Continuity mistake: At the prison visiting "Uncle Sally", Dickie sets a box of matches on top of his cigarettes. A little later, the matchbox is behind the cigarettes and the cigarettes are angled about 45° more away from the ashtray. (00:48:12)
Other mistake: Rebecca electrocuted the giant sand worm within 3' of the spaceship. After Lt Astrid arrives, some views show Rebecca out in the open, but the camera should have been obstructed by the spaceship because following front views still show Rebecca next to the spaceship. Also, at least part of the dead giant sand worm probably should have been visible at times but was not. (00:51:55 - 00:52:20)
Factual error: The Channel 5 WNP Newscaster said, "it is now believed he [District Attorney Berdido] and his family were killed..." and running along the bottom of the screen was "4 confirmed dead in Fort Lauderdale gas explosion." This was a LIVE report showing two streams of water onto the house still burning inside. An investigation would barely, if at all, be started at this time and no-one would be "confirmed dead" this early. It would not even be known if anyone was home when the house exploded. (00:04:34 - 00:04:55)
Continuity mistake: Leonardo DiCaprio's phone is shown attached to his car dashboard. He gets out of his car, all the while, looking up toward the sky. The next scene shows him grabbing his phone from his pocket while standing outside his car. (01:36:06 - 01:36:56)
Continuity mistake: After her sister hangs up on her, Sue repeats in front of the mirror the self-help audio mantra. She suddenly holds the receiver in front of her chest higher than in the previous shot. (00:04:10)
Revealing mistake: In the front view of Joshua sitting on the floor, the wooden crate is a couple feet long and is at least a couple inches behind him. In the front-side view, more of the crate should have been visible and Joshua should not have been as close to the wall. In the front-side view, Joshua's entire head extends above the window sill behind him, but no window is visible in front views. [Use of green screen]. (00:11:44 - 00:12:15)
Revealing mistake: There was already a gap in the snow mounds (which looked like a snow sledding path with no fresh tracks) when the "kid" was sledding down the steep hill. (00:02:40)
Continuity mistake: The white gift box was placed on the car's hood near the passenger side front wheel indentation. When the female cop (Valerie) turned around, the box was at an angle, not parallel, to the indentation. (00:02:21)
Other mistake: Grace Lewis shot a man in the head when he was standing less than three feet from her, but Grace did not get any blood splatter on her face or elsewhere. Neither did George Clements, who was standing near both of them. (01:15:03)
Continuity mistake: The height of the stack of magazines on the coffee table in front of John changes with the camera's view. Front views of John show a high stack of maybe 15 magazines. Side views of John show a much shorter stack of several magazines. (00:25:03 - 00:26:07)
Revealing mistake: When Alana is walking toward the students, the hedges are mostly dark green, sheared level across the top, and reach to her elbows. Later (after Gary tells Alana he will take a mirror), the hedges turn mostly yellow and flower-like across the top, are quite uneven, and are as high as her shoulders in spots. (Use of a green screen is apparent). (00:00:40 - 00:01:26)
Suggested correction: One look at the scene make it apparent this entry is totally incorrect. The bushes look natural. The yellowness is just colour grading. There is no sign of green screen usage whatsoever. It would make no sense for this film, especially if you realise that director PT Anderson is known to be very much against the use of any sort of VFX or green screening.
Factual error: After Ressler tells McChesney he wouldn't be surprised if one day she's tracking down sequence killers, McChesney replies, "Not sequence killers. Serial killers. That's what they should be called." But it was Ressler who claimed he coined and is often credited with coining the term "serial killers" (at least in the U.S). ** After showing pictures of some of Bundy's victims, Ressler is shown and it is pointed out, "He [Ressler] is credited with coining the term 'serial killer'." (1:31:30). (00:26:40)
Character mistake: Over the phone, Julie told her sister Sara, " I got them [parents] a bouquet", pronouncing the "T" in bouquet. Bouquet has French origin so the "T" is silent. Bouquet is properly pronounced like bow-kay (American English) or boo-kay (British English). (00:00:55)
Factual error: When the Duke of Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) meets Rasputin, he notes how he "mastered the Bryozka glide", a dance technique where the practitioner looks like they are gliding a few cm over the floor instead of walking. However, while the scene is set in what must be 1916, the Bryozka glide was only invented in 1948 by Russian ballerina and choreographer Nadezhda Nadezhdina, who founded the Beryozka Dance Ensemble. (00:44:10)
Continuity mistake: There isn't anything immediately in front of the storage shed when Edee opens the door. Inside, looking out, there is some type of diagonal, long thin branches or vines extending to the ground, which are gone in the subsequent view. (00:09:42)
Continuity mistake: When Hagmaier is in the Florida State Prison room waiting for Bundy, his hair changes. Initially, his short bangs are straight across the middle of his forehead. When Bundy sits down, Hagmaier's bangs and top of head are "fluffier" (perhaps blown dry) and combed to the side. (00:11:05)
Factual error: The movie largely takes place in California during the 1990s. California's mandatory seat belt law went into effect 1/01/86. When Mickey was driving Kyd to the cemetery, they were not wearing seat belts. Also, Kyd was 8 years old at the time. Although legally permitted to ride in the front, it is advised that kids sit in the back seat for safety. Considering Lyla was recently killed when a driver ran a stop sign, Mickey should have been more concerned for Kyd's safety as a passenger. (01:12:58 - 01:15:05)
Continuity mistake: Before Jen gets on the yacht, Aileen's green halter strap can be seen because the left side of her hair is on or over her shoulder. When Jen gets on board, Aileen's hair is in front, covering up the green strap. The camera shifts when Lewis is hugging Jen and Aileen's green strap is visible again with the left side of her hair behind her. There is no noticeable wind and Eileen is standing in the same place. (00:32:10)
Continuity mistake: The amount of red beverage in June's bottle changes several times, from up to the curved part of the plastic bottle (lower amount) to below the neck and up to the neck (almost full). Front views of Mikey show the level of the drink higher than views toward June. (00:17:07 - 00:18:51)
Plot hole: A real estate agent would first ask a prospective home buyer what price range he was interested in and calculate "how much house" he could actually afford to buy before taking him to look at available houses. Austyn took Jim to see multi-million dollar houses, then Jim told her he was "looking in the $250,000 range." Austyn told Jim they could close at $2.5 million and he'd only need 10% down. The 10% down ($250,000) equaled the total amount that Jim wanted to pay for a house. (00:14:03)