The Lovely Bones/YMMV
- Angst? What Angst?: Even taking into account the time-span between Susie's murder and Grandma Lynn's arrival at the house, she seems remarkably blase about the fact her eldest grandchild had been murdered.
- Perhaps it's clearer in the novel, but the film's loose depiction of the timeline leaves open the weak possibility that she dealt with the initial shock of the event in a previous visit more immediately after the murder.
- IIRC, Grandma Lynn's equivalent visit in the novel is much, much later in the timeline than it is in the movie.
- Perhaps it's clearer in the novel, but the film's loose depiction of the timeline leaves open the weak possibility that she dealt with the initial shock of the event in a previous visit more immediately after the murder.
- Complete Monster: In the film version, George Harvey personifies this trope in that he lures the main character into a makeshift, underground clubhouse, rapes her, then murders her and SLICES HER TO PIECES. And he's raped and killed other girls before her.
- At least in the book, Harvey is given somewhat of a Freudian Excuse of having a really screwed up childhood where his (very beloved) mother ran out of the car in the middle of the desert and it's sort of implied that he never heard from her again. Susie even notices and is sort of agonized by the fact that he does show signs of guilt over what he does and apparently does it on impulse, even trying to quell such impulses by killing animals instead, but does it nonetheless.
- High Octane Nightmare Fuel: The expression on Mr. Harvey's face, when he takes the washcloth off it, after killing Susie. You almost expect him to growl like a demon.
- Susie is raped then cut into little pieces. Her elbow is found by the neighbor's dog.
- In the film, the murder is never shown. However, we do get a scene of Susie watching her murderer cleaning the blood off himself in a bath. HER blood.
- And the sack with her body in it. We don't see any pieces. But we do see him throwing it into the safe. Not to mention how creepy the scene at the sinkhole at the end is, when you remember that the safe they're tossing in has a dismembered fourteen year old in it!
- How about the scene where Lindsey finds the book detailing Harvey's plans to murder Susie? It may have been a Moment of Awesome for Lindsey in that she got away, but she's just so close to getting caught. In fact, even when she knows he's come home, she still reads the book until she hears him run upstairs. The whole time, this troper's heart was pounding and she was saying, "Run, Lindsey! Run!"
- Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped: May or may not be intentional, but Susie's inability to let go of her life subtly preaches "Don't hold on to past grievances; accept things as they are and live in the present."
- Not just her, but everyone else. By the end of the movie, her family and friends have all moved on and everyone is happier for it.
- Tear Jerker: Many moments, especially when Susie meets the other murder victims and the youngest one runs up and gives her a hug., but your mileage may vary between certain scenes.
- From the book: when the family dog dies, Susie worries that he won't recognize her after so many years apart. He does.
- Tough Act to Follow: After directing The Lord of the Rings and sweeping the Oscars, it wasn't exactly going to be easy for Jackson to bring out an encore.