There is something shocking that all the people who have seen a movie, no matter how many times or at what point in time, which is learning of a detail that was there all along but went unnoticed.

In today’s world where movies have around 1250 shots and blockbusters go up to 3000, and where every frame offers almost limitless opportunities for embellishments and references that 99.8% of people will completely ignore, for a dedicated filmmaker, these odds do not matter. 

In a very similar way, one of the many great pleasures of the internet is the film fanatics’ obsession with finding clues and messages and sometimes, jokes within their favourite movies so these types of things do not tend to be a surprise for long.

What you’ll notice now is a compilation of 10 movie Easter eggs and subtle details which are so well concealed that you absolutely may not have noticed them until now:

1. In Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Hangman chooses Slow Ride by Foghat on the jukebox. The track number is 86, the year of release of the original Top Gun movie.

2. Game Night (2018)

In the 2018 action comedy movie Game Night, the viewers are introduced to its most basic plot point in such a manner as to seem like it did not matter to the overall storyline. That is the resolution to the Game Night’s major surprise.

In the beginning, Game Night almost spoils itself by allowing one to see several potential unravelling events from quite early in the motion picture. As Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) kiss on the subway with a screen saying “Don’t trust Gary”, this takes place not long after they board the train.

This is, of course, intended as a homage to the main twist of this film when it turns out that almost all of the action showcased in the movie was actually a brilliant performance staged by Max and Annie’s quirky recluse ‘gamer’ neighbour Gary; who just wanted to no longer be left out of their game nights.

3. Us (2019)

In the world of cinema, there is nothing that happens by coincidence. Many movies have these symbols, and messages that are placed on purpose. Jordan Peele’s horror thriller, ‘Us’ is one such film. There are a lot of little things in the movie that you might have not paid attention to. One of them is the word ‘tethered’ is significant right from the start.

Perhaps, it wasn’t apparent to you, but the word ‘tether’ was mentioned in one of the commercials for the program called ‘Hands Across America’ which was shown at the beginning – the narrator in this ad says ‘6 million people will tether themselves to fight hunger in the US’. It is a foreshadowing of events to come.

In one of the scenes of the movie, the lobotomic but beautiful Adelaide is shown whistling while standing in the omnipresent hall of mirrors. Do you remember the song? It is “Itsy Bitsy Spider” which goes with the plot perfectly. Just as the tethered climb from the sewers, in the song “Itsy Bitsy Spider climbed up the water spout”.

4. Hereditary (2018)

Hereditary has definitely emerged as one of the best horror films in recent years. The film works its way into a flood of horror by depicting tears of sadness and loss in a shocking chain of events that don’t leave the viewer’s jaw alone. This is definitely an awesome film, one that all horror enthusiasts should witness at least once in their lives.

The most gloriously horrible moment in Hereditary would have to be the moment where Charlie meets her horrible demise going head-first into a telephone pole and getting decapitated, but it wasn’t accidental. On the other hand, it was actually foreshadowed; the first instance came when Charlie decapitated a dead bird.

Naturally, this could be chalked up to Charlie just being Charlie as she is portrayed as a much more eccentric individual. Nevertheless, once the symbol on the pole is shown, it becomes apparent that Charlie’s demise happened for a reason.

5. The Prestige (2006)

You know it’s going to be a banger movie when Christopher Nolan is the director. The 2006 Sci-fi movie has many small hidden details. The Prestige is more of a mystery considering how it holds the two perspectives of both Hugh Jackman’s Robert Angier and Christian Bale’s Alfred Borden and how they try to unlock each other’s secrets. It’s almost like a film where the viewers are always kept guessing albeit several clues about the impending twists are left for the audience. 

One of the most important clues throughout the film lies in the first scene where a number of Angier’s top hats are shown randomly strewn across the floor next to Tesla’s lab. It is a bit anticlimactic, and fairly straightforward except it has the title “The Prestige” across it which makes it one of the better opening scenes of the 2000s.  Even though this is a rather odd and confusing way to begin the film, it is actually hinting at the finale of the film early on in the story.

6. Fight Club (1999)

It is now even hard to believe that twenty years ago a film which can probably be described as an all-out frontal assault on Generation X — Fight Club by David Fincher actually saw its release. But due to the studios not really being sure what to do with the black comedy, it quickly evolved into a cult hit. A bit more explicit: it’s about two friends who form a secret club after one of them goes insane and attempts to use the club to inject a little bit of chaos into the general population.    

The first time we see his character in the movie, the Narrator (Edward Norton), is an ordinary office worker. A company man, he is a person who suffers from insomnia and does nothing exceptional at all to the audience. There’s a typical guy in the movie from a generation that includes people who like buying furniture from a catalogue. Then, everything changes when he first sees Tyler. 

That first time, however, is it really the first time? If you have a keen eye and are paying attention to details you may have witnessed Tyler Durden played by Brad Pitt several times before these two ever meet. He has a cameo in four other frames. There’s an infomercial too, one for Bridgeworth Suites, and Tyler is right in front of the Narrator’s view.

7. Knives Out (2019)

Taking the audience’s love for mysteries and clever plot twists, Rian Johnson’s Knives Out turned out to be one of the highest-grossing films of 2019 and even spawned a new movie franchise, but it is the Knives Out trivial that is the answer to this question. Right from the opening credits of the film, there are establishing shots of the Thrombey residence with a painting placed adorning the wall.

The very first thing that one notices when watching the film are the portraits of the family head, Harlan Thrombey, who has a very strong presence. Harlan comes across as a force of respect and authority in this depiction. Fast forward to the painting appearing in the end credits and one may say it has been altered in some way.

Even as degenerate as Harlan is depicted, when Marta finally emerges from the house, her first act is to gaze at the painting depicting Harlan. During the course of the film, Harlan transforms from a grumpy look to an approving smirk.

8. Memento (2000)

There is an Easter egg in Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” that gives away the entire plot twist way before the actual plot twist occurs. However, it is too brief for most people to notice it. During the scenes where Leonard is telling Sammy’s story, there is a sequence that shows Sammy sitting in a chair at an insane asylum after killing his wife.

The camera slowly zooms in on Sammy, who is sitting there, constantly turning his head to look at doctors and nurses passing behind him. However, at the very end of the sequence, you see Sammy begin to stare at a doctor who has not yet entered the shot.

When the doctor does enter the shot, he passes in front of Sammy leaving him temporarily out of sight. The doctor then walks completely out of the shot past Sammy leaving him visible again for the last millisecond of the scene before it switches back to Leonard talking on the phone about Sammy.

However, if you look closely at the last millisecond of the Sammy scene when Sammy is last visible, you will notice that Sammy has been Switched out with Leonard. This implies that Leonard is Sammy way before it is actually found out in the plot twist.

9. The Book of Eli (2010)

Another in the collection of post-apocalyptic movies is Denzel Washington’s The Book of Eli. It is a film produced by the Hughes Brothers in 2010. It contains a journey in which Eli is the focal character who mournfully walks across a ravaged America, somewhere in the west with an ‘only he knows of’ goal to bring a bible with him.

Early on this journey, Eli found a broken car and took a chance to scavenge it like a vulture. Once inside he goes through everything, looking for things to scavenge. He felt the remaining parts of the vehicle and managed to block the corpse in the front seat. There is no question why Eli would show no sentiment towards the deceased or slaughter effects in this scene. One would expect him to play the part and disregard the presence of a corpse.

10. A Star Is Born (2018)

This musical classic received a new treatment which was spearheaded by Lady Gaga and it did not change the ending which was really a gut-punch. Even though this adaptation debuted a new perspective on the male spirit’s self-destructing act, the technique was rather precisely conspicuously hinted at. When viewers are presented with Bradley Cooper as Jack, he and his chauffeur are driving and they see a huge billboard with colorful rainbow ropes hanging gaily.

It is a detail that most people may overlook but is relevant as it alludes to the fact that there is a scene towards the end where Jack hangs himself using a rope. Probably the rainbow background is also to demonstrate that when one side, Jack, is on the decline, the other party, Ally, is flourishing and doing well in music; the same symmetry is done as the decision by Jack is interspersed with a scene of Ally’s thriving concert. As is the case today, it remains just as painful as it has always been.