‘Super 8’: Not your ordinary sci-fi flick

MANILA, Philippines—Fear is a tricky emotion to manipulate but J.J. Abrams wields it well in Super 8.

Set in a small town in Ohio on the summer of 1979, a group of friends who had set out to shoot scenes for a short film using a Super 8 mm film camera witness a train accident. But they later suspect that it had been no mere accident and uncover terrifying truths as strange events and mysterious disappearances plague their town.

Abrams emerges an excellent storyteller in the film as he does not rush through the story with scene after scene of fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping action like other movies this year. Instead, he takes the viewers for a ride through town through Joe Lamb’s (Joel Courtney) life—the loss of his mother, his father’s (Kyle Chandler) misery, his friend Charles’ (Riley Griffiths) zombie movie production, and the peace of the small town of Lillian disrupted by inexplicable events.

This Abrams and Steven Spielberg sci-fi adventure collaboration may seem to be an alien movie up front but it also delves into the emotions of its characters, particularly Joe Lamb’s as he faces loss, love, and the fear of the unknown.  With that in mind, one may ask if Abrams has explored the sci-fi part of the movie to its fullest as it seems to have focused more on its characters’ lives and less about the reason for the town’s distress—the unknown creature that escaped when the train was derailed.

Comparison between Spielberg’s films and Abrams’ Super 8 will be inevitable as they have in common, the use of fear of the unknown coupled with coming of age themes. But Abrams delivers shocks of fear, excitement, sadness and even laughter well, particularly through the talented acting by Elle Fanning and the relatively unknown young actors of the movie—Courtney, Griffiths, Gabriel Basso, and Ryan Lee. That, added with Larry Fong’s superb cinematography and Michael Giacchino’s exceptional score make Super 8 a worthwhile trip to the cinema.

Super 8, released by United International Pictures through Solar Entertainment Corp., started “rolling” in Philippine theaters Friday (June 10).