Dan Wilbur
Movies are full of Easter Eggs. There are some missed details that even film nerds don’t notice until the 10th or 15th viewing. That’s why I’ve seen Love, Actually (2003) a thousand times. I’m looking for those little hidden details. I’m definitely not watching it because I cry every time at the Laura Linney storyline. No. It’s because I love film.
People on the Internet are proving they actually looked up from their phones when watching their favorite movies. They’re finding small moments that added to the story, but only if you’re paying close attention. It’s almost like directors and writers thought these projects through!
These aren’t bloopers or editing goofs. These are intentional and interesting! Be warned: spoilers abound below.
Here are some movie details you only pick up on on the 20th viewing:
1. In Mr. Bean (1997), Mr. Bean’s passport reveals that his Given is actually “Mr.”
The TV show version of Mr. Bean was aired in over 200 countries. It pays to make your work translatable to any language by barely having any dialogue in it!
2. In Inglorious Basterds (2009), Colonel Landa checks each of the daughters’ pulses to assess their anxiety when he conducts his investigation of the house.
Christoph Waltz, surprisingly, was not the first pick for the role. It was supposed to be Leonardo DiCaprio.
3. The set of Kingston Falls in Gremlins (1984) is the same set as Hill Valley in Back to the Future (1985)
4. In ‘Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018), Uncle Aaron has a picture of his brother as the lock screen on his phone, while Jefferson has a picture of Aaron as caller ID. This shows that despite their current bad relationship, they still care about one another.
5. In ‘Clerks’ (1994) when Randal’s ordering porn in front of the mother and her daughter, the shot gets tighter on him when he says the titles. This is because Jeff Anderson (Randal) refused to say the filthy titles in front of the small girl.
6. Zodiac (2007) since the real Zodiac was never found they use several actors to voice reading the letters so the viewer doesn’t associate any one person with the killings.
7. Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) Rocky doesn’t have a belly button because he was created artificially.
8. Midsommar (2019) the opening shot shows a fairy tale depiction of the events of the film
9. In The Evil Dead (1981), Ash drops the necklace he had given his girlfriend. The chain forms a skull.
Did you know… Jordan Peele fit a record number of Easter Eggs in his film Us? He is a horror junkie, and references the movie C.H.U.D. in part because his first girlfriend’s father directed the movie. Wow! Interesting.
10. In Signs (2002), the Hess family uses items around the farm to board up the windows and doors of the house. This can be seen at the end of the stairs as Merrill leaves the basement, where the roof of the children’s playhouse is covering up a window.
11. In Cabin in the Woods (2011) after the RV crash and redneck zombie ass-kicking, Dana’s pupils are shown to be different sizes. This is a common symptom of a concussion.
12. In The Terminator (1984), the T-800 is actually searching the phonebook with both fingers. A close-up shot shows his right finger hover down to Sarah, but in the wide shot, it’s revealed he’s already found John Conner with his left.
“Cinema is a matter of what’s in the frame and what’s out.” -Martin Scorcese, a director who’s thought harder than nearly any director about what belongs and what doesn’t belong in a movie. Yes, I’m counting The Irishman, even though the movie is 2 years long.
13. At the end of Hocus Pocus (1993) when the cat dies AKA Zachary Binx, he is found lying next to his sister’s grave. I have watched this movie countless times but this is the first time I’ve noticed.
14. In Leaving Las Vegas (1995), Nicolas Cage’s character Ben doesn’t eat a single thing during the whole film, since chronic alcoholics often can’t/won’t eat. In the restaurant, he puts spaghetti on his fork but doesn’t eat it and, when Sera cooks rice for him, he eats an ice cube instead.
15. In The Incredibles (2004). Dash is sitting in the front seat. Reflecting the lax child seating laws of the period, 1962. It wasn’t until the 80’s that child seating laws were enacted.
