The marketing machine behind "re-imagined" creature feature Cloverfield is still cranking out clues and behind-the-scenes details about the famously cryptic flick.
The J.J. Abrams-produced movie, which trashed box-office records on its opening weekend, hits DVD on Tuesday. The home version is chock-full of bonus features and is less likely to nauseate viewers than the big-screen showings. Specialty editions from major retailers come packaged with extras like ringtones.
Our advice? Skip the alternate endings on the DVD. More like alternate edits, the two minor variants feature slightly different clips of the daytime footage of lovers Rob and Beth at Coney Island. These bits offer a cheery counterpoint to the jittery scenes of death and destruction that make up the bulk of the movie, but the alternate versions aren't all that different from the original.
Instead, head straight to the meaty featurettes on the *Cloverfield *DVD.
In one, T.J. Miller, who plays videocam-toting fountain of comic relief
Hud, shoots behind-the-scenes footage with the cast and crew in a video diary that's as much fun as his goofball commentary from the movie.
Another mini-feature explores the visual effects of creating a city under attack, and the art of crafting the E.T.-lookalike slothy beast that causes so much havoc in the film. (Want a hint? The trick is to cross a dog and a great white shark.)
In conjunction with the DVD release, a new Cloverfield viral-marketing site offers 15 exclusive extras only available online. The catch? The clips, which range from cast interviews to a closer look at the subway tunnel parasites, must be unlocked by solving some kind of puzzle. Having trouble deciphering the clues and unscrambling the footage? Online sleuths have done the work for you.
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