Set in the winter of 1979, the film begins with the death of Elizabeth Lamb, wife of Deputy Sheriff Jack and mother to Joe Lamb. Elizabeth's death has had a profound effect on the family she's left behind and it's clear that even 4 months down the line, the pair aren’t coping.
Whilst Jack throws himself into work, neglecting his fatherly duties, young Joe successfully distracts himself by providing make-up, special effects and sound for his friend Charles’ home zombie movie entitled ‘The Case’. Keen to stake his claim in the ‘Super 8 Filmmaker Competition’, Charles is focused and bossy – everything a young director should be. With the help of his team, Joe, Martin, Alice, Cary and Preston, the film is shot in secret at midnight. Filming on a very low budget, Charles is obsessed with ‘production value’, so when the opportunity arises to film one scene whilst an air force train hurtles past in the background he jumps on it. Unfortunately the crew get more then they bargain for when Joe spots a truck driving in front of the train, causing it to dramatically derail right in front of their eyes.
The effects of the train crash are simply breath-taking. Whilst the six kids are literally running for their lives, giant shards of metal are rocketing up into the air and coming down just as quick, explosions are whistling in every direction and flames are roaring - licking away at the already destroyed remains of this disaster. To put it simply, the scene is a total warzone. The aftermath is just as overwhelming, serving up a platter of charred metal, thousands of mysterious white metal cubes and a half-dead truck driver, Dr Woodward, who scares the children off and swears them to secrecy, “they will kill you; do not speak of this”. Suffice to say they make a speedy exit, just missing the arrival of dozens of air force troops.
From there on out, strange things start happening in the town of Lillian, Ohio. Power outages, dogs running away, electricals simply disappearing and decimated property seems like just the tip of the iceberg. “This feels like a Russian invasion”. Soon people are going missing and a strong military presence becomes apparent in the town. Whilst the kids pretend they know nothing about the crash and try to continue with filming, they are constantly disrupted and frightened by everything that’s happened. Their fear is multiplied when Joe and Charles discover that on the night of the crash, they inadvertently left the camera rolling, capturing footage of a creature emerging from the wreckage...
The air force is quick to find an excuse to evacuate the town, blaming wild fires when in actual fact they are searching for the monster that was being transported on the train. Jack Lamb, as Deputy Sheriff, keeps pressing the military to keep him in the loop and soon goes too far by listening in on a radio frequency utilised by the air force. Jack is placed under ‘military arrest’ for poking around too much whilst Joe is taken to a secure location with the rest of the town. Upon arrival, the kids soon discover from Alice’s father that she has been ‘taken’ by the monster. The boys don’t hesitate to sneak back into to town to save Alice. After digging around in Dr Woodward’s office, hoping they can find some clue about the location of the alien creature, the boys accidentally discover the true identity of ‘him’, his origins and most importantly that he’s been held prisoner by the military since it’s ship crashed to earth 1958.
Unfortunately the air force catches wind of their presence in the town and, upon finding the kids, bundle them into an unused school bus. Thirsty for revenge, it’s no surprise that our angered alien attacks the bus with full force, overturning it and inflicting his wrath on the inhabitants. The boys manage to quickly escape through a broken window; the air force operatives aren’t so lucky. This is where we get out first full shot of the alien, as only snippets in reflections are shown up until now. He is extremely tall, gangly, grey and, dare I say, suspiciously like a certain monster in another J.J. Abrams movie...
The boys make their getaway whilst the alien chows down on some prime military rib and Joe and Cary go it alone to the alien’s lair, hoping to rescue Alice.
Underneath the Lillian water tower the boys find Alice, as wells as dozens of other kidnapped people too, all strung up and ready to be the alien’s next meal. Pyromaniac Cary causes a firecracker-induced distraction and Joe makes a grab for Alice. The alien is too quick for the trio however, and they find themselves back into a corner. The alien swipes Joe from the floor below, bringing them face to face and it’s almost as if on touch they understand each other, forming a psychic bond. Joe tells the creature to go and, strangely enough, it does. After all, from the very beginning he just wanted to reconstitute its ship and return home. Upon reaching an understanding, the kids make a swift exit while they can and emerge outside to be reunited with their parents and in time to see the alien making his spectacular departure into the night sky.
But this isn’t the end. As the credits roll for the film, we finally get to see the finished product of ‘The Case’ and boy, was it worth the wait. Funny and overly-dramatic, it’s the perfect finish to the film.
Overall I found Super 8 to be superb. It encapsulated the seventies styling really well and there was never a dull moment. As for the cinematography, it really was flawless; the special effects were an absolute triumph and the camera angles well thought out. Abrams’ classic blue lens flare that he employs in many of his shows, including Fringe, was also used well and almost reminiscent of the approach used in Close Encounters. As for the story itself, it wasn’t bursting with originality but it was unassuming and placed a lot of emphasis on a beautiful coming of age tale; you couldn’t help but empathise with the kids and their aspirations. I also really enjoyed that they used reasonably fresh talent and not the typical Hollywood starlets - it made the film feel more realistic.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the film is the next Goonies or ET, but it certainly is up there in the ranks. Following in the footsteps of films like Stand By Me, it’s brought something back to cinema that’s been missing since the early 80s and its innocent, authentic and lovingly put-together look and feel truly shows what greatness can occur when two remarkable directors/producers work in tandem. Plus, most importantly, it doesn’t shy away from blood and gore – success!
With its uplifting score and an overall innocent, heart-warming tale, Super 8 is doubtlessly my favourite film of the summer, if not the year: 9/10
