The Cloverfield marketing campaign kept the wraps on their big secret for as long as they could, but now the jig is up. Press screenings have been held, reviews are being written, and finally the world can get a look at the Cloverfield monster. Warning, what’s coming after the link is SUPER SPOILERY. Unlike many of the fan-drawn images that have shown up, this appears to be the real deal.

The Culture Vulture blog picked up the image, thanks to a poster named Gwaka at Unfiction.com. It's just a few frames, but gives a very clear idea of what the thing looks like. I'm surprised at how much it resembles a human-- the big biceps, the rounded head. It seems to have gills on the side, so you can tell it's something that crawled out of the sea. After all the Godzilla-knockoff versions we've seen kicking around the internet, the fact that the monster is not a giant lizard might be the biggest surprise.

Based on the reviews that are out there so far, it doesn’t seem that the monster is really the point of Cloverfield. But hey, who cares! The monster looks amazing, and I don’t even care that I’ve been spoiled. If anything, I’m more excited than ever. What do you think? Has this crazy, Yul Brynner-looking thing made you even more tired of Cloverfield? Or are you already clutching your opening night tickets in your sweaty palm?