The public’s view of J.J. Abrams has evolved over the years. He went from being the go-to reviver of franchises with back-to-back successes with Mission: Impossible III and Star Trek, to then having a monster hit with Star Wars: The Force Awakens and then doing what he could with The Rise of Skywalker. Even though Abrams has become so closely associated with massive franchise films, it’s the smallest project he’s done that may be his best: Super 8. Not just for the charm factor of the clear nostalgic ties he has to the material (along with Michael Giacchino‘s flawless score), but because it also has possibly the best scene in any of his movies — and it happens during the credits.
What Is J.J. Abrams’ Sci-Fi Thriller ‘Super 8’ About?
The film follows Joe (Joel Courtney), a middle schooler who’s about to start his summer vacation with his friends as they work on a zombie movie along with his crush Alice (Elle Fanning) to submit to a film festival. While sneaking out to do a night shoot at a train station, they witness and barely survive a devastating train crash, which, unbeknownst to them, unleashes an alien that’ll begin to wreak havoc on their little town. (That is, if the air force investigating the crash doesn’t do it first.)
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While that description would have you believe that the story is primarily about the alien running loose around the town — Joe’s father, Deputy Lamb (Kyle Chandler) has his hands full with that as his side quest — the story is really focused on these kids making their movie, and that’s where the credits’ scene shines.
‘Super 8’s End Credits Are What Make the Sci-Fi Thriller a Masterpiece
Once the story has reached its conclusion, we cut to black, and Electric Light Orchestra plays as the credits roll, until we’re shown a completed version of the zombie film that the kids were making, titled, “The Case.” It’s an endearing scene, obviously playing to Abrams’ experiences making Super 8 movies growing up with charming touches like improper lighting and jerky camera movements because the actors aren’t in frame. Even the acting by the kids is stilted in a way that shows that the characters are just kids, not actors. It’s a wonderful scene that makes the film come full circle, not just because we see the context of previous scenes where the kids are dressed in costumes and are in between takes — but because Super 8 isn’t about the alien; it’s about their movie.
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They’re out of this world!
While the boys going after Alice after she’s been captured by the alien (credited as Cooper in the credits) is the focus of the third act, the alien itself is just what gets the ball rolling for the chaos surrounding the kids. For a large portion of the story, the alien is almost totally irrelevant to them, and the only times that its existence comes to their attention is when it inadvertently benefits the production value of their movie. There’s the detail of Joe talking to Charles (Riley Griffiths) via walkie-talkies about overhearing that the air force is investigating Dr. Woodward’s (Glynn Turman) house, which is how they know to go there to film the next day. That moment works almost on a meta level too because when Joe tries to question why the air force would be at Woodward’s house or why they would be taking molds of the tire tracks of the car they drove on the night of the train crash, Charles literally tells him to shut up about it and brings the conversation back to their movie.
The Zombie Movie in ‘Super 8’ Is What Pushes the Sci-Fi Film Forward
It’s important to note that while the alien is a necessary plot device to bring characters together to accomplish a common goal for having an entertaining action-filled climax, it’s the kids’ movie that drives the story forward.The only reason Alice gets abducted by an alien in first place is because she snuck out to Joe’s house to convince him not to blow up his model train for sake of movie. Even kids’ revelation that there’s an alien at all is from footage they captured on night of crash.
Every major plot development is informed by their movie, so not showing finished product would’ve been disservice to resolution of story, more so than revealing fate of alien. However, even without that qualifier, it’s still a sweet scene in its own right showcasing Abrams’ career roots and emulating quality of Super 8 films he grew up making. It’s an endearing short film that wraps film up in a bow and gives movie added rewatchability when you consider Super 8 is basically behind-the-scenes look into how kids made their movie just with added hurdle of an alien terrorizing their town.
