway platforms for cell service, specifically so riders can use their phones during emergencies. Indeed, after much of Manhattan had been smashed into oblivion, the subway station might be the only place where you can still get cellphone service.
182* TearsOfBlood: [[spoiler:"Hud? I don't feel so good..."]]
183* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:Rob and Beth (probably) die after professing their love for one another, in a military bombing aimed at the nearby monster.]]
184* TooDumbToLive:
185** Rob's insistence in heading across the city instead of evacuating [[spoiler:got not only himself but all his friends killed off one at a time through various disasters and monster attacks. His friends are guilty of this too. They choose to accompany Rob even though he points out that they could just evacuate without him]].
186** [[spoiler:Hud would have lived had he not ''gone back for the camera''. Even more ridiculous is that he somehow [[FailedASpotCheck failed to see the monster]] until Rob and Beth's screaming called attention to it, despite the fact that he was [[BehindTheBlack facing towards it.]]]]
187** Instead of getting away from the monster as fast as possible using the most direct route, the helicopter pilot chooses to circle around the monster to watch it get bombarded with missiles. This puts them in range for when the monster lashes out and causes them to crash.
188* TheUnreveal: You pretty much don't know any more about the monster at the end of the movie than you did at the start.
189* ViralMarketing: The first previews of this movie were very mysterious and didn't give much away. This together with other techniques like setting up a convincing fake website, made for very effective viral marketing which was still sort of a fresh idea at the time.
190* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Beth leaves the party with Travis, but he's nowhere to be found when the group finds Beth. [[AllThereInTheManual Bonus material]] states that he was able to escape to New Jersey in time, however.
191* WordSaladTitle: "Cloverfield" is the in-universe designation for the events of the movie, but there's no confirmed source on what, if anything, it has to do with the plot itself. Although the monster was given the production name "Clover" from the title. The name probably came from Cloverfield Boulevard, a street that Abrams passed frequently driving between the studio and his house.
192* WorstAid: Beth is lifted off the rebar she's impaled on, though she suffers few medical consequences for it.
193* YourHeadASplode: [[spoiler:Marlena, who had been poisoned by one of the mini-monsters, is rushed into a curtained-off quarantine area seconds before she seemingly explodes.]] This is [[GoryDiscretionShot obscured by the curtain]], though, so we only see a silhouette, but it's still fairly graphic.
194* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: [[spoiler:When they get into the helicopter and start flying away, you almost think the movie is about done.... only for a very pissed-off monster to attack the helicopter.]]
195* YourSizeMayVary: The monster is portrayed for most of the film as being skyscraper-sized and able to easily crush a tank underfoot, but near the end it's able to grab a single person with its mouth, which doesn't kill them instantly and is also somehow not swallowing them whole.
196[[/folder]]
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