Since 31 Days of Horror 4 has been delayed this year, I
still wanted to bring something Halloween themed to the blog. I decided to do a
special edition of Nit-Picking, focusing on the inconsistencies and plot holes
of numerous horror movies. It will be fun!
Yet, before we dive into this I want to thank everyone who
has been reading the Nit-Picking series and making it popular. I appreciate it.
Now, before we start I’ll explain how this nit-picking will
be done. I have chosen a few horror movies and a few nit-picks for each.
They’re all divided to make simple and easy to follow.
Friday the 13th
(1980)
Let’s start with one of my very favorites.
The original Friday the 13th made way for ‘80’s
slashers, it was really the first slasher to be overly gory. The films that
came before it such as Halloween and Psycho weren’t really that gory. Yeah, in
Psycho we get the chocolate syrup going down the drain but Halloween really had
no gore. So, Friday the 13th was starting something new that would
cause other horror movies to follow. It also has things that don’t make sense.
The first thing I’m going to talk about is the strip
Monopoly scene, which always bothered me.
The Dice
During this scene we see the character Brenda roll the dice
and she claims to have rolled two sixes, where we can clearly see she rolled a
one and a two. Why in the hell are the other characters allowing her to cheat?
Do they know how to count?
I know that this was probably not even thought of when they
made the movie and they most likely thought no one will notice. Well, I noticed
and it’s distracting.
Alice (Adrienne King) is our hero girl in the movie but some
of her decisions puzzle me, especially when we get to the end.
After realizing that Pamela Voorhees is the killer, Alice runs around the
camp trying to evade her. She ends up back in cabin where Mrs. Voorhees
revealed her true identity to her. I mean really? You couldn’t have gone into
another cabin? At least try to make it difficult for the killer to find you,
it’s only your life at stake.
Now, after Alice
defeats Pamela, she takes a canoe and heads out on the lake for the rest of the
night. Why? Why not start walking back to town and getting the police? Maybe
she was tired? But if I had a night like hers I most likely would find it hard
to rest.
Police
At the end of the film the police show up at the camp and
find Alice .
Now, how did the police know to go to the camp? Is it something they do daily?
Did someone call them? Was there another survivor we don’t know about?
Halloween 4: Return
of Michael Myers (1988)
The Halloween film that brought Michael Myers back, hence
the name, due to people disappointed about his absence in Halloween III.
The film takes place 10 years after the events of Halloween
I and II. Michael Myers who was in a coma, comes out of it to wreak havoc on
the town of Haddonfield
and his niece, Jamie. Who has been adopted by the Carruthers family after her
mother, Laurie Strode, had died in an accident.
The Ambulance
In the movie Michael Myers comes back into action while
on board an ambulance. He kills the people that are with him and then we go to a
scene with Jamie looking out a window. Outside the window is an ambulance that
looks like the one that Michael was in. But how can it be?
A little further into the movie we learn that the ambulance
Michael was on is in a river, four hours away from Jamie and Haddonfield. So,
did Michael drive four hours to Haddonfield and then drive four hours back to
the river to dump the ambulance? Was it a different ambulance? But how
convenient is it that an ambulance that looks just like the one Michael was on
is parked outside his niece’s house. It doesn’t make any sense anyway you look
at it.
Michael’s Knowledge
of Jamie
How does Michael know about Jamie and more importantly how
does he know where to go to find her?
Michael has somehow found his niece who has a different last
name and lives with a different family. Did he somehow find his way to a
library, pulled up newspapers and learned the truth about Laurie Strode and
also learned about her daughter? Would he really have time to do this? I mean
looking at the movie it seems he goes from the ambulance in the river, to a gas
station and then to Haddonfield. I guess we’re just supposed to accept that he
knows. How he knows is anyone’s guess.
Also, why in the hell would you keep Jamie in Haddonfield?
Move the kid to a different town or even better a different state!
The Jumpsuit
In the movie we see Michael at a garage and he kills a
mechanic by impaling him in the chest with a metal pipe. He then takes the
man’s jumpsuit to wear. Yet, when Michael is wearing the suit, there is no blood
or hole on the chest. Detail! Come on guys, how about some attention to detail!
Michael’s Name
Here is one showing my true geekeness. Michael Myer’s full
name is Michael Audrey Myers. So, his middle initial would be A. But, in the
scene where they’re typing his name on a form we see them type Myers, Michael
M. Again with the details! Come on!
Michael’s Mask Hair
Color
Michael’s mask hair color has always been brown and in this
movie it is still brown until one scene.
Towards the end of the film Loomis and Jamie head into the
school to hide from Michael. He of course finds them and throws Loomis through
glass doors. During this whole scene you’ll stop yourself and say “is that
Michael”, because at first you might think it’s a different character.
Michael’s mask hair color goes from brown to a very noticeable blonde and it’s
stupid.
Why in the hell didn’t they use the mask with the brown
hair? What’s going on? Did they think no one will notice? How could you not
notice? It’s very blonde!
Resident Evil Series
(2002-2012)
*Sigh*
Everything.
Scream 4 (2011)
I like all the Scream movies but let’s face it there is some
great stuff to nit-pick.
The Scream franchise has an interesting premise, the killers
and the victims are well aware of horror movies. This is causing the killers to
take their revenge on a certain character by structuring their kills on the
rules of the horror movies we all know.
In Scream 4 its Sidney Prescott’s cousin, Jill Roberts, is
the killer and it attempting the reboot the franchise by making herself the
last one alive. Yet, there is some problems with her plan.
Jill
Jill is a psychopath and in the movie we learn she is the
mastermind behind all the murders.
Jill and her partner, Charlie Walker, are seen killing
people in the movie by stabbing them multiple times. Then when we get to
Sidney, the person they want dead the most, Jill only stabs her once in the
stomach and leaves her to die. Sidney
of course survives, which I’m glad because Jill is nuts, but this just shows
how stupid Jill actually was.
For a girl who obviously devoted a lot of time to this plan
she just couldn’t execute it in the end.
The Closet
During a scene where Ghostface calls Jill and Kirby, he
tells them he is hiding in THE closet. Kirby opens the closet and of course
there is nothing in there. He then informs Kirby that he didn’t say THEIR
closet. He then jumps out of the neighbors’, Olivia, closet instead and kills
her.
Here’s my problem with the scene. Ghostface isn’t being
quiet on the phone. So, how in the hell didn’t Olivia hear him talking in her
closet? Does her closet have a sound proof door?
Paranormal Activity
(2007)
A demonic presence haunts Micah and Katie in their suburban
home. But lets be honest it’s a lot of footage of people sleeping.
Why Aren’t They
Running?
After the first encounter of this thing why wouldn’t you
just leave the house? It’s obviously something terrible is going on … just run.
Alarm System
They have this alarm system in the movie which they set
every night. Yet, Katie is walking outside every night without setting it off.
I would definitely consider returning it.
Gremlins (1984)
Three important rules get broken and Billy Peltzer’s new pet
gives birth to the Gremlins!
Gremlins is a great movie but there is something that has
always bothered me about it.
The Water Rule
First, let’s quickly review the three rules for raising your
mogwai.
1. Don't expose them
to sunlight.
2. Don't let them get
wet.
3. Don't feed them
after midnight
Probably not the exact wording but you get the idea. The one
I want to point out is “Don’t let them get wet”. This rule was broken numerous
times throughout the movie.
The movie is set near Christmas time and there is a lot of
snow on the ground. Did they forget that snow is just frozen water? Shouldn’t
the gremlins be multiplying left and right? It makes no sense and bothers me
every time I watch it.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Last movie I’ll discuss is a Halloween favorite – Hocus Pocus.
This film is one of those movies that has a large following,
and I remember always watching it around Halloween as a kid.
The movie is about two teenagers, Max Dennison (Omri Katz)
and Allison (Vinessa Shaw) and Max’s little sister, Dani (Thora Birch) who
accidentally resurrect three witches in modern day Salem , Mass.
The Black Flame
Candle
In the movie, the heroes find themselves in the house of the
three witches, which has been turned into a museum.
In the house there is a black flame candle, which legend
says if it’s lit on Halloween night, by a virgin, the witches will come back to
wreck havoc on Salem.
Of course, Max lights the candle and brings back the
witches.
The problem I have here is that Max uses a Zippo lighter
that he gets in the house; apparently they were selling them as gifts. Now,
correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t you need to add lighter fluid to Zippo
lighters? How is there lighter fluid in the lighter?
I know it was just to move the plot, but couldn’t they just
have Max have is own lighter already?
Also, why is he lighting something that shouldn’t be lit. I
get the fact he just doesn’t believe in it, but still just leave things alone.
Jacket
After Max brings back the three witches he uses his lighter
to set off the sprinkler system. We see his jacket get completely drenched but
once he’s outside his jacket is magically dry. I hate when things like this end
up in movie. Same thing happened in Fellowship of the Ring.
Dates
Now let’s get into some history. The witches, or Sanderson
sisters, are hung in the beginning of the movie. For me it’s implied that this
is happening during the Salem Witch Trials. Yet, let’s look at the date, they
are hung on October 31, 1693, The Salem Witch Trials were started and ended in the
year of 1692.
There you go some quick nit-picks to some horror/Halloween movies.
To find some horror movie recommendations check out my 31
Days of Horror series, links on the side.
Happy Halloween!
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