Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction horror film written, co-produced, and directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler and tells the story of a group of young teenagers who are filming their own Super 8 movie when a train derails. A train crash sets off a series of bizarre events in a small town. When Deputy Sheriff Jack Lang investigates the peculiar events, he uncovers a shocking secret; the train was transporting an alien.