There is little doubt that Cloverfield was one of the scariest sci-fi horror flicks ever released and it had a lot to do with the found-footage concept. But it also introduced a truly terrifying monster that went on a rampage all over New York City. But why destroy the Big Apple? Director Matt Reeves explains the alien's motivations.
In Cloverfield, a group of New Yorkers are recording a video at a party when the monster attacks and all chaos breaks loose. Since the story unfolds through the found footage, we never really get a clear look at the monster and why it has attacked New York. Still, Matt Reeves confirms with Syfy that they had worked out an entire backstory for the creature.
"For sure we did," he said. "Because you have to figure how to direct the monster, so to speak. So you have to understand what's going on with them emotionally."
But why did it attack New York? Reeves pointed out that the creature didn't mean to do this since it was only an infant.
"And for me, the big secret was that the monster was a baby and was experiencing separation anxiety," The Batman director stated. "The reason the monster was freaking out is because they were having fits based on looking for their mother. And so, [the monster] was just as afraid as the main characters, because it seems like there would be nothing more terrifying than the human element fighting this giant monster element and, actually, both of them are just terrified."
"That's a mess. That's not good," Reeves continued. "So that part of it was absolutely something that we talked about in the development of the creature and in terms of how I shot it."
The monster only appeared in the first film and was nowhere to be found in the sequel 10 Cloverfield Lane. A larger version of the creature shows up in the final scene of The Cloverfield Paradox.
Related: The Batman 2 Director Teases Surprising Villain For Sequel
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