Question: When Freddy is killing Tina and slices her body she wakes up right before she gets picked up in the air and dragged across the ceiling. Wouldn't Freddy have stopped messing with her since she woke up at that point?
Answer: She was not awake. People scream, get out of bed and walk around, and even have conversations while sleeping.
Question: What was that first body in the woods that looked like Muffin? It couldn't have been Muffin because she shows up at the end right?
Answer: It never really says what the body is, but I'd assume it were a rabbit or some other small woodland creature. It can't be Muffin because, like you said, Muffin appears later on.
Question: Where is the David Schwimmer reference in this movie? I know that there is a Jennifer Aniston reference, but I heard that there was one about David Schwimmer.
Answer: It's when Dewey and Randy are talking about the movie Stab. Randy says to him "At least you get played by David Schwimmer, I get the guy who rode the stage coach through one episode of Dr Quinn".
Question: At the end he sees the Statue of Liberty on the beach. How did the statue get there from Ellis Island?
Answer: He's in the same location as Ellis Island. Thousands of years have resulted in significant changes geographically.
Answer: The statue was destroyed during the nuclear war at some point in the past. The remnant of it had washed ashore to where Taylor finds it.
Question: I always feel like I'm missing something with the scene where Kirk orders the Enterprise to reverse at the beginning of the battle. It confuses the Klingons and leads to a short respite in taking fire, which I would assume was exactly Kirk's intention, but then Kirk himself expresses confusion that the Klingons had stopped firing. What else could Kirk have been trying to do with that action?
Chosen answer: Kirk is highly skilled and experienced in combat. He knows the bird of prey must be between the Enterprise and the planet, so he instinctively orders a reverse after they are hit, fearing that they are at point-blank range. Chang is worried that Kirk may have somehow detected him, so he holds fire and repositions, but Kirk is merely being cautious.
Answer: Kirk wants to buy time to find a way to detect Chang's ship. Reversing is an unorthodox tactic so Chang is also thinking.
Question: In the middle of the movie, one of the doctors tells the others of John Merrick, aka The Elephant Man. They show him for a few seconds Disrobed.. What is the point of showing Merrick in the movie? This scene seems totally isolated from the rest of the plot. It almost feels like they had an extra minute to kill and decided to add it in.
Answer: In the original book, Merrick's appearance is used to show William Gull's education, expertise as an anatomist and that he recognises and respects cultural diversity - Gull assures Merrick that, had he been born in India, he would be worshipped as a descendant of the elephant-headed god, Ganesa. In this spirit, Gull even offers the victim of his first Ripper slaying to Ganesa as a sacrifice, as Indians make a sacrifice to Ganesa at the beginning of an important enterprise. Merrick is present as a vehicle to establish the rich nature of Gull's character. When it comes to the film, however, this subtlety is completely lost - it seems very much that the scriptwriter noted Merrick's appearance in the book and felt that it would be cool to include the character in his script. As such, as you point out, it does feel that Merrick's presence, stripped of the subtleties of the book, is almost entirely pointless.
Question: Evil tells of his assistants, "tell me about computers". And he later says, "show me subscriber trunk dialing". Why does such a powerful entity have an interest in technology? (01:30:45 - 01:31:35)
Answer: Remember his whole speech about technology being his version of the universe, while the Supreme Being concentrated on nature?
Question: If the "cold drink" vending machine was unplugged and the buttons were unresponsive, WHY did the saboteurs deliberately illuminate the front of the machine? Wouldn't this ATTRACT people to the machine, only to subsequently arouse curiosity when it failed to function (as it did with Mulder)? The more logical approach would be to disable the vending machine (including the illumination) and tape an "out of order" sign on it. People would then just ignore the machine, arousing no suspicion. The illuminated vending machine gimmick looks like an illogical contrivance to advance the plot.
Chosen answer: If they had put an "Out of Order" sign, or left it unilluminated, someone in charge might try to have it fixed or replaced, or could have checked to see if it's plugged in, etc. By leaving it illuminated, it doesn't look out of place and simply not taking money wouldn't arouse too much suspicion. In my own life, when I've come across a seemingly working vending machine that won't take my money or dispense drinks (but gives my money back), I just find another one instead of calling someone or reporting it. But yes, it is very convenient to the plot that Mulder just happens to try and use this particular machine.
Question: Why doesn't Howie try to escape when being carried up to the wicker man?
Answer: What's the use? He's surrounded, he can't fight everyone and there's nowhere for him to run.
He is also a fundametally religious man and he believes that he is going to die and go to heaven.
Question: On the DVD (UK, not sure about anywhere else) there is a feature called 'the secret of esrever', which tells you to look for very subliminal hidden images in the film - I have looked so many times and there is still one I can't find - does anyone know where the 'water' one is? The only thing I can see is what looks like an owl's head made out of the trees in the scene where the woman is drowning a baby in the lake. If this is it how does it relate to the film? Also is there a message in the images? There are a few words but I can't make a sentence out of them.
Answer: In the scene where the baby is submerged in the water, watch the lower right-hand side of the screen. You'll see the shadow of a stickman emerge and come higher into the frame.
Question: This was produced by the Walt Disney Production Company. Unlike other Disney films that were family friendly, this one had a dark tone to it and even terrifying moments. Why would the Disney Production company help produce this film considering how scary it is? It seems unusual considering that a lot of the movies they made were more light-hearted.
Answer: Disney at the time was trying to break the stereotype of only producing family-oriented animation films. So they were interested in making more mature films, especially ones targeted to the teen audience. At the time they had already produced "The Watcher in the Woods" and "Dragonslayer". "Something Wicked This Way Comes" was toned down though and some things deemed too dark were removed. It should be noted, this was also the last film under the Walt Disney Production label.
Question: How could Damien's mother be a jackal? That has always thrown me for a loop and I could never understand why they'd do that unless it was for entertainment purposes. I mean, I know it's Hollywood and all but that's just too far-fetched.
Chosen answer: The idea wasn't entirely Hollywood's. The antichrist is sometimes said to be "born of a jackal. " Jackals are mentioned in the Bible, and some interpretations consider them a symbol of something that is "not of God." In the movie, it means that the kid was scary as hell, literally.
Answer: It's Satan's twisted and macabre mockery of Jesus' virgin mother.
Question: Given she leaves the state while on parole, possessing a firearm, holding her ex at gunpoint, how does Libby avoid prosecution for these offenses?
Answer: Because there were exceptional and extenuating circumstances and, technically, Libby was never guilty of the crime she was convicted of and had to resort to extreme measures to prove her innocence. She may have had a gun, but it could never be proved that she held Nick at gunpoint, only that she shot him in self defense. Also, it's a movie, which often are unrealistic regarding details like that.
Question: Ben Affleck first met Uma Thurman at a party just before he was offered and accepted the three year job. Surely he would have recognized her after having his memory wiped even if he could not remember any of the time they spent together.
Answer: He does recognize Rachel from the party as well as when he when he saw her at Allcom. The only things he doesn't remember are the last three years of his life since starting the project. So, while he does remember her, the three years they spent together while at Allcom are a total blank. This recognition is shown when he meets with Porter who helps him escape.
But later, when he is going through her stuff, he says he doesn't remember her. Also, if he did remember her, he would have known it wasn't her when the imposter was in the restaurant (also no need to have the imposter try to dress like her either).
Answer: Do you remember every person you've ever talked to at a party? Didn't think so. His memory isn't restored back to perfect condition - he's still had three years to forget about details at the party. He remembers things like the origins of the deal because it was important.
Question: Why can Liv McKenzie not go to see Tara Carpenter, her co-worker/close friend after her near-murder attack? Her absence is done to draw suspicion on her, but as she is later revealed to not be the killer, the question is left unanswered in the film. (00:15:45)
Answer: To try to throw them off the scent and add suspicion to make us think maybe possibly they're the killer(s).
This answer is literally part of the question. The question mentions that this was done to make the character seem suspicious. The question was asking why, in the context of the film, can't Liv go to see Tara. Not why in a behind-the-scenes sense.
Answer: It's never explained in the film, so any answer would be pure speculation. As you said, it was obviously done to draw suspicion onto her by the filmmakers, but there's any number of reasons she might not be able to, so really it's a case of picking your poison. (Perhaps she had a previous appointment she couldn't miss, perhaps she has a family matter to attend to, etc).
Question: I don't get it. What was the purpose of the aliens coming to Earth? And what exactly happened to them? Where did they go?
Answer: It's left unclear, though the film proposes several possible theories, and there are other possible explanations as well. One major theory brought up in the film is that the aliens were there to acquire Earth's resources after using up their own. Another theory proposed at the end of the movie is that the aliens wanted humans for whatever reason, as a radio DJ mentions seeing his friend's family being dragged away. There is also a very popular fan theory that the aliens are supposed to represent demons that are merely there to create chaos and test the moral strength of humanity, as the film is ultimately about Graham losing and then regaining his faith, although this is more subtext than anything and may not be literally true.
Answer: Near the end of the movie... The morning after in the basement... The guy on the radio says the aliens were there not for the planet, but to harvest humans. For what purpose is unknown, maybe as an energy source, Matrix-style.
Chosen answer: According to the theory in the movie they were there to take the planet for their own because they used up all the resources their own planet. They left the planet when it became apparent to them that the water on Earth was too dangerous.
Answer: It was the only way out. She followed Aiden's voice to the cliff and kept hearing it from the same direction. She knew she had to jump off to get back to the real world.