The best monster movies have always been reflections of the fears of the day. Aliens, giant insects, vampires and indestructible serial killers have been the fare at times when people were uptight about sex, worried about radiation, on Communist witch-hunts or afraid of disease; each fear could be embodied by a Hollywood monster.

But the best movies didn’t rely on how realistic the presentation was; it was more about a sympathetic hero and the terrifying opposition they must try and defeat to stay alive, rescue a loved one, save the world, etc. The typical formula is to get the audience to develop some kind of identification with the protagonist, although sometimes the monster can be portrayed as a tragic character and the audience, while understanding that he/she/it must be destroyed for the greater good, can feel compassion for its suffering, however necessary it might be so that the hero can go on.

JJ Abrams’ Cloverfield, while hyped as redefining the monster-movie genre by introducing a completely “new and unique” beast that America can call its own, the movie is more like a long YouTube video with a bigger budget.
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