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Couple of Neat things No One's Mentioned

posted 13 years ago by angry_hatter
16 replies | jump to latest

I just started this movie up after seeing it last night (Loved it) and noticed:

One of the father's first lines is "MY children have been turned into fire breathing dragons!" (Interesting foreshadowing to their connection with the dragon story later on.)

The twins were born on Halloween.

Also, I noticed this the first time, but the narration for the different titles on the camcorder (ex. "Press one for Merry Christmas") the voice says "Press X for a *terrible* thanksgiving" even though the actual title says different.

That was my first freak out and I thought ti was fairly subtle.

[–] angry_hatter 13 years ago

I will be adding things as I watch over the night, I am watching on and off, pausing, cleaning, watching, etc.

I noticed that these (according to their father) demon possessed children attacked a boy at school names "Christian", the possible meaning of which escaped me on the first viewing.

[–] angry_hatter 13 years ago

As far as the nails in the forest go, I think that points to the fact that we are dealing with sociopathic kids (which many organizations would tell you cannot exist [and with which I disagree]) rather than a demon possessing them.

I remember being a kid and using elmer's glue to glue thumb tacks to the window sills of my clubhouse, as though that would stop an intruder. I think the kids just saw nails used this way in cartoons, and did what they thought would work.

I think this shows the mind of a child, and the fact that nothing comes of the nails reinforces that.

[–] angry_hatter 13 years ago

As far as I can tell, Jack's dad taught him how to pick a padlock, but the door to the bedroom seems to be a simpler warded lock.

While the warded lock (A lock using a skeleton key) is simpler, having the knowledge of how to pick a padlock would only be somewhat useful in picking a warded lock.

[–] angry_hatter 13 years ago

A few people have mentioned they doubt a kid Jack's size could drag his dad downstairs, but it seems the kid is having a realistic amount of trouble, and having to drag the body in "bursts", using all of his strength and leverage to move it a few feet and then stopping to get in a position to move it a few more.

Also, some people have said that Jack couldn't have overpowered his dad, even with a bat. I myself have been attacked (Though in my teens) by an eight year old with a golf club, and I can tell you it only takes one hit to the shin or head to disorient you enough not to block the next blow. (And I was awake, Jack's folks were asleep.)

[–] angry_hatter 13 years ago

Ok, I will make this a separate thread, but it looks to me like they never ate the soup the kids made, and the dad (and eventually mom) passed out due to a gas leak started by the kids. That, or the kids force fed them pills when they were asleep and the bowls of soup on the table had nothing to do with why they passed out.

The reason I say this is that there is no break in taping between the time the bowls are sat on the table and the time that the mom got free and ran out of the house. It's one fluid line of action from the kids sitting the bowls down to the parents being free.

The dad was left there by himself for longer than any other character so he would have inhaled more gas. He also mentions that he is "fine" but has "a headache" when his wife asks if he is ok.

What seems like a fire alarm may be a carbon monoxide detector, going off because the kids turned the gas on one of the burners but didn't have the pilot lit.

As far as the kids not passing out, I am not sure, perhaps they were demons after all or they fitted their masks with a piece of cloth or other material as a rudimentary gas mask.

[–] angry_hatter 13 years ago

Yes, it seems more like the pills are a red herring, as the stove is making a hissing sound, like gas being left on with no flame, and the soup is not smoking at all and wouldn't have set off the smoke alarm.

Couple that with the fact that, had they both been drugged by the soup, the mom would very likely have gone down faster than the dad. However, not only did she not (due to her time outside, away from the gas.) but she lasted much, much longer due to the fact that she made it outside into the open air.

That fact that she still passed out outside, makes me think it may have been a combination of drugs and gas or (Surprise surprise) the writers didn't bother with realism and just wrote for effect.

[–] angry_hatter 13 years ago

So the nails DID have an effect!

Around the 1:11:05 mark (thereabouts) the mom is telling them to stay back, and then stumbles around, almost looking blind on her knees. closer examination (and logic, as the light from the camera makes sure she isn't stumbling blind) shows that she is having a hard time getting up and is swinging the bat, wildly, on her knees to keep them back while she tries to get off of the ground.

Seems like nails to the feet would do that just fine.

[–] angry_hatter 13 years ago

As a few final observations, it seems that Jack does something tot he parents ont he table at the end. It almost looks like he unhooks their arms, but the bungee cords seems to still be there.

They almost certainly did something different to the mother than the father, as the mother is kicking and squirming at the end and the father sits almost comatose on the table, making a few slow and futile movements.

The last thing that strikes me about the ending, is that before the kids turn he camera off, and ask Jack is doing whatever he reaches across the table to do, they have taken their bag masks off.

Which, as with the dragon, means it's time to eat...

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bradmcleod76 12 years ago

Actually, you could see the soup bubbling, indicating that the burner was still on.

[–] Ocrisia 11 years ago

I agree with you- I've seen this movie a few times now, and I never once thought the idea was that the kids were possessed. Did someone say they were supposed to be? The kids are just evil kids. The father tried to blame an outside source for the way they are, but the entire movie gives us no sign they're possessed. They're just evil, creepy, kids.

[–] antvolley 9 years ago

Late reply, but doesn't the Mum stand on the nails as she's trying to flee? I'll hafta watch it again...great, scary film which left me feeling very uneasy. Haven't watched something that creeped me out this much in a long time.

"Hot lesbian witches!"

[–] dmadison 12 years ago

The first thing I thought when they said the other boy's name (Christian McNamara) was the two doctors on Nip/Tuck: Dr. Christian Troy and Dr. Sean McNamara. I wonder if the writers were fans of the show?

[–] zyggums 12 years ago

I noticed this too.

[–] dmadison 12 years ago

[–] billins40 11 years ago

I thought this was really subtly creepy in places. A couple of nice touches were

"Dead things go in trash bags" says the dad. Later we see both the boy and the parents bound, in bin bags and ready to eat.

When the dad soaks his son with the super-soaker, the daughter convulses in the same way as her brother, despite not being touched with the water.

It has many flaws, but was a very enjoyable film.