Other mistake: The scene after Mr. Lamb puts Joe in the sheriff's car has background snow (in June). There's a little snow visible when Mr. Lamb and Joe are going into the house and, once inside, out the window. A little later, much more snow can be seen out the window, similar to the opening scene when it was February. (00:52:40 - 00:53:27)
Factual error: When Joe goes to the cemetery, all the trees have fall foliage (yellow/orange/red). The movie takes place during the first week of June, when all the leaves are green. (00:53:52)
Continuity mistake: In the scene when Alice tells Joe not to let Charles blow up his model train, her hair moves from hanging downwards to tucked behind her ear between shots. (00:57:45)
Continuity mistake: When the kids break into the school and discover the footage of Dr. Woodward and the other scientists, they break a window on the classroom door. The glass is almost completely removed from the frame but once the military arrive and take the kids away, there is suddenly more glass in the frame. (01:14:50 - 01:17:25)
Continuity mistake: When the boys are running through war-zone Lillian, they are shown running quite spaced. A shot later they're running in a clump. (01:26:30)
Plot hole: The alien digs an extensive underground network of tunnels beneath the cemetery without leaving huge piles of dirt above ground. (01:29:05)
Suggested correction: There appears to be a large pile of dirt between the building and road [@ 00:54:31] when Joe went to the cemetery to "visit" his mother. Perhaps there is more behind the building. Or, based on how far the creature could toss large appliances, the "monster" might have flung some of the dirt far away (to the next county?).
Factual error: None of the people the "monster" hung from the ceiling (the Sheriff, Alice, the woman in rollers reported missing earlier) suffered ANY ill-effects. The Sheriff and Alice were taken around the same time (after dark) and it was nighttime again when Joe went into the building to try to find Alice. The "monster" apparently had just placed Alice and the woman on the ground, so - assuming they were hung right after being abducted - they had been suspended inverted for at least 15 hours. [If Alice got home as late as 6:00 AM (around twilight or before sunrise) and Joe found her right after dusk (around 9:00 PM), at least 15 hours had passed. The woman was reported missing much earlier.] Death could have occurred from being suspended upside-down for that many hours. They may have survived, but there should have been some noticeable adverse effect, such as blurred vision, dizziness, or sore/weak legs. Perhaps "fight or flight" got them moving, but even then, wobbly legs would show. (01:33:58)
Continuity mistake: In the camera store, Joel stands in front and to the left of a Kodak film advertising display. After briefly cutting away, the camera returns to find the display now rotating.
Factual error: When the kids go back to the town to save Alice, they pass by a 7-11. The sign on the store is obviously the new 7-11 logo and sign layout, not from the late '70's.
Factual error: The morning after the film's pivotal train wreck, Joe and Charlie are watching coverage of the story on local TV. The typeface on the screen is the now-ubiquitous Microsoft computer font "Arial", most recognizable by its distinctive 'R'. However Arial was not invented until 1982 and not in broad use until after 1990. The movie is set in 1979.
Factual error: In an early shot of the movie, a sign shows as Town of Lillian, Ohio. In a later shot, it shows another as City of Lillian, Ohio. Also as a side note, Ohio does not recognize any incorporated area as a town, only village or city.
Factual error: When the kids are trying to escape from the bus, Joe's trying to break the window with his elbow. It's safety glass, so it won't shatter. All of a sudden, it breaks like it's regular window glass.
Factual error: When the kids broke into the school after being evacuated, the military bus used to transport them back out of town was too new. The front panels and grille on the bus show that it is a Blue Bird All American RE built between 1989 and 1999. The Blue Bird All American RE available in or before 1979 would have been mostly one panel on the front and had no grille. The bus in the movie was modified.it had headlights that resembled a Blue Bird from 1979, but even then the exact front light configuration was not accurate. It is plausible that the US Air Force could have specified a different headlight arrangement, but the front panelling of that bus would not have been seen until 1989 when the All American bus was given a face lift.
Continuity mistake: In the bedroom scene, when the camera looks out of the window at Alice, she's wearing a plain blue t-shirt with a denim jacket. After she's climbed in, it has writing on.
Factual error: Although taking place in Ohio somewhere between Brookville and Greenville, this area is extremely flat with no hills unlike the town and train wreck area which is quite hilly. This is due to the fact it was actually filmed in West Virginia.
Factual error: When the kids enter Joe's house, late 80's architecture can be seen in the brickwork around the garage door.
Continuity mistake: When Joe and Alice are talking in his room, there is a book in the background on a desk or such that changes position between shots. Sometimes it is upright and sometimes at an angle.
Continuity mistake: Jack stares at an army truck and turns his head to the left. From the opposite angle, his head is still and he is turning it again.
Plot hole: Things have gone "missing" throughout the movie, without leaving extensive damage... I find that very strange. This is a HUGE alien that looks around for things he needs, carelessly flinging junk around in a junkyard, including a toilet, a motorcycle, and a stove which ends up landing out in the street. Izzy, the owner of the Auto Sales lot, shows the deputy that something is missing from the cars in his lot by lifting the hoods up. He doesn't say, and the camera doesn't show, WHAT exactly was missing from the cars, except the Bonneville. "Look at my Bonneville over here! They'd have to have a winch to take that out." This implies that it was only the Bonneville that had the engine removed, because you would need a winch to remove the engine from ANY of those vehicles. No other damage was visible. I don't see the huge alien being able to free the hood latch and lift out the engine without leaving other damage. Also, Debbie said there were 20 microwaves missing from her inventory - just "gone". I don't see the huge alien opening the door of a warehouse or store, walking through the doorway, and walking out with 20 microwaves. Even if he used a warehouse garage door. There would be other damage. It would have made sense if any business' missing items ended up looking the way Kelvin's Gas Station looked when the alien grabbed Sheriff Pruitt and Breen.
Continuity mistake: Jor's hair changes scene to scene from short to long.
