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Lost creator J.J. Abrams should win some kind of Oscar for secrecy. When the home video-like trailer for Cloverfield debuted in front of Transformers last summer, people went absolutely ga ga because they had yet to see or hear anything about his new monster movie. Plus, the cryptic preview—which didn’t even have the decency to include a title—gave little indication of what was to come from the feature film other than a release date and a hefty amount of chaos. Seeing the severed skull of the Statue of Liberty tumbling down Broadway will do that. What is confirmed is that it’s not Godzilla, but the trailer does hint that one giant monster and several smaller creatures are on the loose. Maybe they are hunting humans, or perhaps they are fighting each other and New Yorkers are caught in the middle. Could this be a monster movie that Hollywood gets right? The film stars some relatively unknown but talented actors, namely The Black Donnelly’s lead Michael Stahl-David and CSI regular Jessica Lucas. Written by Lost producer Matt Reeves, Cloverfield strikes theaters Jan. 18. 1-18-08.com

ALSO IN JANUARY: 27 Dresses (1/11), City of Men (1/18-limited), Rambo (1/25), Be Kind Rewind (1/25-limited)