18 Years Ago Today, This Great Monster Movie Completely Changed the Game for Hollywood (& Its Sequel Is Even Better)

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January isn’t usually a great month for new movies, but it can be surprisingly good for horror fans. We’ve already seen a fantastic release with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Generally, though, studios often release films they don’t have high expectations for at this time of year. However, one recent movie completely defied that trend. It received a solid marketing boost from the studio, but it wasn’t a costly production – and that turned out to be a brilliant move, as the film was a huge success.

The film Cloverfield launched with a brilliant marketing strategy that really grabbed people’s attention and left them wanting to know more. While Cloverfield was good, the sequel actually surpassed it.

What Made Cloverfield Such a Movie of the Moment & What Made 10 Cloverfield Lane Even Better?

What made the movie Cloverfield so captivating—and affordable to make—was its use of the ‘found footage’ style, similar to what launched The Blair Witch Project in 1999. The main difference is that instead of a hidden witch, Cloverfield features a giant monster we only see in brief shots.

Following the success of Cloverfield, Avatar sparked a revival of 3D movies, and the films that did best (like Alice in Wonderland) were released soon after. A similar thing happened with found footage films after Paranormal Activity brought the style back in 2007. Cloverfield really benefited from this renewed interest. Several things came together at the perfect time: people were interested in the found footage technique again, audiences wanted something fresh (movies were already over-relying on trailers, so a mysterious film was appealing), and J.J. Abrams was becoming a well-known name.

This film was a major turning point for several people involved. For J.J. Abrams, it paved the way for directing the next Star Trek movie and, later, the first and third films in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. It also launched Matt Reeves’s big-screen career; while he’d directed The Pallbearer earlier, this led to him directing the well-received Let Me In, and eventually, the Planet of the Apes and DC films. The movie marked the first screenplay by Drew Goddard, who would later make his directorial debut with The Cabin in the Woods. Plus, Cloverfield helped boost the careers of several actors, including T.J. Miller, Lizzy Caplan, and Odette Annable.

Simply put, Cloverfield was a significant film. It launched the careers of several talented people and proved how effective a smart marketing strategy could be – the movie earned over $170 million despite only costing $25 million to make. However, 10 Cloverfield Lane is the stronger film overall.

The “found footage” style often tries to feel personal, but it can come across as artificial. However, films like 10 Cloverfield Lane, which center around just three characters in one place, genuinely achieve intimacy. This is partly due to the limited setting, but also because the script carefully develops each character. Strong performances from John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr., and particularly Mary Elizabeth Winstead, ensure the film’s emotional moments resonate powerfully.

Like the first Cloverfield film, 10 Cloverfield Lane featured some impressive creative talent, including people early in their careers. Damien Chazelle, who later directed Whiplash and La La Land, co-wrote the screenplay. J.J. Abrams returned as a producer, and the film marked Dan Trachtenberg’s first time directing a feature film. Trachtenberg later found success revitalizing the Predator franchise with Prey and other installments like Predator: Killer of Killers and Predator: Badlands.

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2026-01-18 18:43