Factual error: After the train crash, the teen characters discover cube-like items. One of them states it looks like a Rubik's Cube. The movie itself takes place in 1979, but the Rubik's Cube, although invented in 1974, was not licensed to sell in the USA until 1980. It was not even called a "Rubik's cube" until 1980 (prior to this, it was known as a "Magic Cube"). (00:21:55)
Factual error: The film opens during the winter, then 4 months later you see that school is out for the summer which should be June. When Joe is visiting Charles the TV is on and Walter Cronkite is saying "the potential is there for the ultimate risk of a meltdown at the Three Mile Island atomic power plant." The meltdown at Three Mile Island had already happened by this point, being in March of 1979. (00:07:20)
Factual error: At the gas station scene when the Sheriff enters the building, the attendant is listening to a Walkman. The Sony Walkman wasn't released in the the U.S. till the following year (1980) and he wasn't reading Japanese instructions. (00:35:30 - 00:36:00)
Factual error: When Joe is in his room painting one of his monster models you can see in the background a model of the Invisible Man. This model was not released until 2009 by Moebius models. Although the model was created in the classic Aurora models style, this model was not available during 1979. (00:09:15)
Factual error: In the scene where there is a Military convoy rolling through town on screen from right to left there is an M35A3 truck in the convoy and those vehicles were not built until 1993. (00:41:52)
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 the scene where the Air Force Colonel is speaking with the Deputy Sheriff at the train crash site, there are two mistakes with the Deputy's uniform (in Ohio, all 88 Sheriff's Offices use identical uniforms). In the movie, the Deputy's badge is a 6-pointed star. In reality, it is a 5-pointed star. The "Deputy Sheriff" shoulder patches in the movie were adopted in 1997. This movie is set in 1979. (00:34:20)
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: 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)
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.
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.
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)
Factual error: The movie is based in Montgomery County Ohio. But a deputy said his dog was found in Brookville, Ohio, one county over. Brookville, Ohio is in Montgomery County Ohio, not a different county. (00:49:19)
Answer: The explanation for the police car going into the auto dealership when Joe and friends are at the dinner is provided by J.J. Abrams in the "Commentary": "As it was originally written, you [audience] were simultaneously with the father going into the car dealership... umm... and with the kids in the diner. We ended up moving the structure around. So, it wasn't... umm. It was no longer simultaneous." Abrams said that the kids had been rehearsing at the table. Filming the auto dealership scene was finished so they went ahead and filmed the kids at the diner, too.
KeyZOid