Posted on 01/24/2008 5:59:09 PM PST by My Favorite Headache
What's Behind ‘Cloverfield' Illness?
Wave of Nausea Hits Moviegoers
By Michael W. Smith WebMD Medical News
Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD Latest MedicineNet News
Jan. 22, 2008 -- Scan the news and blogs and not only do you see that Cloverfield had a record-breaking opening weekend, but there was an unforeseen side effect: nausea. And it didn't come from the popcorn, or the writing -- but the camerawork.
In Cloverfield, a giant monster attacks Manhattan. The problem -- at least for those prone to motion sickness -- is that it's all filmed through a very jerky handheld camera.
"I saw it this weekend and was so sick to my stomach that I had to leave the theater," says Sara Butler, a WebMD programming manager. "I have a friend who's an EMT in New Jersey, and she was called to several theaters this weekend to deal with people who were sick."
While motion sickness is usually caused by plane, boat, or car movement, bumpy camerawork could definitely do it, too. What Causes Motion Sickness?
Motion sickness occurs when the brain receives conflicting messages from the inner ear, the eyes, and other parts of the body.
While watching Cloverfield, viewers were sitting still in their seats, so their inner ear was telling their body they were motionless. But the bumpy camera movements -- and their eyes -- misled them into thinking they were moving around erratically.
These conflicting messages to the brain lead to symptoms of motion sickness, most notably nausea. Other symptoms include vomiting, headache, and sweating. What Is the Treatment for Motion Sickness?
Obviously, the best treatment is to avoid situations that make you sick. But if that's not possible, there are a few things you can try. Also, if you're prone to motion sickness, remember that prevention is best because once symptoms start, relief is tough to find until motion stops.
* If you love cruising but it doesn't love you, choose a center cabin where there is less movement. * On a boat or ship, stay on the deck and look at the horizon. * In an airplane, sit near the wings. * In a car, sit in the front seat and look through the window. Don't read or focus on an object inside the car. * Drive, don't ride. Drivers are less prone to motion sickness.
A few moments later, a single un-soldierly looking 'soldier' appears in a mocked up US Army uniform saying something along the lines of "Hi. I'm Dave ...from the Army". He's the only 'army guy' who appears in the film.
Like 'Plan Nine From Outer Space' kind of bad.
Actually, that was a decision made purposely. J.J. Abrams also is the same guy who does Lost. There are alot of online offical websites that help explain some things, also alot of the viral marketing includes hints and about 4 or five different theories on what it was.
Also, how likely is it that those kids would have any clue what was going on?
I think if you are over the age of 32, you prolly won’t like it. If you are under that age, this is an event movie.
There oughta be a good class action lawsuit for some ambulance-chasing lawyer here!
There were paramedics waiting in the parking lot outside the theater there tonight when I drove past on my way home.
Hud didn’t get the hint the 78th time he tried hitting on that chick.
It is called “MTV EDITING”. It is what has been pushed in film schools since 1996. It is absolutely horrible.
The one thing I know for sure is this movie will have about 3 sequels if not more. The amount of money it has made and the open plot lines of the Pentagon finding the tape, how they did, is the creature still alive, what is it supposed to be, does it move onto any other cities now etc....how well do nuclear weapons work towards aliens blah blah blah.
Eat Jello-go on TeaCup Ride at DisneyWorld Ping!
The BWP was without a doubt the worst movie I ever paid to see in a theatre. I got dragged to it by some friends - I normally don’t care for horror movies, which just bore me anyway.
I took the wife to a LA philharmonic symphony once and the violins were dragging in sort of a peculiar way , sort of nauseating and she got sick. It was a little nauseating to me too...
Ugh..I remember puking as a kid at a carnival coming off the tea cups and this kid who was in the cup with me and kept spinning the damn thing. I didn’t know him...the ride operator put him in the cup so he could have a ride since the other cups were full.
That and the scrambler...PUKE!!!!!!!!!
You just ensured I’ll wait for the video, thanks.
How did you like Blair Witch btw?
Yikes! I am extremely sensitive to motion in odd environments, and I did want to see this movie. I guess I won’t.
Hell No. Especially after a night of cocktails and dinner first.
The second “Bourne” movie suffered from this as well. Didn’t make me sick - just annoyed. I remember watching the fight scene in the house and not being able to clearly tell who was hitting who at any given moment.
Cinemagoers sickened by Cloverfield
By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 24/01/2008
Cloverfield, the blockbuster horror film selling out cinemas across America, is making some viewers so sick they are stumbling out of screenings before the end.
# Telegraph Film
# James Bond is back in ‘Quantum of Solace’
# Bryony Gordon: What is Cloverfield?
It is not gore or bloodshed that is turning audiences’ stomachs, however, but the jerky hand-held camera footage that makes up most of film. The problem is so bad some cinema chains have posted signs warning audiences they could “experience side effects associated with motion sickness, similar to riding a rollercoaster.”
Film poster for Cloverfield
Cloverfield’s jerky camera techniqes are causing cinematic motion sickness
“I’m really nauseous right now - just hold on for a second,” Erika Hasegawa, 32, told the Los Angeles Times as she staggered out of a screening of Cloverfield and retched into a rubbish bin. “I wish I could get my money back.”
Since the film about a monster attacking New York opened last Friday, reports of nausea and vomiting have been cropping up on internet message boards. “I had to get up and leave the theater for nearly 20 minutes just to keep from hurling,” wrote one filmgoer on the popular film website IMDB.
“My wife had to stop watching multiple times. The first girl we spoke to after the movie felt queasy. Someone was throwing up in the bathroom afterward,” wrote Florida blogger Dan Rua. “People are going to be sick: Although I came out fine, this movie should come with a warning.”
The thriller, produced by Lost creator JJ Abrams and promoted with an online viral marketing campaign that captivated film fans across the world, made over 45 million dollars on its opening weekend, becoming the most successful January release of all time.
Due out in the UK on February 1, the film follows five young New Yorkers who video themselves as they flee a giant monster that is destroying the city. It is almost entirely made up of hand-held footage, a technique famously used in the Blair Witch Project, the 1999 faux documentary that also had viewers struggling to keep down their popcorn.
The style was described “chillingly effective” by The Hollywood Reporter, which praised the film’s “claustrophobic intensity”, although other critics have accused the filmmakers of “insensitivity” for visual references to the September 11 terror attacks on Manhattan.
AMC Theatres, a nationwide chain, has put up signs outside hundreds of cinemas warning of possible motion sickness.
Bloggers have also posted tips on how to watch the film without feeling ill such as “once you are in the theater, if you start to feel like you are going to throw up, look away from the screen and focus on a wall, the next row of chairs, anything that is not moving.”
“This is a classic case of vertigo,” Dr. Michael Stewart, chairman of ear, nose and throat medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, told CNN. “You can look around and feel like things are moving, when they aren’t.”
Blair Witch was an interesting movie. It made me sick to my stomach due to the camera work but I will admit..it creeped me out like Friday The 13th did when I saw that as a kid. I didn’t look at the woods the same way for a few weeks.
Oh, it was really horrible. First of all, the first 15 -20 minutes of the stupid movie is all about these dumb kids at a party talking about who is sleeping with who. Then they are in a life or death situation where every moment counts and there’s limited time to get away from the godzilla thing and what do they do? They break into a radio shack to steal a spare battery for a cell phone! That’s it. The females are running for their lives in party dresses and high heels and nothing else. And they are worried about cell phone batteries. People are dying right and left and buildings are falling down and they take the time to steal a spare cellphone battery. Never mind real clothes, food, weapons, fuel, or flashlights. Just get a cell phone battery. And forget about transportation. Just run down the street in high heels.
Then, this giant creature(a cross between a bat and king kong) is shedding fleas or something. Creatures like crabs that are the size of cocker spaniels. One bite from one of these things and you die. THe army is shooting rockets, and sending in f16s loaded with massive bombs to kill the king kong bat and they have no effect. A creature made of flesh and blood is impervious to tanks and rockets. What a crock.
Near the end, the main girl and guy are filming the last moments of their lives. The only thing the girl has to say to the camera while bawling uncontrollably in her party dress and high heels is: “I just don’t know why this is happening to me”. I couldn’t help it. At That point I said loudly “give me a f ing break, what a stupid movie”.
That doesn’t surprise me at all. There are certain notes that hit your inner ear that can send you into a bout of nausea. More common than you know. I consider myself an expert on this subject as I have been dealing with vestibular disorders for decades after suffering a head injury from a horrible accident as a kid.
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