The 50 worst movie mistakes you never noticed... until now

10. Bishop in the hole

The movie: Aliens (1986) 

The mistake: At the climax of James Cameron’s sequel, Bishop (Lance Henriksen) has been ripped in half, and in one shot, the hole in the ground that accommodates the rest of the actor’s body is clearly visible.  

How noticeable is it? This scene’s more about Ripley vs the Alien Queen, right?  

9. Headbanger 

The movie: Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (1977) 

The mistake: When the Stormtroopers break into the control room on the Death Star, the one on the far right hits his head on the door. Lucas attempted to cover this up by adding a thumping sound when the film was released on DVD but this is a legendary gaffe. 

How noticeable is it? Let’s put it this way – you’ll notice it every time from now on, won’t you?  

8. Helicopter shadow

The movie: The Shining (1980)

The mistake: During the overhead shot at the start of the film in which we follow Jack’s car on the way to the Overlook Hotel, you can clearly see the shadow of the helicopter used for filming on the ground by the road.  

How noticeable is it? You’ll need to be watching the fullscreen DVD to pick this one up, so *hand wobble* eh.  

7. Kane's hood 

The movie: Alien (1979) 

The mistake: Kane (John Hurt) is in the alien ship when the facehugger flies at him and wraps itself around his head. Except when the attack happens, Kane’s wearing a very snug hood that miraculously disappears later on when he’s in the med bay.  

How noticeable is it? You’ll probably be more focused on the gross thing suctioned onto Kane’s face to be thinking about where his headgear went. 

 6. Flying low 

The movie: Teen Wolf (1985)  

The mistake: The Beavers have trounced the Dragons, and Scott’s (Michael J. Fox) dad is really proud, coming down the bleachers to congratulate him. Meanwhile, behind him a guy’s had a bit of a trouser malfunction…  

How noticeable is it? The guy’s not exactly subtle about it, if you know what I mean.  

5. Tossin' bricks 

The movie: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) 

The mistake: Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) lobs a brick with a note through a toy store window. Except the window smashes a split second before the brick makes contact with it.  

How noticeable is it? You can only really see it if you freeze frame. And who wants to do that while they’re watching a movie? 

4. Where'd the label go?

The movie: The Sixth Sense (1999) 

The mistake: A tape is clearly labelled as ‘Vincent Grey – Session Tape 7/1’ until the following shot, in which the label mysteriously disappears. Oooooh, spooky. 

How noticeable is it? Massively – stickers don’t just up and leave, do they? 

3. Coat check  

The movie: Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 

The mistake: During the infamous “I love you” – “I know” scene, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is about to be frozen in carbonite. Problem is, Han’s jacket keeps appearing and then disappearing. What Jedi mind trickery is this?  

How noticeable is it? Hugely, especially as the scene’s all about Han.  

2. Gunshot psychic 

The movie: North by Northwest (1959) 

The mistake: Look in the background during the scene in café at the Mount Rushmore memorial and you’ll see that a boy puts his fingers in his ears before a loud gunshot is fired.  

How noticeable is it? Depends – did you watch it in HD? 

1. Cameraman flubbery 

The movie: Bad Boys (1983) 

The mistake:  A crowd gathers to watch Mick (Sean Penn) get into a brawl with another inmate on the cold, hard prison floor. There's blood, there's shivs, there's.... oh, a cameraman just cruising around the edge of the crowd. 

How noticeable is it?  Look at that guy! Look at that gigantic camera! This isn't a meta-movie where they're being followed around by a film crew - he's a proper member of the production.

Gem Seddon

Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.