A very small DOTD goof...

[bassman]

Nice theory, Philly. I never thought of it that way. Rep for you!..............wait One thing that you made me think of with that theory.... If they built the wall in anticipation of Looters, don't you think it would have been wiser to build it closer to the stairwell to the hideout? I mean, if looters were in the mall and for whatever reason went looking for the boiler room, power supplies, keys for the gates, etc.(just as Roger, Peter, and Flyboy did), they would find that there was no way to it? THEN they would have wished they had built a stronger wall.

[MikePizzoff]

Nice theory, Philly. I never thought of it that way. Rep for you!..............wait One thing that you made me think of with that theory.... If they built the wall in anticipation of Looters, don't you think it would have been wiser to build it closer to the stairwell to the hideout? I mean, if looters were in the mall and for whatever reason went looking for the boiler room, power supplies, keys for the gates, etc.(just as Roger, Peter, and Flyboy did), they would find that there was no way to it? THEN they would have wished they had built a stronger wall. I disagree. It's not like the looters would walk down there and be like "HERE! We smash this random piece of wall and hope it leads to the boiler room!" and it just so happens to be the crappy portion of 'fake' wall. I think they'd probably give up after a little bit of searching or not even think of it.

[bassman]

I disagree. It's not like the looters would walk down there and be like "HERE! We smash this random piece of wall and hope it leads to the boiler room!" and it just so happens to be the crappy portion of 'fake' wall. I think they'd probably give up after a little bit of searching or not even think of it. Well....being that it seemed to be in a back corner of the building, the "whirlybird" on the roof, and the large trucks blocking the doors....it would be pretty obvious that someone was trying to hide something. And like I said, that hallway appeared to be in a back corner somewhere(the most likely place to have a maintenance/employee entrance) and after the wall was built, it had no other purpose besides a soda machine.

[Philly_SWAT]

Nice theory, Philly. I never thought of it that way. Rep for you!..............wait One thing that you made me think of with that theory.... If they built the wall in anticipation of Looters, don't you think it would have been wiser to build it closer to the stairwell to the hideout? I mean, if looters were in the mall and for whatever reason went looking for the boiler room, power supplies, keys for the gates, etc.(just as Roger, Peter, and Flyboy did), they would find that there was no way to it? THEN they would have wished they had built a stronger wall. Thanx bassman, and thanks for the rep.......................wait Roger and Peter did not go looking for the boiler room, power supplies, key for the gates, etc., they just went looking for lighter fluid! OK, they were looking for more than lighter fluid, but they had no idea what they were going to find, they just went down the stairs to look around. Flyboy was only looking fo Roger and Peter. All three of them only found what they found by accident, they werent looking hard for anything in particular. As long as the door-hiding part of the wall looked like the rest of the wall (and I would have my doubts as to how you would get some painted paneling to look like a concrete wall, especially the bottom part of the wall) the looters would have no reason to think something was back there.

[bassman]

Not even the Helicopter on the roof(which initially gave them away to the Bikers), the entrance doors blocked with Semi's, or the fact that there is no control or operations room in the mall would give looters a hint? I think those would be some pretty good hints to intruders that someone is hiding something. And if it was obvious that someone was hiding something/somewhere....that hallway that leads to nowhere would be the first place I would check.

[MikePizzoff]

Not even the Helicopter on the roof(which initially gave them away to the Bikers), the entrance doors blocked with Semi's, or the fact that there is no control or operations room in the mall would give looters a hint? I think those would be some pretty good hints to intruders that someone is hiding something. And if it was obvious that someone was hiding something/somewhere....that hallway that leads to nowhere would be the first place I would check. I don't know, dude. I believe the average person doesn't even think there are boiler rooms, generators, or control rooms in malls. It's very possible it would go undiscovered for eternity if it weren't for that pesky Flyboy!

[bassman]

I don't know, dude. I believe the average person doesn't even think there are boiler rooms, generators, or control rooms in malls. It's very possible it would go undiscovered for eternity if it weren't for that pesky Flyboy! What? There is basically a central control station in every building. I mean...in a house you have a fuse box that controls all the power, right? Near the beginning of "Dawn" was see them turning on the power to all the lights, the music, the fountains, etc. Common sense tells you that something has to control all of this. And if you can't find that something in general location, especially a larger building like a mall....you know that something smells fishy. This is, of course, if you didn't figure that out by the large trucks parked parallel to the doors or the helicopter on the roof.

[jim102016]

Thanx bassman, and thanks for the rep.......................wait Roger and Peter did not go looking for the boiler room, power supplies, key for the gates, etc., they just went looking for lighter fluid! OK, they were looking for more than lighter fluid, but they had no idea what they were going to find, they just went down the stairs to look around. Flyboy was only looking fo Roger and Peter. All three of them only found what they found by accident, they werent looking hard for anything in particular. As long as the door-hiding part of the wall looked like the rest of the wall (and I would have my doubts as to how you would get some painted paneling to look like a concrete wall, especially the bottom part of the wall) the looters would have no reason to think something was back there. Philly, you've been to the Monroeville Mall...are those rooms (utilities, boiler room,etc.) actually on the second floor as they are in the movie? Wouldn't that stuff normally be on the first floor or in the basement? Thinking about that fake wall in place... I have to wonder if there could be ways to access those rooms, say from the first floor?

[capncnut]

I think Philly Swat should set up a special Dawn Of The Dead hotline for all those tough questions that need answering!

[Philly_SWAT]

Philly, you've been to the Monroeville Mall...are those rooms (utilities, boiler room,etc.) actually on the second floor as they are in the movie? Wouldn't that stuff normally be on the first floor or in the basement? Thinking about that fake wall in place... I have to wonder if there could be ways to access those rooms, say from the first floor? I will try to answer this the best way I can. Yes I have been to the Mall, and yes, the boiler room is on the first floor. That is the weird thing about knowing the real locations where things were shot in a movie. You have to dismiss your knowledge about the "real" setting, and only use what the "movie" setting is when discussing the movie. A different good example is this....in the Tom Cruise movie "Days of Thunder", there is a scene where they are at a hotel, and he says to Nicole Kidman, "What are you going to do now, get on a plane, and go back to Daytona?" Well, they filmed that scene at the Hilton right in Daytona, I have been there several times. It seems weird knowing about the "real" location, but in thinking about the movie I have to remind myself that in the movie, they are suppose to be at a hotel in Charlotte, NC, even though they filmed that scene in Daytona. But back to Dawn and the boiler room.... a few observations about the "real" boiler room location. I dont think that there is more than one way in and out of the boiler room. There is no back entrance, and the room is much smaller than it is made to look in the movie. It is actually located down a service hallway not far from the food court. The employee lounge is located down that hallway (I was tempted to sneak in there and steal one of the "Monroeville Mall" shirts that the food court employees wore, but I didnt!) For those who havent been there and want a location reference to the movie, the food court is located where the skating rink used to be, across from Penny's. But in the "movie", the boiler room was on the second floor. As for your question as to whether or not there would be access to these rooms from the first floor, I dont think that there would be, unless you were going to drill thru the roof. Something else to think about....in the movie, the mall has only two floors (same as in real life). But to leave their hideout, they had to go down a flight of stairs, and they were still on the second floor. Ever think about that?

[jim102016]

I will try to answer this the best way I can. Yes I have been to the Mall, and yes, the boiler room is on the first floor. That is the weird thing about knowing the real locations where things were shot in a movie. You have to dismiss your knowledge about the "real" setting, and only use what the "movie" setting is when discussing the movie. A different good example is this....in the Tom Cruise movie "Days of Thunder", there is a scene where they are at a hotel, and he says to Nicole Kidman, "What are you going to do now, get on a plane, and go back to Daytona?" Well, they filmed that scene at the Hilton right in Daytona, I have been there several times. It seems weird knowing about the "real" location, but in thinking about the movie I have to remind myself that in the movie, they are suppose to be at a hotel in Charlotte, NC, even though they filmed that scene in Daytona. But back to Dawn and the boiler room.... a few observations about the "real" boiler room location. I dont think that there is more than one way in and out of the boiler room. There is no back entrance, and the room is much smaller than it is made to look in the movie. It is actually located down a service hallway not far from the food court. The employee lounge is located down that hallway (I was tempted to sneak in there and steal one of the "Monroeville Mall" shirts that the food court employees wore, but I didnt!) For those who havent been there and want a location reference to the movie, the food court is located where the skating rink used to be, across from Penny's. But in the "movie", the boiler room was on the second floor. As for your question as to whether or not there would be access to these rooms from the first floor, I dont think that there would be, unless you were going to drill thru the roof. Something else to think about....in the movie, the mall has only two floors (same as in real life). But to leave their hideout, they had to go down a flight of stairs, and they were still on the second floor. Ever think about that? Thanks for the great info, I'll have to visit the mall maybe next time I get home, I grew up maybe eight miles from Philadelphia. Bit of a distance, but would be worth it I think. Good point about about the mall only having two floors dispite Peter and the gang having to go down one more to get to the second floor. I have seen some buildings that were built into hills that throw conventional logic out the window and I have seen a few malls that were two floors, with the bigger 'anchor' stores having third floors. But, I guess for Dawn, they had to place the utilities and boiler room on the second floor or the movie obviously wouldn't have worked. Thanks again.