Matt Reeves' Sci-Fi Classic Conquers Free Streaming

While Matt Reeves continues working on the long-awaited The Batman Part II, the movie that launched his career as a blockbuster director is streaming for free in the United States. Reeves started out in television, co-creating Felicity with J.J. Abrams, before transitioning to filmmaking. Although he made his feature directorial debut with the comedy film The Pallbearer, he rose to prominence more than a decade later with a kaiju movie that changed how mainstream movies were marketed in Hollywood. Reeves' trajectory is similar to those of Zach Cregger and M. Night Shyamalan, whose breakout movies are also erroneously considered their debuts.

Reeves' 2008 movie was a found-footage sci-fi thriller about a group of friends caught in the middle of a monster attack in New York City. The film revitalized the found-footage format along with Paranormal Activity, which was released theatrically a year later. Coincidentally, both movies were distributed by Paramount, and both launched successful franchises that seem to be hibernating at the moment. Reeves' film was a box-office hit, grossing more than $170 million worldwide against a reported budget of $30 million. More impressively, the film's viral marketing campaign was so successful that the movie shattered expectations with a $40 million-plus domestic debut — this was a record for a January release.