A quick flick through JJ Abrams’s back catalogue will indicate his bias towards science fiction and adventure.

After the television series Alias and Lost and the films Mission: Impossible III and Star Trek, his latest film, Super 8, is no exception.

“It’s a combination of genres, but it’s basically about kids in 1979 making Super 8 films,” says the 45-year-old Abrams, who wrote and directed the movie, as well as co-producing it with Steven Spielberg.

“It’s a love story, it’s a family drama, it’s a little bit of a monster movie. What I love about these kinds of movies is that they take you on a ride. And by the time you’re done, you’ve hopefully gone through all sorts of emotions – none of which you necessarily expected.”

In the film, four youngsters, played by debut-making teenagers Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths and Ryan Lee and Somewhere star Elle Fanning, set out to make a zombie movie. While shooting it, however, they inadvertently witness a catastrophic train crash that leads to inexplicable other-worldly happenings in their small Ohio town.

Much like the boys on screen, Abrams honed his budding skills as an eight-year-old growing up in the same era, shooting short films about things he loved, predominantly monsters, battles and chases, on a Super 8mm camera.

“Not only did the making of this movie bring back memories, it paralleled the way we used to make films,” he says. “Despite all the wild stuff that happens in the story, this is the first movie I’ve made that’s felt so much like a part of my life.”

Abrams and Spielberg’s mutual appreciation of this retro format may have brought them together for Super 8, but this film was not the first time the two had met.

At the age of 15, Abrams and childhood friend Matt Reeves (who later directed Cloverfield) were introduced to the legendary film-maker when they acquired a job cutting together his 8mm home movies.

Often they would discuss their love of these films, as Spielberg recalls. “We talked about the kinds of films we love to see and landed immediately on our mutual history of making 8mm movies,” he says. “We both thought it would be cool to make a film about young people having an adventure doing the same thing.”

For New Yorker Abrams, the collaboration was a dream come true.

“Steven was wonderful in terms of the development of the story and the script. He helped with the casting and gave his opinions, watched dailies [raw unedited footage] and was always available when I had a question or concern. He came on set a few times and was helpful in the editing room,” he says.

“He had such an impact on me as a kid, so the idea of working on a movie and knowing I could pick up the phone anytime and call Steven Spielberg and ask his advice, it was an incredible privilege.”

While he may have been in the director’s chair, Abrams was only too happy to release his inner child. “He’s like a big kid,” reveals 13-year-old Elle Fanning, who plays Alice. “I walked into his office for the first time and there were these 1970s’ robot toys scattered around.”