- Revealing mistakes: Most of the "naked" girls dancing in the stone circle and jumping over the fire are wearing flesh-colored body stockings (the film was shot in autumn and not in spring as it was set, and thus was very cold).
- Revealing mistakes: At one point during Willow's nude dance, she rears her head back and her face is slightly visible, just enough to see that it's obviously a double (see trivia).
- Crew or equipment visible: In the director's cut, there's a scene where the bar-owner is tied up to the bed. A few seconds before it cuts away, a crew-member's leg can be seen on the left hand side.
- Revealing mistakes: In the scene where Sgt Howie hits McGregor (who is dressed as Punch) with a candlestick, watch closely and you can see that the blow from Howie is aimed into the padded section on the back of the punch costume, rather than at the back of McGregor's head.
- Revealing mistakes: While Sgt Howie (dressed as Punch) is being chased by the women, you can see autumn leaves on the grass, though the story is set on the first of May.
- Continuity: While Sgt Howie is at the chemist shop he shows Lennox (who is mixing something with a mortar and pestle) a photo of the missing girl. Notice how in between shots the photo goes from Howie's hand into Lennox's hand, without having been handed over.
- Continuity: When Sgt Howie is unable to start the plane, he calls the harbor master. While the harbor master is rowing back he calls out to Sgt Howie "What's the matter, won't she go?" Notice that when he begins this question he is nowhere near the plane, but as he is finishing the question, he is now alongside the plane.
- Continuity: In the scene where Sgt Howie is in the classroom, he places the blackboard duster at an angle on the desk lid where Miss Rose sits, later when he goes to open the desk lid the blackboard duster is now level at the top the desk.
- Continuity: In the scene where Howie questions the Doctor about Rowan Morrison's death certificate, the Doctor is seen to open his front door and step partly inside. The shot cuts away, and when it cuts back to the Doctor his front door is shut. He opens it again and goes in.
- Continuity: There is a cut when Rowan Morrison's coffin is exhumed, during which Sgt. Howie moves visibly closer to the gravedigger and the ropes around the coffin disappear.
- Factual errors: The calendar in the Photographer's shows May Day to be a Tuesday, therefore Sergeant Howie flew out on Sunday. Not only is this notably unlikely for a routine police investigation in the generally religious Scottish Highlands, The Director's Cut shows Howie receiving the letter on the same day. There were no Sunday postal deliveries at the time.
- Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the scene in which the boys are dancing and singing round the Maypole,none of the children's lips are moving although we hear singing on the soundtrack.
- Continuity: When Sgt Howie inspects the school register he stops on "Belthane Term", where Rowan Morrison's address is given as "The Tuck Shop." The shot changes to a close-up, and his finger runs along the same page to now find she was resident at "The Post Office." His hand is also clearly in the wrong position on the following change.
>>> WARNING: Here Be Spoilers <<<
Goofs below here contain information that may give away important plot points. You may not want to read any further if you've not already seen this title.
- Continuity: SPOILER: As Howie is led to the Wicker Man and burned in it, the sky moves from clear to cloudy, blue to grey, and mid-high sun to sunset throughout the sequence, frequently swapping between any of these states.
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