Let's Nitpick Dawn Some More: Time of Outbreak

[Yojimbo]

That couldn't have happened. The keys to the locks were on the keyring that Roger found in the control room. No amount of "they evolve" is going to convince me that a zombie got the keyring, went around the mall unlocking all the main doors, then shambled back to the control room, and left the keyring right where it belongs. And then toddled off again, back into the mall. No way in hell. Agree there! Maintenance dude (who got shanked with the screwdriver) probably had his own set, got bitten at some point in the mall and then locked himself in Pennys to get away from the few ghouls outside, then likely died and reanimated while locked inside. So perhaps he had a set of keys, which would make sense if he were the mall maintenance dude. Since the power to a lot of the mall fixtures (fountains, common area displays, etc) was shut off, but the doors still open, I agree with those who say the mall likely was abandoned in the evening, during that window of time between the stores closing and the outer doors being locked.

[bassman]

It was just an idea. Besides....I'm sure there is more than just one set of keys to each mall. "Hey Frank....someone locked the keys inside of Pennys!!" "Ahhhh....f*ck! This mall is OVER!"

[SRP76]

We need better names for these zombies. "Maintenance Guy" doesn't cut it. How about these: Security Zombie (shot by Stephen) = "Cap'n" Maintenance Zombie (screwdrivered by Roger) = "Pierce"

[sandrock74]

We need better names for these zombies. "Maintenance Guy" doesn't cut it. How about these: Security Zombie (shot by Stephen) = "Cap'n" Maintenance Zombie (screwdrivered by Roger) = "Pierce" How about Maintenance Zombie = "Screw Face" (with apologies to Marked For Death)

[Thorn]

Go back and watch the movie again. In the later scenes, before the raiders arrive, when they have filled their living space with luxury furnishings and items scavenged from the mall, there is a large top-loading videocassette player beneath their TV set. I think it's possible that the mall was attacked during the day, while the mall was open. Probably during the same day that Johnnie and Barbra were driving to the cemetery, when things were just starting to go wrong. Think about it, there doesn't even have to be a struggle, no one was really thinking of shopping when such a national emergency was taking place - a lot of stores might have closed due to staff failing to show up for work, a couple of stores (and therefore the mall itself) might have open their doors but very few customers came in... Then, in the afternoon, when the mall was almost deserted apart from a few store workers, security, and some die-hard customers, some zombies shambled through the front doors. The security guys closed the shutters and locked down the stores to keep the walkers from advancing any further into the mall, and then evacuated the remaining staff and customers via emergency exits. Maybe one security guard got bitten and became the boiler room zombie, but everyone else got out okay and took off home to be with their families. Or maybe word came through the emergency networks to go to rescue stations and "leave your places of residence, no matter how secure or well stocked". The security guards who were looking after the place said "fsck this!" and hit the highway without bothering to lock the doors. I feel that this is very much possible as is the theory that the mall was opened to mall walkers in the morning but no stores were open. Mall walking programs opened early, no stores were open. Maintenance crews at least in my mall worked at night, and early morning to avoid inconvenience to shoppers. You tended to have a skeleton security staff ((let's be honest what are eleven 70 year old people going to do to you?)). My first thought when reading this excellent post was Mall walkers, and if things started to get ugly. One person biting people that is not an all out gore fest you would expect. Maybe one zombie came to the mall the one who attacked roger in the store, and bit the maintenance man. The maintenance man calls security as they think he is a drugged out psychotic, they lock him in the store as they can not get him under control and he in injuring people. The Let's say the maintenance man is infected, not knowing the nature of the outbreak or how it is spread he is not guaranteed. The security guard evacuates the mall walkers for their safety but does not in his haste or state of panic (he is not a police officer, or military but a security guard in a mall no offense I am sure some are excellent) he does not lock some/all of the doors preventing access to the mall. Or when he goes to more zombies show up and he understands how severe the situation is. He attempts to flee, but becomes infected. Either by the maintenance guy, a new arrival, or was injured in the struggle with the initial zombie who showed up. He and the maintence guy go their own ways after talking about it, or not and slowly succumb to the virus/plague/condition and die.

[AcesandEights]

The idea of mall walkers don't actively factor into the scenario for me, as mall walking, as an early morning fitness routine and pastime, didn't really make a cultural impact in the US and have an acknowledged presence till the early 1980s (much, much later in the UK, I believe). Anyway, there's tons of ways that make sense and I don't really see this as nitpicking the film, as it's not actually addressing a critical flaw in the film, only what some people may perceive (incorrectly in my estimation) as a possible flaw. Really, just because a minor plot detail isn't hammered out and served to us on a silver platter doesn't make it an error. But, yeah, it's an interesting topic.

[bassman]

Really, just because a minor plot detail isn't hammered out and served to us on a silver platter doesn't make it an error. But, yeah, it's an interesting topic. HOLD UP! Don't you trot in here being all high and mighty with your logic and common sense. That's not allowed 'round these ere parts!

[FoodFight]

The man wanted nitpicky....nitpicky he shall have! AcesandEights wrote: The idea of mall walkers don't actively factor into the scenario for me, as mall walking, as an early morning fitness routine and pastime, didn't really make a cultural impact in the US and have an acknowledged presence till the early 1980s (much, much later in the UK, I believe). As Yojimbo wrote, mallwalking was in effect in the very mall and at the time that Dawn was being filmed. To my mind, that elevates the possiblity of a morning situation to an even higher degree. Timelines aside, if the options of a totally locked-down mall (no undead inside) or a completely open (necessitating a total house-cleaning), the final storyline is much more interesting IMHO.

[Yojimbo]

I should point out that the novelization GAR did with Sparrow (not that it has anything to really do with the movie, I know) has a few of the shops with their gates still open, including the gun shop (which then allows a gag to occur with Stephen shooting ghoul in the open shop with a crossbow he grabs off of a display) Not sure what this implies in the scope of this discussion, however, since it could be that the ghouls started to show up in the window of time after the stores were in the process of closing for the evening, or it could be argued that the mall was in the process of being opened for business in the morning when it went bad.

[SRP76]

Hm. Well, we do actually get something like that onscreen. Peter says "most of the gates are down. I don't think they can get into the stores." Most. So, maybe the mall isn't totally locked up. That could support the thing in the novel to a degree.

[Philly_SWAT]

We need better names for these zombies. "Maintenance Guy" doesn't cut it. How about these: Security Zombie (shot by Stephen) = "Cap'n" Maintenance Zombie (screwdrivered by Roger) = "Pierce" The maintenance zombie is commonly referred to as the "screwdriver zombie". Not overly original, yes, however, you immediately know which one it is, and he only has about 30 seconds of screen time anyway. Or you could just call him "The composer of the Day of the Dead score" zombie!

[bassman]

Or you could just call him "The composer of the Day of the Dead score" zombie! Now that would make things even more confusing. Like you said, I've always called him screwdriver zombie. That's pretty much how I name all of them. Gun zombie, baseball zombie, escalator zombie, dumbass nurse zombie(I kid, I kid. I just don't like her zombie walk/look), fat swimmer zombie, etc.

[Yojimbo]

I was thinking: Maybe the mall was abandoned in the evening during security lockdown because a few zombies showed up and there were radio and TV reports telling folks to flee to rescue stations. During this initial bugout, Maintenance/Screwdriver dude gets bitten, runs to Pennys and locks himself in for protection. Security Guards abandon the lockdown detail and flee - one of them gets a chunk taken out of him by an errant zombie while he attempts to get it in a chokehold after seeing it attack maintainence dude (which really pissed off Boiler Room/Security dude because him and Maintenance/Screwdriver dude were drinking/smoking buddies) The night passes, with only a few singular zombies in the mall. One of the zombies, a young lad, loses his footing on the escalator and tumbles down, snapping his neck in the process and shutting off all signals to his brain. A nurse zombie enters the building, some dude in a snazzy sweater, and a member of the Arco Pitcairn Softball Team who had died days ago, his last thought on his mind as his life slipped away was of his girlfriend who worked at Lane Bryant and how he just had to see her one more time. Being miles away from the mall, it took him several days to get there. The next morning, a bunch of senior citizens, having not tuned into radio or television over the past few weeks (because they are old folks who shun modern conveniences) show up to the mall to do their morning walk. Boy, are they surprised to see other folks there already walking. "Hello" an old lady says to a sweater wearing balding guy who looks a lot like her nephew from New York, and he turns around and promptly makes a grab for her, ripping at her clothing. "Oh, no, Gertrude is being attacked by that awful young man!" screams another senior, who promptly attempts to help Gertrude by swatting ineffectively at the sweater wearing bald dude with her rolled up copy of Playgirl (she is a very progressive senior!) and soon it becomes obvious that something is terribly wrong with this picture. One of the seniors succumb to a heart attack while the others flee in panic. Days later, a helicopter approaches the mall. "What the hell is it?" a voice asks. "Looks like one of those indoor shopping malls" a reply comes, as the helicopter makes it way to a landing pad conveniently located on the rooftop of the mall. And now you know the rest of the story.

[SRP76]

I swear the one on the escalator was 1) a woman, and 2) shot. Wound right in the forehead, with the blood runner down her nose. I'm heading to youtube to check again...

[Yojimbo]

I swear the one on the escalator was 1) a woman, and 2) shot. Wound right in the forehead, with the blood runner down her nose. I'm heading to youtube to check again... Yeah, I thought so too, but haven't checked my copy yet to see if there was a bullet hole. I do remember blood, at the very least. Though, I do think it was a boy and not a woman.