Legend of Bloody Mary or Birdemic, hhhmmm, you decide

I had to watch this thing twice (I know, but I've been sick in bed for four days) to see if the filmmakers were actually trying to make something serious or if they were trying to pull one over on the viewers. I actually fast forwarded a couple times, and nodded off for a minute here and there, so maybe these were explained, but:

1) Why were there two characters named "Mary (the title character and the loony in the wheelchair)?" This almost never happens in movies and is just confusing to viewers (please let me know if there was a reason for it that I might have fast-forwarded through).

2) Was that REALLY supposed to be Ryan as a kid?!?! The disappearance of his sister must have scared the dark out of him. The kid has dark hair and dark skin (Italian I'm guessing by his real name). His face isn't shaped the same as Paul Preis'. His eyes are set differently. Hell, I wasn't even sure if that was supposed to be him as a kid until the second time I watched it.

3) At first I thought the director was shooting day for night until I noticed that it was SUPPOSED TO BE day. Can you say "white balance" and "filters?"

4) Were the priest and the detective twins? ;)

5) Before and after each actor's lines, did the editor count to three at the beginning and end of every cut? It was as if the actor was told to count to three after the director said "action" and then the editor made his cut on "action."

6) $1,000,000?!?! What did they spend that budget ON?

I'm sure there are a dozen more examples, but my guess is that this movie was a huge practical joke.