Directed by : JJ Abrams

Produced by : Steven Spielberg

Starring : Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Riley Griffiths

“Is this normal?” Alice questions Joe. “No this is new!” Joe replies. Panicking

This conversation might have been revolving around a gripping plot in the movie, where a Rubik cube like thing starts to vibrate and rotate all by itself. The conversation however holds good for the overall Science-fiction genre in Hollywood, which has come a long way from ET and should I also mention that it has matured. You see, it’s not just scary creatures running around the streets of America causing destruction. It’s not just the Yankees screaming and running around, or a larger than life protagonist who tames the creature. It is as practical and realistic as it can get. Super 8 is the evidence that alien movies have evolved and it could very well  go on to become the leading sci-fi grosser of 2011.

The plot revolves mainly around Joe (Joel Courtney) , Alice (Elle Fanning), Charles (Riley Griffiths). Charles is directing a Zombie movie along with his friends. Joe is the make-up, art and special effects guy. Alice is the leading lady in the movie. While they are shooting for the movie, there is a strange train crash. The series of events post the train crash pose numerous questions in the little town of Lillian. Kyle Chandler plays Joe’s father and also the town’s deputy sheriff.

Produced by Spielberg it surely grabbed global attention right from the first teaser campaign. JJ Abrams, the director manages to keep the curiosity tight and thrills till the end, not to mention the amazing special effects and intensity of action sequences. It amazes me, how the director who has also written the script takes two genres and blends them perfectly. It has the genre involving kids but it does not bore you to the extent that a full fledged kids’ movie would. It also has the extra terrestrial genre but does not focus too much on destruction and gore. One can appreciate the depth of thinking when there is a scene involving a young store owner discovering the beauty of the invention of a walkman, and that is the time when the creature begins to invade the surroundings.

Don’t just walk away from the movie hall when you see the end-credits rolling, you should wait for “The Case” submitted by Charles. The disastrous zombie movie gets completed and is ready to be screened in the Super 8 film festival. See that’s how this movie got its name.  Elle Fanning is not only charming but she can act really well too. Child prodigy we should say.

“Are Zombies real?” wonders the detective of “The Case” movie.

–Varun Mannava Gowtham.