Directed by: Andrew Douglas
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Chloe Grace Moretz, Melissa George, Jimmy Bennett, Jesse James
Visible crew/equipment: When George leaves the room after receiving the phone call from Kathy's mother, a boom mike dips into view, reflected in the large ornate mirror at the head of the bed. (00:14:50)
Visible crew/equipment: When Kathy is bringing in the groceries and she asks George where Chelsea is, they run outside to look for her. As the scene goes along it pans past the truck and you can see the reflection of the camera in the truck.
Character mistake: When Lisa is taken to the hospital, she tells Kathy that she saw the ghost of Jodie DeFeo. The name of both of the DeFeo's daughters wasn't Jodie. Their names were Dawn and Allison. Jodie was the name of a demonic pig that the Lutz's daughter Missy had befriended.
Trivia: Ryan Reynolds chose to keep away from Jesse, Jimmy and Chloe so that when his character's personality started changing, it would be easy for him to transition into George's physical and verbal abuse. Ryan's distance from the three young actors made them think Ryan didn't like them.
Question: Probably it's for dramatic impact, but it seemed strange that Ryan Reynolds' character would rush out to the boathouse on seeing the red balloon. It would have made more sense to check her room first, but he leaves (and even dives into the icy lake) without telling anyone. If it was out and out panic, wouldn't he wake his wife? Apart from as a plot device, any ideas why?
Answer: He sees the balloon, and instantly assumes his step-daughter is inside the boat house, and hence is in danger of slipping and drowning (or perhaps already in such a situation). He rushes straight out to get there as quickly as possible. Checking her room, or telling his wife would take up time, not to mention he is probably running on adrenaline.
Suggested correction: While this is true in the original novel, the writers chose to change it to the DeFeo's daughter's name in the movie. Creative license doesn't count as a mistake.
Torie White
Except that this is based on the real-life incident of the DeFeo family. This entry is not applied to the novel.