Hah: Classic 1989 Sci-Fi Film Is Going Viral in 2024 After Eagle-Eyed Fans Notice Glaring Error
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
Nobody and nothing on this planet is perfect, but there are some pretty decent facsimiles of “perfection.”
Movies and film, for instance, have the benefit of re-shoots, reviews, editing and computer graphics to give as “perfect” of a vision to the moviegoer as possible.
Even then, however, sometimes mistakes can make it to the final cut. Usually, that becomes a quick point of virality and controversy, before the world collectively moves on to the next viral thing.
What’s not nearly as common, however, is when a blatant mistake makes it through a final cut for a film … and nobody really notices for close to 35 years.
That appears to be the case with the 1989 sci-fi cult classic, “The Abyss.”
The movie, which was directed by James Cameron (of “Titanic” and “Avatar” fame), is about a daring rescue mission of an ambushed nuclear submarine.
“The Abyss” features a fun supernatural twist that won’t be spoiled here.
The error in question comes during a tense moment in the movie, but once you see the blunder, it really does take some of the oomph out of the scene.
See if you can spot it for yourself:
WARNING: The following scene contains language that some viewers may find offensive.
Yes, in the middle of a poignant exchange between two key characters in the film, someone on the set felt compelled to wipe the camera clean with a very visible rag or towel.
The scene went viral on X, as well.
How the HELL have I not noticed that in all the years I’ve been watching “The Abyss”.
How?
HOW?! https://t.co/UBm3vmWMho pic.twitter.com/5C2FRKNzAN
— David Stokes (@davidleestokes) May 2, 2024
An X post from screenwriter David Stokes swiftly garnered 25,000 likes just a day after going up.
Director Stephen Ford also chimed in on X, adding: “I love this so much. We are so invested in this scene from The Abyss that most of us never saw the lens wipes.
“Our brains probably assumed it was like a dangling piece of set in the foreground.”
This writer certainly interpreted those lens wipes as dangling debris when he first saw this movie in the mid-’90s.
While it’s impossible to trace back to who first noticed this glaring error, a mid-April TikTok video from writer Jason Pargin and a subsequent Resetera message board helped spread the issue this time around.
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