J.J. Abrams Trailer Teases a 'Field of Screams

• Jul 6, 2007 02:55 PM ET
• by Matt Mitovich

"Smoke Monster Takes Manhattan"? A mysterious, Blair Witch-style trailer for a film titled Cloverfield and touted as "from producer J.J. Abrams" has the many folk catching Transformers intrigued. The film, directed by Felicity cocreator Matt Reeves and penned by Drew Goddard ( Lost, Alias), is teased with a party scene set at a New York City bar, soon disrupted by the roar of some sort of monstrous entity, followed by flames and falling debris - including the head of the Statue of Liberty.

According to the Reporter, Cloverfield features a cast of relative unknowns, including Lizzy Caplan ( The Class), Michael Stahl-David ( The Black Donnellys), Odet Jasmin and Mike Vogel. Copies of the trailer posted to the Internet, including at YouTube, are almost immediately being ordered down by threat of copyright infringment. A January 18 release date is listed in the trailer's sparse credits.