The Super 8 riddle

As famous as J.J. Abrams is for his creative shenanigans on "Alias" and "Lost", and a cleverly witty Star Trek reboot, he is getting just as much of a reputation for ultra secretive, super hush-hush projects that are advertised through enigmas in trailer disguise.

Yes, you read that last part correctly.

It happened with the Cloverfield marketing machine, it happened when Star Trek was merely in its inception, and now we are treated to a teaser trailer for Super 8, a film that Abrams is collaborating on with none other than Steven Spielberg, one of the most imaginative filmmakers that ever existed.

Like many others, I enjoy deciphering the little clues that Abrams gives us; hell, I like figuring out if there are clues to decipher in the first place. Talk about cloak and dagger! While the Cloverfield trailer hinted at a disastrous event through the now iconic shot of the Statue of Liberty's head flying through a somberly fragmented New York night, Super 8 is more vague, though seemingly not more sinister. Yes, there is mention of a conspiracy and a shot of some thing attempting to break free out of a railroad car, which led some fans to believe that this is the long-awaited sequel to the monster film, the rumor which was squashed the very same day. They do share an air of mystery, however, which is exactly what made Cloverfield a much-anticipated novelty in the best sense of the word, and which is the aspect of this coming attraction that I believe will draw the audiences in.

Another thought that comes to mind is that, apart from the epic beauty that was Avatar and that deserves its own category, I have not seen many original and/or entertaining alien sub-genre flicks in the past decade, making the market ripe for one of those suckers to burst out through a proverbial human. Most of the films that came out were extremes -- either underdeveloped or over the top. Both Alien vs. Predator films went largely unnoticed, the first Species film had already started off on a too-high end of the camp spectrum to continue properly and no, we do not discuss Men in Black 2 in this region of Blogland. The mention of Area 51 in the Super 8 trailer makes me think of a possible Cloverfield prequel, but I cannot believe that Abrams would make it that easy. Many fans have noticed an image of a little boy toward the end, which makes me think that the movie might be along the lines of Close Encounters of the Third Kind on acid, a science-fiction piece with a LOT of scream-worthy action sequences and a bit of fantasy thrown in for good measure. Either way, I would think aliens were a safe bet, what with hints at the most mystifying terrain of all, telekinesis and similarly nifty details. Just like he put the juice back into the monster sub-genre, Abrams would be the right filmmaker to lend a new slant to alien lifeforms.

To sum it up, I am really looking forward to Super 8. The only thing better than solving a puzzle is speculating as to what type of puzzle one is about to be solving, and J.J. Abrams is especially adept at giving us the gift of guesswork, before one of his cinematic joyrides hits the big screen near you.

Here is the Super 8 trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPcta5V5dA0 Discuss and enjoy.