Question: Did just New York get contaminated or did the rest of the world get infected?
Answer: During the evacuation, it seems that only Manhattan is infected, or if there are infections elsewhere, it is not known by the government yet. Sometime in January 2010, things get worse if you follow the posters in the movie.
Question: Billy admits that he shot his wife and daughters to save them from a more horrible death at the hands of the vampires. Grieving, he says, "I tried to shoot myself, too, but the fucking gun jammed." But Billy is a deputy sheriff, and any competent law officer can resolve a jammed gun in a matter of seconds. Did Billy actually chicken-out of killing himself after murdering his family?
Answer: Perhaps Billy was not a competent law officer. Or maybe you were right he chickened out. Billy could have killed himself in other ways. Other ways more quiet than gunshot.
Exactly. How could he go on living after killing his whole family? A minor problem such as a gun jam shouldn't have prevented him from committing suicide. In fact, he couldn't become a law enforcement officer without demonstrating a proficiency with firearms, including the ability to field-service his weapon quickly in an emergency. The simple procedure for fixing a jammed firearm is at the top of the list of required skills.
Are we ignoring that he was obviously extremely distraught at this time? My take on this has always been that he pulled the trigger, the gun jammed, and he just gave up on everything. He literally didn't care enough about anything at that point to even bother taking his own life anymore. Let the vampires take him; or not. His family is gone, by his hand no less, nothing at all matters anymore. I didn't see it as an inability to clear the jam, I saw it as a psychological breakdown that resulted in complete and total apathy. The jam was nothing more than the straw that broke the camel's back.
If he gave up on everything, why did he covertly signal Eben with a flashlight? If Billy had truly given up, why not just walk out into the street and be slaughtered by the vampires, rather than continuing to hide?
Question: A tape recorded by John directed toward agent Perez states that her partner would soon take the life of an innocent man. How did John know that agent Strahm would kill Jeff? For all he knows, Strahm could have followed Rigg through the factory rather than Jeff. The "if you're good at anticipating the human mind, it leaves nothing to chance" excuse doesn't work here. The only reason Strahm followed Jeff was because he heard Jeff hit a ceiling light with a crowbar.
Question: In the office scene where Mike and Olin are speaking of all the deaths that have occurred in room 1408 they say a specific number for each type of death. I added all the numbers up and got 43 but Olin said there had been 56 deaths total. Is my addition wrong or was is it a coincidence that there were 13 deaths they didn't speak of?
Answer: After they recite the types of deaths and the number attributed to each one Mr. Olin also says that there have also been natural causes of death as well which surprises Mike. The natural causes of death add up to the other 13 deaths.
First, I don't have a great memory - I had to re-watch the movie, writing down the numbers: 7 jumpers, 4 overdoses, 5 hangings, 3 mutilations, 2 strangulation's plus 22 natural deaths - I get 43 total, but later we hear of a man that drowned in his chicken soup... which fits none of the categories mentioned including natural. There is also mention of heart attacks, which I don't know if you would categorizes these as natural considering the circumstances. That is to say, they just didn't detail all 56 deaths. The book might, and mind you a book made into a movie is always too fast paced with so much detail crammed into 2 hours... there is really no time to digest all the material. I'm guessing this is a much better read. Also this movie PRE-supposes that a person understands a lot of things... I had to look the stuff up after the first viewing... then came to this site (as a means of looking some stuff up). Here's my low down - after the fast forward second viewing, literally taking notes: 1. The room is not haunted - something in the room is evil; this is stated when the hotel owner has conversations with writer just outside of the office on route to the elevator 2. The writer expresses this is : the seventh circle - the 7th circle is where those that committed the following violations are punished: a. Crimes against neighbours b. crimes against self >suicide c. Crimes against God, Art (grand daughter of God) and nature 3. The writer has pleaded Guilty as charged in the hotel managers office to charges of: believing in nothing (this would be God - and he states so later) and believing in no-one but himself 4. The writer opens the bible - and the page falls to Nathans Parable -2 Samuel 12 ==> had to look this one up - this is about being judged - mostly about a man who kills another and takes his wife - it's about judging yourself and paying for your sins. In this story the wife brings forth a child that god strikes down with sickness and the child dies... among other things. 5. It is generally believed that there are 3 things that allow for better mind control - or mind opening/bending experiences: a. Sugar b. Alcohol c. Drugs ==> he was given a bottle of alcohol which he consumes as well as chocolate squares on the bed - presumably the evil force has provided these to allow better mind control 6. All the pictures show some form of evil: the Schooner lost at sea, should we presume an act of evil in addition to potential future acts of cannibalism? The Hunt: which is where I believe the hotel owner originated from: escaping from a pore in the picture - he was the hunted (no glass covering on the picture) and he provided the alcohol - he also tries to stop the writer from taking the room, saying he doesn't have to do this (punish himself) and/or the manager senses the end of the room and potentially his existence Lastly the old women reading to the three children... I just can't make this one fit...which is actually when I started to review the relevance to evil there. The writer says the children are deranged...? 7. The demons all originate from the pictures - I think; the manager of the hotel, the knife wielding woman (schooner) . I'm unsure about the guy in the vent. That is to say, the pictures have brought the evil to the room; and the room has become a room where those who should be punished in the 7th circle are. 8. To prove the punishment room theory: in the file folder, as the writer approaches the room 408 - the notes indicate a man with the notation that: his brother was eaten by wolves on the Connecticut Turnpike - I'm guessing there was an act of cannibalism there. 9. Further to prove the punishment room theory - acts against art are really usury and charging interest (loan shark style - high rates to those that are desperate) - we see a business man jump - which later appears to be the man from the newspaper article that says: Dec. 06, 1938 Chicago factory owner leaps from bridge - stating Financial issues Ultimately this room is about judging yourself, deciding your own punishment and the evil forces dispensing the punishment. Think about the maid that only blinds herself with scissors, and the writer who has presumably already paid for most of his sins (daughter dies) but is still forced to suffer heat, cold, drowning, mental illness, isolation etc.
Answer: Olin simply did not list all of the causes/cases. He mentions the causes of 21 deaths before Mike cuts him off. He then mentions the 22 natural death cases. By no coincidence, the number of cases mentioned, 43, subtracted from the number of deaths Olin says actually occurred, 56, is 13. Afterwards, he reveals one more cause attributed to the unmentioned 13 deaths: drowning.
Question: ***Question contains spoiler*** OK, maybe I'm dense, but what was the point of killing the kid? Was it just another scene designed to shock the audience?
Answer: The kids were beating on Beth. If she was beaten and bruised she's worth less money. So Sasha told the "leader" of the gang to choose one to die or he will.
Chosen answer: I think it was meant to show that there is a line that the kids can't cross - if they do, then one of them will get sacrificed...hence why the adult doesn't show any mercy in doing it, and the kids know that something nasty is about to happen.
Question: If Sandra is at the scene of the accident, what is the purpose of the police officer showing up at the door to tell her Jim is dead?
Answer: It's fairly obvious that this film's theme is that knowing the future changes it. I.e. knowing there would be an accident, she travelled there and caused an accident.
Answer: Possibly she left the scene before the police arrived, so they did not know she had been there.
Question: Can someone tell me if I'm interpreting this correctly? When Katie changes her mind about fleeing the house and is found clutching a cross with blood on her hand and leg, Micah takes it and burns it, after which she becomes possessed. Was she successfully warding off the demon with the cross and clutching it so desperately that it made her hand bleed, and then Micah wrongly thought it was being used to attack her and inadvertently made her possession a done deal by burning it?
Answer: The screenwriter confirms in the commentary that burning the cross and picture was a mistake because it was the last defence they had.
Question: At the very beginning, it says that a family got stranded in a desert. Is it referring to the Carter family from the first film?
Answer: Yes it is.
Question: Was the Predator in this film dishonorable at some stage in its life? Its pincer (not sure the actual name) things on its face, one is half gone and he has scars. Is this because he's experienced (hence why he's there) or does he do it because he needs to earn honor back for something (again, hence why he's sent on a suicide mission)?
Chosen answer: Although not proven, the injuries and the wide array of trophies and equipment may imply a long life of hunting. Further as it is receiving official distress signals from what may have been the home world, it is possible it plays the role of 'clean up crew' to mitigate exposure of Predator activity and lost equipment to prey species.
According to the directors, the injuries were a direct homage to Broken Tusk, the primary Predator character in the original Alien vs. Predator comic book.
Question: WARNING: BIG PLOT SPOILER - I did not completely understand what the devil had to do with the saved people killing other people the third day after they had been saved. According to the plot, "tria mera" is Greek for "third day". The question was "if Jesus came back to life at the third day, what happened with the devil?" That was supposed to explain the killings. I hope someone can give me further clarification.
Chosen answer: The third day (according to the movie) after someone uses the white light to save someone, is when the devil can step in and try to cause chaos. They did try to explain this in the movie, though it didn't make a lot of sense for anyone with any idea about the subject.
Question: What was the point of the scientist releasing the clone Alices and then putting them through the test to have them killed? Did they explain this and I missed it or what?
Chosen answer: The reason that the cloned alices were put through the tests was their attempt to get a "perfect" clone of her. They knew that Alice was the key to taking back the zombie infestation, so they were trying to get the "perfect" clone. The perfect clone would have all of her memories and reactions, so they put the clones through that testing facility. If she made it out alive, then she was the perfect clone. If she didn't, then it was back to the drawing board.
Question: Why does the man at the beginning want to buy the house so badly? The movie never explains it.
Answer: No, that is not the answer and nothing to support that conclusion.
Answer: For its real estate value, the house has a reputation for being haunted and Dylan McDermott, a city boy wanting to be a farm, would fail.
Question: From what I understand in this movie Michael Myers is some psycho kid that grew up to kill again. How is he surviving direct gunshots? Is he somehow bulletproof? I don't get it.
Chosen answer: In the original "Halloween" movie series, the Michael Myers character is evil personified. He is SO evil, in fact, that he is bulletproof and killproof. He survives all attempts to destroy him much like Jason Voorhees in the ALL the "Friday the 13th" a series.
Yes, but that is because of all that cult of Thorn crap that is revealed in part 6, The Curse of Michael Myers. In Rob Zombie's version, Michael seems to be a "normal," as in human, kid.
But the cult storyline wasn't in their wheelhouse when they made the original. Michael would have had to been a regular child before the murder of his sister. He wasn't regarded as super human in the first two movies. In the original and Rob's remake, Myers survives being shot multiple times.
Answer: He is still a human, but in John Carpenter's version he can't die because of the curse, and in Rob's version though, he's practically a tank.
Question: The game they play near the start (the knock on wood game) seems pretty interesting. Is the point of it not to get caught moving or is there another goal? Also, can someone help me with the Spanish translation? I can't hear what the Spanish for Knock on Wood is. Thanks.
Chosen answer: It's a Spanish version of Red Light, Green Light where you'd try not to get caught moving. I haven't watched the film in a while but I believe she says "Uno, dos, tres, toca la pared". Hope that helps!
Question: If the infected can sense the uninfected due to the uninfected smelling clean and scented (deodorant/perfume), wouldn't the closest approximation be to just stop bathing or showering, and not wearing deodorants/perfumes? Wouldn't one rather be dirty than dead? Am I over-simplifying the situation? Do the infected sense the uninfected using some other method in conjunction with the above, thereby nullifying my hypothesis above?
Answer: I suspect that it's really not that simple. Remember that in the first film, Jim was lying alone in a hospital bed for some considerable time before waking to the deserted London. He would certainly not have smelt clean and fresh, yet he was still clearly detectable as prey by the infected. While being nice and clean makes it easy for them, it seems clear that it's not the sole indicator that triggers an attack.
Question: When Jake, Amber, and Jonesy are eating barbecue (Kimberly's leg), a burnt-out corpse can be seen sitting in the driver's seat of a car near the trio. Who is it? It appears the three contestants didn't see it even if it is near them.
Answer: It's just a prop to make the game more realistic.
Question: After watching the film, I was wondering, does anyone know if the novella (upon which this film is based) or any similar Stephen King works served as inspiration to Konami's "Silent Hill" video game franchise? I am asking, because there are certainly some similarities between these works, both stylistic and in terms of tone.
Answer: I'll have to answer my own question here. After doing some research, it appears that yes, "The Mist" was partially an inspiration for Konami when they created the "Silent Hill" series.
Answer: The whole world is infected.
Tailkinker ★