Something that bugs me about the Dawn of the Dead remake...

[bassman]

Elsewhere in this forum, posters suggested that there wouldn't be enough long-term food (food that doesn't spoil after a week or so). I disagree. Vending machines alone could keep the characters going for quite some time if it's rationed. Also, restaurants have tons of canned goods in storage (if you think all restaurant food is "fresh", I have a couple of bridges in NYC I can sell ya lol). This is actually one thing I'll give the remake over the original. As mentioned earlier in the thread, at least in the remake they don't store their rotting corpses next to their frozen goods. Entrances into the mall could be baracaded not to mention actually walled off (the characters get their SOS paint from a store called 'Case Hardware'. No need. There's a quick deleted scene in which the mean black guy sees a zombie run into one of the glass doors and then states "shatter-proof glass asshole". Problem solved. No barricades needed. Well now that you mention it, would not the cold that freezes water also turn the zombies into zombicles? (frozen solid?) I mean, afterall they ARE just meat with shoes on. That would certainly make sense. Muscles and joints do freeze at a certain temperature. The Walking Dead comics covered this in one of the earlier issues, actually.

[Ragnarr]

Another aspect of DotD04 that entered my warped mind; if the movie takes place over 30 days (according to Andy's 'The Lost Tapes'), instead of playing binocular chess or celebrity marksman, wouldn't it have been smarter to spend their time on the mall's roof thining out the herd (horde) of zombies by say tieing a 30 ft. rope to a cinderblock, calling over the crowd of undead to get them close to the wall base, then just letting gravity work its magic with the cinderblock and their heads? Could bump off (literally) like 4 zombies a minute, which would be 240 zombies per hour, and that's just 1 character passing his or her time doing this. Wouldn't be long before there wouldn't be many zombies at all and they could just have Andy walk over to the mall for lunch. Now, if you have just 5 characters doing this for 8 hours a day, that would get rid of 9600 zombies per day, which at 30 days would be 288,000 zombies on their backs with a terminal headache.

[Rancid Carcass]

Now, if you have just 5 characters doing this for 8 hours a day, that would get rid of 9600 zombies per day, which at 30 days would be 288,000 zombies on their backs with a terminal headache. Ah yes, but do you really think you cinderblock the piss out of them? All of them? As the old saying goes - "What about the millions more waiting to greet you outside?" I'm afraid they had them in a hopless situation, hopeless unless... unless you could make a jerry-rigged battle bus so they could reach the docks, jump in the old floaty-boat, find them an island someplace, and spend what time they had left gettin' juiced up, making home videos and chasing after that bloody dog again...

[Ragnarr]

Ah yes, but do you really think you cinderblock the piss out of them? All of them? As the old saying goes - "What about the millions more waiting to greet you outside?" I'm afraid they had them in a hopless situation, hopeless unless... unless you could make a jerry-rigged battle bus so they could reach the docks, jump in the old floaty-boat, find them an island someplace, and spend what time they had left gettin' juiced up, making home videos and chasing after that bloody dog again... I see your point. I guess what I'm thinking here is (A) the zombie outbreak is of an overall finite duration (the preface of the "Lost Tapes" extra on the dvd states that Andy's tape was found after the zombie outbreak had passed), and (B) only the zombies that were surrounding the mall and also near Andy's gunshop needed be thinned out/eliminated either with the cinderblock-drop-to-the-head method or by something the equivalent (the noise of gunshots only draws more distant zombies to that location). Just thinking of ways the characters could have survived with minimal losses instead of their (durp) idea of making a run to zombie island.

[Trin]

On the lost tapes they gave a thoroughly implausible explanation for why thinning the herd wasn't an option. Andy mentions that for every one he kills two more show up. Whether that is due to the gunfire noise or not I don't recall. It may not be relevant for the cinderblock solution. In the grand scheme of things given Andy's prowess with a gun and (assumedly) a half-decent ammo supply he should be able to stack bodies up quickly enough to create a short term thinning of the herd. I guarantee you I'd clean out as many as possible and make a run for the mall before I'd starve to death on a roof. And speaking of getting to the mall... if they knew they could get within spitting distance of the gunshop through a sewer passage then why didn't they just propane the zombies right outside the gunshop and have him run for the sewer? Or drive the truck around to distract them as he made a run for it. Or... drive the truck over and have him drop guns and ammo on top of it, then jump down on it himself. So many ways to save Andy....

[Ragnarr]

I like your idea of using the sewer to rescue Andy. The only problem I see with driving the truck over to the gunshop and having Andy (+guns & ammo) drop into the truck is the same problem I had when the second group of survivors reached the mall; the woman driver and the old dude with the bad ankle were able to climb out of the cab, then on top the truck and up a ladder to the mall roof (hmm). If they could climb the truck, so could our smelly dead friends. I think your idea of a propane tank kaboom followed by a dash to the manhole near andy's would be a good option. Any of these siege type movies (including "The Mist") gets me thinking of ways the characters could have done better, and maybe that's why I love watching them over and over.

[bassman]

Here's a strange, off-the-wall idea. Use the products available in the mall to make a potato gun. They're simple to make and if there was a hardware store, they should have everything they need. Maybe build some sort of foam cartridge to fill the tube for the pressure and protect the food, then shoot Andy over some food one hairspray shot at a time.

[Trin]

The only problem I see with driving the truck over to the gunshop and having Andy (+guns & ammo) drop into the truck is the same problem I had when the second group of survivors reached the mall; the woman driver and the old dude with the bad ankle were able to climb out of the cab, then on top the truck and up a ladder to the mall roof (hmm). If they could climb the truck, so could our smelly dead friends. Hmmm... I see your point... but assumedly the zombies never did that, which implies they couldn't for some reason. I have no idea why. Dog-girl was able to get access to the truck okay. So we know they didn't move it away. Interesting point. But simply sticking to what we know, the truck was available and assumedly people could get into the mall from the truck without letting the zombies in. I still think that's my first choice for Andy rescue. Here's a strange, off-the-wall idea. Use the products available in the mall to make a potato gun. They're simple to make and if there was a hardware store, they should have everything they need. Maybe build some sort of foam cartridge to fill the tube for the pressure and protect the food, then shoot Andy over some food one hairspray shot at a time. That idea is nuts. And I see no reason why it wouldn't have a decent chance of success. The distance isn't a problem. There would be sufficient things to use for propellant and projectiles. They would likely waste some shots getting the trajectory right, but who cares. The roof area had a brick backing that would stop the projectile from just bouncing off the roof. Andy would likely need to be downstairs just for safety sake. The biggest risk I see is them blowing a hole in the front of his store (the barricaded windows) that gives the zombies a seam to pull open a bigger section and get inside. If they aimed off to the side until they got the distance right it wouldn't be *too* big a risk. Great plan... you've got a spot reserved in my mall anytime the zombies come!

[bassman]

The roof area had a brick backing that would stop the projectile from just bouncing off the roof. Andy would likely need to be downstairs just for safety sake. The biggest risk I see is them blowing a hole in the front of his store (the barricaded windows) that gives the zombies a seam to pull open a bigger section and get inside. If they aimed off to the side until they got the distance right it wouldn't be *too* big a risk. As you say.....considering the distance and if the guys at the mall arched the trajectory of the potato gun just right, I don't think it would be a problem as far as causing damage. As for "catching" the food, Andy could rig up a few large blankets like a cushion to receive the food/capsule/whatever. Then just stand in the doorway that leads to the roof to avoid being hit. Great plan... you've got a spot reserved in my mall anytime the zombies come! Yeah....as crazy as it sounds, I think this may be the best way they could have gotten food to Andy. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it before, actually...

[rongravy]

I don't see how they, the Army(?) could've taken out the zombie threat without just destroying the whole city, as fast as those things were and the sheer number of them. I thought of the propane thangie myself. The potato gun delivery system is something to think about though, lol. Anything to keep Andy in there, he'd definitely be an asset to the team. More than a PETA loving hottie. Guess they kept her to make sure they could repopulate the planet... BOOM!!! Here's your ham sammich, Andeh.

[Ragnarr]

lol good post rongravy. Didn't think about the potato gun before, but that'd be a hoot fer sher. But it's not so much taking out the entire zombie threat by force; like Dr. Frankenstein said in DayotD, there aren't enough bullets (paraphrasing). It's more of the characters in the mall dealing better with what was in front of them or between Andy's and the mall, and of course feeding Andy while stocking up on guns & ammo. The PETA chick was only in the movie to be annoying I think. I was upset that they killed off the hot blonde ala chainsaw; just as upset when they bumped off the hot blonde in Walking Dead's first season (the younger of the blonde sisters). Why can't zombies only eat unattractive people? Dagnabbit!

[blind2d]

Most folks ARE unattractive when their guts are spilling out. IMO. >.>

[Ragnarr]

Here's another aspect of Z-flicks for all you fans; How in the name of Jupiter's balls can zombies bite through clothing? Remember Roger in the original Dawn flick? He's climbing into Peter's truck and that zombie BITES THROUGH HIS PANTS LEG, taking a sizable chunk of flesh from his leg. Are we to believe that zombies with the strength of Peewee Herman have razor sharp teeth and jaw muscles as powerful as a pitbull? I know if I was in a situation where there was a danger of getting bit by anything much less zombies, I'd be sure to wear some sort of make-shift armor or street hockey gear on my arms at the very least, and a full suit at the most.

[rongravy]

Why can't zombies only eat unattractive people? Dagnabbit! Only Ashton Kutcher and Brad Pitt would be left. Where's the fun in that? Attractive douchenozzles are the ones I want to see get munched. Gives fugly guys like me a chance, lol. Most folks ARE unattractive when their guts are spilling out. IMO. >.> Even Salma Hayek? I doubt it. I know if I was in a situation where there was a danger of getting bit by anything much less zombies, I'd be sure to wear some sort of make-shift armor or street hockey gear on my arms at the very least, and a full suit at the most. Thick black leather pants and jacket with chainmail gloves, they might pinch the shit out of you, but it wouldn't go through.

[Ragnarr]

Leather outfit would work. Chainmail halberk would be heavy but awesome certainly. Maybe I look too far into 'what the characters should have done' thing sometimes, but that's the way my warped brainage works. With 30 days to come up with solutions to their problems, the Dawn04 characters could have (mostly) survived I think.