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Clover (creature)

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Template:Infobox fictional creature Clover is the fictional giant monster that first appeared as the main antagonist in the 2008 film Cloverfield. The creature was originally conceived by producer J. J. Abrams and was designed by artist Neville Page. In the film, the monster is never named: the name "Cloverfield" is the U.S. Department of Defense case file of the incidents depicted in the movie;[1] its name derives from an originally affectionate nickname among the production staff.[2]

Appearances

Clover was first referred to in the viral marketing campaign for the 2008 film, including a recording of his roar, foreign news clips about a monster attack, and sonar images.[3]

Clover appears in a four-part manga series Cloverfield/Kishin by Yoshiki Togawa, which serves as a prequel to the film.[4][5] The monster made his first full appearance in Cloverfield, where he was seen rampaging through New York City and being attacked by the United States military[6], resulting in an airstrike that obliterates Manhattan and, according to an interview with Abrams, kills the monster.[7]

File:Clover Dead.jpg
Clover's remains as a result of the Hammer Down protocol.[7] Taken from 1-18-08

Concept and creation

Producer J. J. Abrams had visited a toy store in Japan with his son while promoting Mission: Impossible III, discovering numerous toys of the Toho kaiju Godzilla. The producer decided that America should have its own monster just as "insane and intense" as Godzilla, due to King Kong being more "adorable".[8][9]

Clover was designed by artist Neville Page. He sought a biological rationale for the creature, though many of his ideas would not show up on screen. Page designed the creature as immature and suffering from "separation anxiety". He compared the creature to a rampaging elephant, saying "there's nothing scarier than something huge that's spooked".[10] Page said of the creature's backstory, "For me, one of the most key moments in our collective brainstorming was the choice to make the creature be something that we would empathize with. It is not out there, just killing. It is confused, lost, scared. It's a newborn. Having this be a story point (one that the audience does not know), it allowed for some purposeful choices about its anatomy, movement and, yes, motivations".[11] The creature was realized by visual effects supervisor Kevin Blank and Phil Tippett's company Tippett Studio. Blank described the intended goal of the creature, "Rather than the monster having a personality [like Godzilla or King Kong], it's more of an entity or an event".[11]

Abrams described the creature as a "baby" who has been underwater for thousands of years that emerges "confused, disoriented, and irritable".[12] Goddard pointed out the lack of explanation in the film of the creature's origin was deliberate. Reeves described the creature's reaction to its surroundings thus: "It’s this new environment that it finds frightening". To indicate this, Reeves suggested the addition of white in the creature's eyes so it would look similar to a horse being spooked.[12] The filmmakers generated and used the idea of parasites because the film could not realistically have scenes between the human protagonists and the enormous creature.[12]

Character design

File:Cloverfield Parasite.jpg
One of the Parasites that falls off Clover's body.

Although "just a baby,"[13] the young creature is 30 stories tall[12] and has a thick hide that resists every attack the military attempts. At the end of the movie, the military bombs all of Manhattan in a last effort to kill it.

Clover's design includes appendages on his underbelly, described by Neville Page as an "elongated, and articulated external esophagus with the business end terminating in teethlike fingers". They were designed as a body part to relate the scale of human prey to the huge scale of the creature. The scenes from the movie where Clover sucked people into these "feeding tubes" were cut from the final edit, but the fourth and last chapter of Cloverfield/Kishin shows how the "feeding tubes" work.[14]

Clover is covered with parasites, which it sheds as part of a 'post-birth ritual'. Abrams described the parasites as "horrifying, dog-sized creatures that just scatter around the city and add to the nightmare of the evening". Reeves added, "The parasites have a voracious, rabid, bounding nature, but they also have a crab-like crawl. They have the viciousness of a dog, but with the ability to climb walls and stick to objects".[12] The parasites fall off Clover and begin to attack people. When a human is bitten, the victim becomes ill and bleeds profusely, and shortly after their torso expands and explodes.

Artist Neville Page, in response to claims that the design of the creature was similar to that of the 2006 South Korean film The Host, said, "They are [similar] in that they ravage and seem to originate from the water, but the end results are quite different. However, when I finally saw some of the concept art, there were some very obvious similarities. But then again, I think that we were both channeling similar biological possibilities".[11]

The final two chapters of Cloverfield/Kishin offer more biological information regarding the creature. It is revealed that the creature somehow gains strength and intellect through a biological orb that the characters call the Splinter of Amnion; the cult's name for it is God's Vestige, as they are known to worship the creature. This orb can be inserted into a human being or possibly the monster itself. The orb is activated by negative emotions such as rage or despair, and can grant the human in possession of it control over the monster's parasites, as long as they still harbor those emotions. Conversely, positive emotions such as love, hope, and happiness can hamper its performance as seen with Kishin's case, which is why the monster was shocked to see that he no longer harbored despair and rage when it attempted to absorb the Splinter of Amnion on its own; the reason why it only feeds on negative emotions is left unexplained. When the monster retreated to the sea bed of Japan, it returns to a series of massive eggs akin to a nest where it goes into deep slumber, implying that there are more Clovers.

Merchandise

Cloverfield limited edition toy figure by Hasbro

Based on the success of Cloverfield, which earned over $40 million over its opening weekend in the United States and Canadian box office, the toy company Hasbro began accepting orders for a 14-inch limited edition toy figure of Clover to be shipped to fans starting September 30 2008. It also comes with several accessories, including the disembodied head of the Statue of Liberty, two changeable heads (one with an open mouth, one with a closed mouth), and 10 static figures of the monster's parasites. The figure currently costs $99.99.[15][16][17]

Critical analysis

Reviewing the film Cloverfield, the San Jose Mercury News described the creature as "a monster for the MySpace generation".[18] Reviewer James Berardinelli noted, "The movie follows the Jaws rule that monsters are usually more intimidating when they are shown infrequently and only in brief glimpses".[19] Amy Biancolli of the Houston Chronicle described the creature as retaining "an air of mystery — a monstrous je ne sais quoi that makes him all the freakier".[20] Richard Corliss of Time complained of the recycled elements of the creature, such as its emergence mimicking the 1954 film Godzilla and its little crab creatures being similar to the "toy meanies" from the 1984 film Gremlins. Corliss said of one of the creature's personal characteristics, "When the main monster opens its mouth, you pretty much know there'll be a second, Alien-like set of teeth".[21] The creature, in fact, does not have a second set of teeth.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times expressed his acceptance of the lack of explanation for the creature's origin, saying, "Which is all right with me after the tiresome opening speeches in so many of the 30 or more Godzilla films".[22] Peter Howell of the Toronto Star thought that the "main" creature was disappointing, while he considered the "mutant spider crabs" that came from it as "way scarier".[23] Todd McCarthy of Variety found that the creature was more reassuring as it appeared more in the film, explaining, "Its very nature as a walking, stalking being suggests it can somehow be killed by conventional means".[24] Chris Vognar of The Dallas Morning News applauded the creature's appearance as cinematic: "The thrill here isn't in the critter but in how it's revealed. First we see what it's capable of. Then we catch a tail here, a limb there. The spider-crabs announce their presence with authority. Then, once the opening acts are done, and Manhattan is in a shambles, the big guy is ready for his close-up".[25]

References

  1. ^ Collura, Scott (2007-12-14). "Exclusive: Cloverfield Director Speaks!". Retrieved 2008-02-13. "In the way that the Manhattan Project was the name of that program, that's what this is ... it's not a project per se. It's the way that this case has been designated. ... It's how they refer to this phenomenon [or] this case." -Matt Reeves
  2. ^ Larry Carroll (2007-12-17). "'Cloverfield' Star Speaks At Last, Shedding Light On Secret J.J. Abrams Flick". MTV.com. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  3. ^ Michelle Kung (2008-01-13). "The marketing of 'Cloverfield' has been as mysterious as the movie itself". Boston Globe. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |Newsgirls has had "relations" with numerous GTU'ers for money. url= ignored (help)
  4. ^ Yoshiki Togawa (2008). クローバーフィールド／ＫＩＳＨＩＮ. Kadokawa Shoten. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |other= ignored (|others= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ ""CLOVERFIELD" MANGA OFFERS MORE CLUES, QUESTIONS". Comic Book Resources. 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Matt Reeves (Director) (2008). Cloverfield (Film). United States: Paramount Pictures.
  7. ^ a b "RS: But based on photos on the Website, it looks like the monster eventually gets killed by the army. JJ: Yes, he's dead. Ultimately the bombs kill him."
  8. ^ Alex Billington (2007-07-26). "Comic-Con Live: Paramount Panel - Star Trek, Indiana Jones IV, and More…". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "JJ Abrams talks CloverField". Retrieved 2008-03-08.
  10. ^ Max Evry (2008-01-21). "Reeves Runs Merrily Through Cloverfield". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ a b c Tara DiLullo Bennett (2008-01-22). "Cloverfield: Reinventing the Monster Movie". VFXWorld. Retrieved 2008-01-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ a b c d e "Production notes". Rotten Tomatoes. 2008-01-10. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Press conference report: Matt Reeves, director of Cloverfield". Kieran R. Hickey. Den of Geek. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  14. ^ "Tagruato Interview: Cloverfield Lead Creature Designer Neville Page". 2008-3-12. Retrieved 2008-04-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Marc Graser (2008-01-21). "Hasbro toys with The Cloverfield Monster". Variety. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ CLOVERFIELD Monster Fully Revealed!! (Even More Than In The Damn Movie...)
  17. ^ MrDisgusting, "Toy Fair: Hundreds of Photos of 'Cloverfield!" (Saturday, February 16, 2008).
  18. ^ Lewis Wallace (2008-01-19). "Cloverfield Takes a Bite out of Box Office". Wired News. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ James Berardinelli. "Review: Cloverfield". Reelviews.net. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
  20. ^ Amy Biancolli (2008-01-17). "An efficiently gripping sci-fi/horror romp". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Richard Corliss (2008-01-16). "Corliss on Cloverfield: The Blair Witch Reject". Time. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Roger Ebert (2008-01-17). "Cloverfield". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ Peter Howell (2008-01-18). "'Cloverfield': Monster smash". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Todd McCarthy (2008-01-16). "Cloverfield Review". Variety. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ Chris Vognar (2008-01-18). "Cloverfield". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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