Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by J.J. Abrams and co-produced by Steven Spielberg.

Set in 1979, the plot follows a group of young teenagers who witness a mysterious train derailment while filming their own Super 8 movie.

In 1979, Deputy Sherriff Jack Lamb of Lillian, Ohio and his 14-year-old son Joe mourn the death of wife and mother Elizabeth in a workplace accident.

The kids regroup and find crates of strange white cubes amid the wreckage before discovering the truck driver to be their biology teacher Dr. Woodward.

In the following days, the town experiences strange events: dogs run away, several townspeople go missing, the electrical power fluctuates, and electronic items are stolen.

J. J. Abrams initially conceived Super 8 by combining two distinct ideas: one about kids making a movie during the 1970s, and another focused on a large-scale alien invasion.

The concept began when Abrams thought of a scene featuring a factory's "Accident-Free" sign, which later grew into a more complex storyline.

[6] To cast the film's lead roles, Abrams held a national talent search to find fresh faces for the young characters.

However, this plan was abandoned due to challenges faced by Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), who found it difficult to integrate CGI into the grainy Super-8 footage.

As a result, cinematographer Larry Fong opted to use Super-16 film for scenes that required visual effects, ensuring smoother CGI integration while maintaining a similar aesthetic.

Like Cloverfield (2008), an earlier J. J. Abrams-produced film, Super 8 utilized an elaborate viral marketing campaign to generate interest.

The first teaser trailer, attached to Iron Man 2 in May 2010, introduced viewers to the premise of a freight train transporting contents from the decommissioned Area 51.

In another layer of the viral campaign, a website for Rocket Poppeteers (a fictional brand like Slusho in Cloverfield) was launched, which didn't directly relate to the film's events but added to the mystery.

The official Super 8 website featured an "editing room" section that invited users to collect clips from across the internet and stitch them together.

[12] The release was produced as a combo pack with a digital copy, including nine bonus features and fourteen deleted scenes.

The site's consensus reads: "It may evoke memories of classic summer blockbusters a little too eagerly for some, but Super 8 has thrills, visual dazzle, and emotional depth to spare.

"[16] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[18] Chris Sosa of Gather gave the film an A rating, describing it as "a gripping and exciting tale of finding one's place in the world amidst tragedy."

"[19] Critics offered varying opinions, with Roger Ebert awarding the film 3.5 stars out of 4, praising it as a "nostalgic" tribute to earlier styles of filmmaking, where "audiences were told a story and not pounded over the head with aggressive action.

Paramount submitted it for several considerations for the BAFTAs including Best Film, Best Director (J. J. Abrams), Best Original Screenplay, Leading Actor (Kyle Chandler), Supporting Actress (Elle Fanning), Supporting Actor (Joel Courtney, Gabriel Basso, Noah Emmerich), Cinematography, Production Design, Editing, Costume Design, Original Music, Sound, Makeup and Hair, and Special Visual Effects.