Major Production Unit: Pre-Production - Easter Egg Compilation

The definitive list of all easter eggs and background information hidden in the film


1. In Scene 18 Zoe is reading the book 'American Psycho'.

2. In Scene 2 Sean is handed a pizza box with the company titled 'The Unreal Pizza Co.' it's slogan being 'So Good It's Unreal!'

3. Archie's Phone Number is 09131791454, and, if converted into letters, spells out 'imagined'. 09 = I, 13 = M, 1 = A, 7 = G, 9 = I, 14 = N, 5 = E, 4 = D.

4. Pewauk Road, visible on the ransom not, is an anagram of 'Wake Up'.

5. The pizza leaflet Sean hands to Zoe in Scene 18 contains several secrets.
- The phone number (09131791454) is the exact same as Archie's, an allusion to the constructed world.
- The address is Pewauk Road and the postcode 'DE49 5AD'. Removing the numbers leaves the word 'DEAD' and the numbers when converted to letters spell 'DIE'.
- On the left side of the leaflet are three messages. Order no. 5 has "Wake The Fuck Up!"; order 9 is "Murder Spree - Dead Girlfriend & Best Mates'; and order 12 reads "You Are Archie - This Isn't Real". Additionally if the order numbers are converted into letters, they spell EIL which backwards is LIE.
- On the right hand side are two more secrets: inside one of the blue boxes near the centre is the message 'She's Dead' and meal order no. 13 is called "Killer Meal 1- 3 Friends; 2 Tents; 1 Mistake; 1 Knife; Lifetime of Regret".

6. The values of the playing cards during Sean, Zoe and Perry's game of 21's are significant. Sean has a King of Clubs and an Ace of Hearts: symbolic of the real Archie killing the others (him being the king and the three killed represented by the heart as they are his loved ones). Zoe's cards are a 4 of Diamonds; 5 of Hearts; Ace of Clubs; 4 of Spades and a 9 of Diamonds. Translating the numbers into letters gives DEADI or 'I DEAD'. The 9 is technically there to get her card total to over 21 as in the script she loses the game. Perry's cards are an Ace of Clubs; 3 of Diamonds; 10 of Diamonds and a Jack of Spades: Zoe referring to them as "A one, three and two-tens". Doing the same translation to letters again gives ACT. 

7. The labels on the Beer bottles that Sean drinks from are called "Es Ist Nicht Echt" which translates from German to "It's Not Real"; a reference to the truth behind the world the film is set in.
Alongside this: an image of Archie holding up a bottle is printed above the lettering on the label. Another way of him attempting to infiltrate and shake up the false world Sean has created.

8. In Scene 1 Zoe shows Perry a painting she has done: it is an exact copy of Edouard Manet's 'Le Suicide' and the imagery foreshadows the final scene of the film.

'Le Suicide' (Manet, 1881)

9. In Scene 30 when Sean watches the news one of the news bites along the banner at the bottom reads "Sales of the drug Respidoral have risen significantly in the last quarter"

Respidoral is a play on the word Risperdal, which is a prescription drug used to treat Schizophrenia:

https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Treatment/Mental-Health-Medications/Risperidone-(Risperdal)

It has also been used to help with other psychosis' like Delusional Disorder: the condition that the Real Archie suffers from.

10. A DVD copy of 'Fight Club' can be seen on the shelf above the TV in Scenes 30 and 38: [Spoiler for Fight Club] the two protagonists in the film turn out to be the same person; just like in Grit.

Still from Scene 30

11. Every location named in Grit is an anagram of a message linked towards the truth about the world:

Lieafstalk [Woods] - It's All Fake
Fit Fishes Lake - This Life's Fake
Pewauk [Road] - Wake Up
Flared Owls [Park] - False World

12. The Chapter Titles are also anagrams:

Chapter 1: Sound Lie - Delusion
Chapter 2: Flared Owls - False World
Chapter 3: Aiding Me - Imagined
Chapter 4: Early Exit - Ex Reality
Chapter 5: Lieafstalk Woods - It's All Fake

The first letter of each chapter spells 'SFAEL' which is itself, an anagram of 'FALSE'.

13. In Scene 5 along with the normal photos of the protagonists, there is a third photo of Perry with an Archie's either side of Perry:

14. In Scene 26 Sean finds Perry's Phone: the password for which is 4514. Converted into letters spells DEAD. An allusion to Perry's fate in the film.

15. Among the names on Perry's contacts list in Scene 26 are those of the cast and crew for Grit.

16. In some pieces of the film's soundtrack, a breathing noise can be heard. This is actually Archie's dialogue in Scene 33 when he says "Archie". The audio is slowed down significantly and a reverb effect added to it. This is a reference to Archie being the only real person and his Guilty side (the one infiltrating the delusion) trying to communicate to his Delusional side.

17. Throughout the film words and sentences flash up and twitch. These are to signal key pieces of information that stick out to Sean. One in particular is in Scene 11 when Archie talks about finding Perry's wallet:

Still from Scene 11

Still from Scene 11

Still from Scene 11

As Archie talks about finding the wallet a secondary conversation appears behind the trio: this is the real conversation that happens between Zoe and Archie but Sean imagines a different one due to his desire for Archie to be behind Perry's disappearance. It reads as so:
"So how did you get on?"
"Nothing, no-one can remember."
"I think you two were the last to see him."

Additionally: to further indicate that this is a thought of Sean's, Zoe and Archie 'break' and 'glitch':

Still from Scene 11

They both jolt and stutter like a broken screen to signal that something isn't right in combination with the second conversation. Sean doesn't jolt as it is him imagining the other two's discussion.

18. Another aspect of the text that appears is that some of the words and letters change to a more accurate message.

Still from Scene 10

Still from Scene 10

In Scene 10 Sean's line is "I'm just concerned, that's all."

Still from Scene 33

Still from Scene 33

In Scene 33, "He did it" changes to "We did it." another sign that the two parts of the Real Archie's minds are battling with each other.

19. In Scene 30 when Sean throws the remote at the television the broken up image of Archie changes for a split second:

Still from Scene 30

Still from Scene 30

Backstory ones

1. "Fucking hate dogs" is an off-the-cuff comment made by Archie in Scene 11 after he almost steps on some dog shit. This is an actual character trait of Archie's.

2. In Scene 5 when Sean, Zoe and Archie are inside Perry's house, there are some photo frames on the mantelpiece:

Still from an used shot.

One is an easter egg (see above) but the other two showcase the main characters' relationships with each other. One depicts Archie and Perry whilst the other is of all four of them seated and smiling for the camera. A nice and subtle way to A) liven up Perry's house and B) to establish how close the four are with one another.

3. A book titled 'Writing A Dissertation For Dummies' can be seen on the shelf above the TV in Scene 30. A hint towards why the Real Archie struggled at university and eventually turned to alcohol and drugs.

Still from Scene 30

4. In Scene 22, as Sean wakes up on the sofa, some bottles, lighters and a burnt spoon rest atop the table beside him. This alludes to the Real Archie's Heroin addiction he suffers from in the real world.

5. The DVD stack that can be seen in Scenes 30 and 38 detail the Real Archie and Zoe's film taste. A sign of the real world slowly seeping into the delusional one.

6. Scene 26 contains a moment when Archie receives a phone call from someone called Trigg. Trigg is the Real Archie's drug dealer and whom he gets his Heroin from. The words "I am running a bit low, yeah" and "Black Sugar" are said by Archie during his phone conversation. References to this addiction; Black Sugar is a slang term used for Heroin.

7. When Sean and Zoe are at the park in Scene 4, Zoe explains her love for Camping and how used to go when she was younger. This is to provide some extra backstory and development for Zoe.