Not since The Blair Witch Project has a film so extensively launched a viral marketing campaign like this… (Back then, a website alone was enough!)

I’m bound to get some of this backwards, since I haven’t seen the film, but here goes… Cloverfield is a story about some kind of monster/alien/sea creature that attacks New York. Much like it’s occult-themed predecessor, the story is said to be told through friends who were filming a party with their video cameras, again with a hand-held look. And also like Blair Witch, it’s been highly publicized both as a film, and as a faux news story. But that’s not the only reason I find it interesting.

Their initial tease has gone far beyond the typical teaser type previews that we’re used to. (Frightened actors, and fleeting glimpses of the enemy.) They’ve gone so far as to launch fictional clips on YouTube of the monster coming to shore, prior to the release date. They’ve also created an invitation to the party on MySpace, and the list goes on. More than anything, I hope the film is actually entertaining and maybe does something as unique with the script as they have with the marketing.

Cloverfield opens 1/18/08. Enjoy the clips:

Official Movie Trailers
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/cloverfield/

English News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KarNwKx5mGY

Japanese News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO2Si3SlY18

Moscow News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWotblAy6Zk