Knowing/YMMV

• Alternate Character Interpretation: Given that the Strangers mentally abuse a young girl, repeatedly stalk and adbuct children, one could make the case their behaviour actually resembles paedophilia.
• Angst? What Angst?: Abby seems to take the death of her mother remarkably well, when she was only killed while trying to save her daughter from a situation that was caused by the Strangers. This is also completely at odds with their claim that the Strangers "don't want to hurt us".
• Esoteric Happy Ending
• High Octane Nightmare Fuel:
  • The disasters we witness, plus a few dreams. For example, the plane crash. Most films go for the flashy initial crash; this film actually bothered to show the immediate aftermath of such an event: Passengers screaming from inside the wreckage, people running, people on fire, people just walking in shock. One shot had a bunch of people running from the plane, you think they're safe, then BOOM!! they're enveloped in flames.
    • This is capped by the final disaster - the killer flare, though it's not as high-octane as the earlier, personal disasters, the lead-up is incredibly creepy: The aurora borealis, the sun getting brighter and brighter, the riots and panic. When the final firestorm comes, it's incredibly fast; nobody, including the protagonist, suffers long once it hits. Perhaps the worst part isn't the depiction of the actual firestorm, but the atmosphere being blown away. If anything survives the scouring by fire, there won't be any atmosphere left to support life. No, the caves wouldn't have saved them.
  • EVERYONE ELSE
  • The vision the alien shows Caleb of animals fleeing in panic as they burn alive. Holy freaking hell.
• Plot Hole:
  • Why would aliens tell a young girl every disaster there will be when the world is going to end in 50 years anyway? Also what the heck were the numbers that Caleb was writing all about? There couldn't have been that many disasters in 24 fricken hours!
    • The point was to show that the aliens were forcing many other kids to write the numbers throughout history and all over the world. This way the first girl at the start of the movie is not the only one with the numbers. And thus several people would learn about the numbers, realize that everyone will die and parents will be OK with aliens taking the kids on the spaceships. This troper is making a large assumption about this based on the fact that we see several space ships leaving at the end.
    • Double plot hole since the aliens could easily kidnap the kids against the parents will at any time they want. And they freaking do at the end.
    • Was Cage's character the only person on earth to ever figure out the purpose of the numbers? Because otherwise someone else would have told the media and easily proven that the numbers were true and become a famous billionaire. Did all of the other ships at the end come for kids who were kidnapped because their parents did not notice?
  • Why don't the aliens just tell humans in a normal way that shit will go down on the last day and to be ready instead of giving the numbers which only super geniuses could figure out?
  • Why did they not start picking up people until the last day, why not start gathering people 50 years ago?
  • Why do aliens care at all about the humans?
  • Why do the aliens only grab some people, specifically kids who can "hear them"? Nick Cage asks why he is not allowed to go with his son and not be burnt alive but was told that he could not basically "just because".
  • Why did the aliens have to drive to the center of a forest for pickup? They are aliens, they can land anywhere. And they already have the kid in their possession and who cares if people see the aliens?
  • Why do the aliens give black rocks to the kid? There are black rocks at the pick up point, but the aliens drag the kid to the point, the kid does not go to the point himself.
  • What was the point of giving Lucinda the vision in the first place? If she was one of the chosen ones to be saved, why did the Strangers drive her so insane that she eventually killed herself?
• Paranoia Fuel: The people shaped things watching the kids. Never mind what they're supposed to symbolize; they are creepy!
• Shocking Swerve: When the strange, scary people showing up to the children and others turn out in the very end to be benevolent aliens who are going to take them away and bring them back later to reseed the planet post-Armageddon.
  • Although the benevolent part is debatable given how at odds it is with their behaviour.
• Tear Jerker: Many, lots. Especially near the ending.
• Toy Ship: Caleb and Abby. Even the aliens agree.