There's a John Carpenter Easter egg in the 2008 movie Cloverfield that pays homage to the legendary director's filmography. The American monster movie—produced by J.J. Abrams, written by Drew Goddard, and directed by Matt Reeves—centers on a group of young people who attempt to survive an apparent alien invasion on New York City. The movie uses a found footage style to follow the New Yorkers as they attempt to rescue a friend and escape the Big Apple, all while avoiding the monster ("Clover"), its parasites, and gunfire from soldiers trying to destroy the creature.
Cloverfield has garnered a cult following since its 2008 release, and spawned two sequels——10 Cloverfield Lane in 2016 and The Cloverfield Paradox in 2018. The franchise's success can be largely credited to its cleverly hidden Easter eggs. Among the many hidden messages is the LOST Dharma Initiative logo—a nod to J.J. Abrams' hit show. Another is the "Tagruato" logo—a fictional Japanese brand invented by the filmmakers as part of its alternative reality game (ARG), which included fake websites and news footage. In the ARG, players learn that Tagruato was the drilling company responsible for discovering the monster. The logo can briefly be spotted when Hud is crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. Additionally, the logo for the fictional drink brand Slusho!—also seen in Fringe, Alias, Heroes, and Star Trek—appears on Rob's t-shirt. In the ARG, it's learned that Slusho! Is a subsidiary of Tagruato.
A lot of the other Easter eggs are glimpses of creatures from classic monster movies, seen when the camera cuts back to older footage. Among them are the THEM! ant monster, the 2,000 Fathoms beast, and King Kong himself. The first one happens during the first cut back, the second shot pops up after the friends escape the subway tunnels, and the last image comes up as the Clover monster lunges at the helicopter that Rob, Hud, and Beth are trapped inside.
Cloverfield's John Carpenter Easter Egg Explained
During an interview with IGN, Reeves spoke about the Cloverfield scene in which the head of the Statue of Liberty flies off and lands on the street. "The inspiration came from the poster of Escape from New York," Reeves explained. "The poster had an image on it of the head of the Statue of Liberty and that image was nowhere in the movie! And it's an incredibly provocative image. And that was the source that inspired J.J. to say, 'Now this would be an interesting idea for a movie.'"
Indeed, that famous Cloverfield scene in which the head of the Statue of Liberty crashes onto a Manhattan street is a nod to horror movie legend John Carpenter's Escape from New York, a science-fiction movie that came out in 1981, and supposedly is getting a remake. The movie, which starred Kurt Russell, had a theatrical release poster that depicted crowds running through a city street—with the head of the Statue of Liberty laying slanted in the middle of it. By portraying this nearly exact image in his own movie, Abrams was paying homage to Carpenter, whose 1970s and '80s horror and science-fiction movies certainly influenced his career.