Super 8 (2011)

Writer and Director: J.J. Abrams

There are those films we saw growing up that captured our hearts, and the hearts of children everywhere, inspiring a wave of children to become filmmakers. Films like E.T. and The Goonies made entire families come together for an experience they would never forget, all thanks to Steven Spielberg’s genius storytelling. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a family film of the same calibre that can capture that special kind of magic, where relatable kids can overcome their issues, fight the government and save the day. Super 8 by J.J. Abrams attempts to reclaim this magic for a new generation of children. With Steven Spielberg producing, the night sky is filled with lights, kids solve mysteries on bicycles, and an alien fights to return home, very much channelling the magic that happened in the early 80’s, whilst updating it with modern-day production values.

1979, suburban Ohio. After the accidental death of his mother, 12-year-old Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) assists his intense friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) in creating a zombie film, shot on a Super 8mm camera, for the local film festival. Keeping it a secret from his single father, Deputy Jack Lamb (Kyle Chandler), because that’s what all filmmakers do, they scout for locations, improve costumes and break numerous lines to create their masterpiece. The beautiful Alice (Elle Fanning) is roped into playing the femme fatale, but goes so far as to steal her drunken father’s car to drive the crew to their location, the train station. When Charles hears a train coming, it’s all hands on deck to get the shot in the bag, for expert “production value”. As they’re taking the shot, a truck merges onto the tracks, heading straight for the oncoming train. The film continues rolling during the massive explosion which flings carriages and debris through the air, to land inches away from the fleeing children, and causing more explosions in the climactic chain reaction. In the aftermath, the children find the gun-toting brutalised body of the truck-driver, their biology teacher. He warns them to never tell anyone about what happened that night, and their interview is cut short by the arrival of the U.S. air force, to clean up the mess and any witnesses.

The next day, the gang discovers mysterious goings-on all throughout the town. The Sheriff is missing, replaced by the Deputy; the cars at a sales lot all have their engines vanished; a shop is missing twenty microwaves. The adults are slow on the uptake, as they always are, but the children are on the case. After getting the footage of that fateful night developed, they uncover what was really on that train, and why the Air Force is trying to wipe the town clean: an alien, stranded on earth, captured and experimented upon by the government, trying to build a ship to carry it home.

For the first hour, this film is brilliant. It perfectly unites a team of fantastically-acted and emotionally ripe children (including a next generation Sean Astin), and conjures up brilliantly the nostalgic feel of E.T. and The Goonies. Shooting their film on an obsolete camera adds to the effect. But then somewhere in there, Cloverfield happens. Super 8 quickly becomes E.T. without the loveable Extra Terrestrial, replaced by a mysterious and illusive monster, preying on hapless victims from behind. The heart is replaced by terror, and bloodshed. There is a surprising amount of violence for something meant for children. The alien works on the less is more theory, the audience glimpsing shadows, the occasional arm, and the standard flash-frame as it lunges towards its terrified victim. Such a dark contrast to the previous scenes leaves a disconnection between the two worlds, and they never really mesh.

There is also an extreme amount of lens flares in the film, no doubt left over from Abrams previous film, Star Trek. Almost every second shot is adorned with a blue streak stabbing across the frame, including flares from lights that don’t even exist. There is an appropriate time and place for flares. A time where they are not appropriate however, is when the lead character descends into a pitch black series of underground caves, where there is absolutely no possible light source, ergo no possible flare. But there one is, gracing our screen with its majestic presence.

Nevertheless, Super 8 remains a quality film, nostalgic for a style that has long since been left behind in favour of big stupid blockbusters. True, the film does have some blockbuster elements based in it, and these tend to detract from the magic, but they’re well made up for by the emotional depth to the characters. It looks and feels identical to a Spielberg film of three decades ago, which inspired a generation to become filmmakers. Hopefully this film will do the same.

The end credits are the highlight of the film, showing the results of the crew’s hard labour, complete with line breaks, jump cuts, and crash zooms.

3½ / 5