I just found myself thinking about Cloverfield. It feels relevant for some reason. The movie blew me away when I first saw it. The story had captured something about how it felt to be an American at the time.

A friend told me his Norwegian relative saw the movie in an almost empty theater in Oslo, and said it was the first time he understood how Americans felt on 9-11.

He nailed it. Notice how hard it was to actually figure out what was attacking. You know it’s a monster, but you can’t figure out what kind of monster. First it’s huge, so it’s Godzilla, then it’s a parasite, so it’s Alien. Then it’s got weapons and technology, so it’s War of the Worlds. Nothing quite fits.

The characters in the movie were like people in New York during 9-11. It’s like, you don’t have time to figure out the nature of the threat, you just run your ass off and try to survive.

So what kind of movie monster was the thing in Cloverfield? It’s related to the zombie I think, a thing that defies categories. It’s existentially threatening, but it doesn’t make sense. It’s kind of like the monster in The Thing too, now that I think of it.

It’s not just the physical monster that makes it so scary. It’s the idea. We don’t understand it and it might be the end of the world. Remember when the Statue of Liberty head falls? Pretty strong hint.

Kinda like how 9-11 wasn’t just a terrorist attack, it was so symbolically powerful and beyond comprehension, it became a hyperobject, a frightening idea beyond comprehension.

Also, see 10 Cloverfield Lane if you haven’t. It’s a very different movie than Cloverfield, but it’s excellent. John Goodman should have won an Oscar.