J.J Abrams and Super 8
I just finished the Valve game, Portal 2 when I discovered, in the extras, a promotional mini-game for Super 8. I was a man aboard a trembling train heading to who knows where...till it crashes. A monster then breaks out of a container and escapes into the darkness. You never get to see the monster in the mini-game which is probably the case for most of the upcoming film, Super 8.
The actual title "Super 8" is the name of a small camera that a group of kids, the protagonists, use to film whatever monster that scours the city, scaring away all the puppies and stealing car engines. Director and writer, J.J Abrams himself, used a Super 8 camera as a child to make some of his first movies. His resume lists projects like Lost (the television show) and Cloverfield. It would seem that the monster in Super 8, probably an alien (a new TV spot trailer says the train was transporting something from Ohio to Area 51) is kept hidden throughout the movie as it was in Cloverfield. But this movie isn't filmed from the first person, which is quickly becoming an overused gimmick (Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield 1 & 2, Quarantine/Rec). Clearly this is a 100% Abrams film.
Abrams has his style down, his movie making philosophy is traceable. He loves to dish up interesting scenarios leaving out vital pieces of information for as long as possible. Film students in the future will study Hitchcock, then they will study those whom he inspired; a film maker like J.J Abrams, who rips off and overuses suspense building techniques till the movie becomes frustrating. It's not exactly Hitchcock level genius...but still entertaining (possibly more cruel than enjoyable). There's still something to be said about his skill. We wouldn't really care about the mystery if we didn't care for what was at stake: the lives of the characters he creates.
You'll still find me in line, though, on opening night (June 10th).