Super 8

Rating: 4/10 (23 November 2012)

The primary issue with Super 8 as a horror film is that it has essentially two plot lines, which draws attention away from the creature. This means that the film itself is very good as a story about the children, but the story about the creature doesn't work. A horror film's main purpose is to frighten the audience, and this is clearly not the case with Super 8. Abrams leaves many answers around the monster unanswered, and the audience only learns enough information to understand what the creature wants. We never learn how the creature was found, or even why it was being moved. There are no plot twists, even in the better half of the film, and the sequences that create fear and suspense are few and far between. As an entertaining film, Super 8 is very well done, but as a horror film it fails completely. It simply does not scare the audience with any lasting effect.