DreDay Tribute: Cloverfield (2008)

I bring sad news that DreDay, SwampCox's founding father, has merged with the infinite. As a tribute to his passion for movies, and the fun times we had with this blog, here's the trailer to Cloverfield.

Not only was Cloverfield one of his first SwampCox posts in 2007, it was one of the first things we talked about when he joined the arthouse movie theater where GhostDog, Exploder, and I worked as projectionists. He loved the movie's viral ARG-esque marketing that rewarded online sleuthing and we spent many a day theorizing on what the monster would look like.

In his own words from 2007-era Swampcox: "Seriously, it's gotta be a giant whale..."

Jon Carpenter's The Thing - 1982

So, I think there's a lesson to be learned about remakes with this movie. And that lesson is that your remake doesn't have to be shitty. Because this one is really, really awesome. It could have to do with the fact that it features Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley and voiceover icon Keith David all in one movie. It might be the special effects and their reliance on animatronics and prostheses, as CGI was not an option in '82 and still doesn't carry the same punch. Most likely it's because it's Jon Carpenter and his keyboard-wielding soundtrack-makin' ways turning a concept he experienced as a child into a paranoid arctic tale of alien horror. But whatever the reason, it should be a study in the successful transformation of a classic into a new classic rather than a toss-away summer blockbuster or crapfest slasher.