Living Dead Movie Timeline?

[3pidemiC]

No? That's why I am asking the question. I thought maybe that GAR had adressed it before. I guess it's cool that everyone has their own opinions on it. The only thing that I would have to disagree with is the thoughts about Land. Everyone here seems to think that Land happens 3 years after the initial outbreak, but Slack mentions in the film that she has never been to the deadlands and that she has grown up with the living dead around here. Now, clearly she is older than three which would mean that Land takes place at least 18-20 years after the outbreak. Any thoughts?

[Choas]

No? That's why I am asking the question. I thought maybe that GAR had adressed it before. I guess it's cool that everyone has their own opinions on it. The only thing that I would have to disagree with is the thoughts about Land. Everyone here seems to think that Land happens 3 years after the initial outbreak, Slack mentions that she has never been to the deadlands and that she has grown up with the living dead around here. Now, clearly she is older than three which would mean that Land takes place at least 18-20 years after the outbreak. Any thoughts? I think she said that she lived in the city her whole life.Back when it was a real city.

[SRP76]

With all of the people that are alive in the Green, they are still able to find food, medicine, booze, etc. in towns close enough to the Green to support everyone. Seems to me that after a long period of time, towns close enough for raids of this type would be depleted in short order, Perhaps not. They aren't in an underground bunker; they are in a city. Not a little one, either; it's a huge urban area. Before even thinking about venturing out to raid the surrounding towns, the people holed up in the city would live on what's already there. And we know that Pittsburgh has a LOT of items within its borders at all times. With all the supermarkets, restaurants, drugstores, and so on, the survivors would have enough supplies already inside to last a very, very long time. Especially when the "unwashed masses" are only allowed tablescraps to begin with. They probably didn't have to go on their first raid until a couple years in.

[Trin]

I prefer to think of the movies in the same universe. My opinion: Night/Diary - Initial Outbreak - first days Dawn - 3 weeks up to 6 months or so Day - 8 or 10 months Land - 3-5 years Day - I believe there is a lot of evidence that Day was within the first year. The researchers were still hung up on basics. The military were still losing people. They'd only recently lost contact with the government. The place was in a rapid downward spiral. It couldn't have been going on for years like that. They would've either imploded (like they did) or found some level point that would've likely continued indefinitely. Also, the attitudes of the researchers and military was that there was still hope of finding a cure and returning the world to some semblance of normalcy. The military in particular were just waiting for the researches to figure it out so they could all go home. At the beginning of the movie Sarah was in denial over the new world. John was not. He'd moved on and was ready to start living according to the new world's rules. By the end of the movie Sarah had moved to acceptance as well. Land - As opposed to Day they'd given up on the old world. They'd moved on and learned to exist in the new zombie world. They reached the level where they'd found the routine and survival mechanisms to cope. They saw the zombies as part of their world, not an aberration. They were no longer horrified by them - they used them for sport and novelty. No one was trying to solve the problem, they were living with it. They had long ago moved from denial into acceptance. I see all these attitudes as being MUCH further into the outbreak than what we saw in Day. Riley in particular had been part of the new society long enough that he wanted out. He was so frustrated and beaten down over what he was having to do day in and day out that he was ready to leave the protected area and go out on his own. That kind of attitude doesn't come in a short period of time. A few observations: - In Day the helicopter flew over the Florida coastline. Power lines were still intact and boats were still moored. I don't see that being the case after even one storm season. - We don't know how many people lived in Land nor do we know how far and wide they were scavenging. We do know that the zombies walked nearly 24 hours to reach the Green, which means it was a fair distance. - Slack said that she hadn't been outside the city since it had been a real city, not that she had grown up after the outbreak. I took that to mean that she was in the city when it happened and was within the protected area when it was established. - The economy in Land was a Kaufman re-estabilished one, not the previous free market one. It's implausible to believe that they just kept spending money from the initial point of the outbreak right up until Land began. At some point the economy had to fall and Kaufman had to re-establish it.

[DubiousComforts]

I can say that the first zombie attacks began on a Friday in late March or early April, and that Night takes place the Sunday after it. You are correct. According to the radio broadcast, the phenomenon began two days earlier in Louisiana with the first reported murder of a family. (Someone in the forum had mentioned this, so I double-checked the film. Good catch.)

[Mike70]

well guys, romero was onced asked a question that is relevant to this discussion about horror sequels and here is his answer: HW: Many horror sequels bring back previous survivors to fight the evil once again... George: Yeah HW: ...yet you have never done this in your Dead films. George: No. HW: Is there a reason for that? George: Well you know, they were never... I never did anything with the period. I could have set them all in 1968 [laughs] and since they weren't connected in time... Well, in other words, I just used the period. I shot one in the 70's and the background was 70's - I shot one in the 80's and the background was the 80's - and this one this background will be 2000. So I don't feel that you can continue the same characters. The thing that continues is just the phenomena and I try to put a different spin on it that reflects the time when the film is made, rather than try to keep the same characters going, it just wouldn't make any sense unless they were all done in the same period. HW: So you would never considered bringing back a character? George: No, they're too far apart... well, I might. Actually at one point I thought about bringing back Peter from Dawn, but it would have to be 20 years later - and of course the actor would look right for it because he's 20 years older. this was taken from a very long interview with romero that was done by horrorweb a couple of years ago. it can be found here: http://www.horror-web.com/interviews/georgeromero.html on an aside: at the end of the interview with romero you will find a link that will take you to a series of interviews done with the day cast: lori cardille, joe pilato, gary klar, and antone dileo are all interviewed at length.

[EvilNed]

I don't think they are connected, or were even meant to be. After all, they are set against different time-period backdrops. 60's, 70's, 80's, 00's. In my mind, they cannot logically be connected in a straight timeline. However they all take place further into the Outbreak. So my theory (I'm keeping this short): Night takes place in the 60's, Outbreak +1. Dawn takes place in the 70's, Outbreak +7. Day takes place in the 80's, Outbreak +360 Land takes place in the 00's, Outbreak at least five years.

[MinionZombie]

None of the movies are connected at all, particularly Diary which is a whole other thing in the same idea. This topic has been discussed many-a-time before alright. Night - somewhere around day 3 Dawn - 3 weeks in, by the end of the flick it's a few months in Day - I personally like to put it at 1 year, but others have offered 3 months ... I'm not entirely convinced, I feel that's a bit too short on time, perhaps 6 to 9 months, but I always liked 1 year personally. Land - 3 years after outbreak (it's clearly suggested in the script - 'last car rolled out of here 3 years ago'). As they're not connected though, they're all separate out-breaks, perhaps in different universes if you wanted to get all like that... Also, I don't think any of the movies specifically set themselves in their respective decades. Story wise they reflect the decades, but that's more for our benefit, rather than the characters I think - if that makes sense to youze lot. It's why GAR doesn't explicitly have any lines in the films where someone mentions the date ... not by year anyway, you do see Sarah in Day with her self-made calender which is somewhere at the start of November, if memory serves. But again - within the plots/stories of the films themselves, I don't think they're specifically tied to the decade, that stuff is just for our - we the viewer - benefit. ... As for the issue of Slack in Land, clearly she means she'd lived in the city her whole life - prior to the outbreak - then sh*t went down, and she ended up trapped there.

[3pidemiC]

I always pictured Day as being a least a year or two after the outbreak. With the grim atmosphere that world portrays and referrals to the ratio of living dead to humans and the quotes about being "the only one's left", just didn't seem like it could all happen that quickly. I'm finally getting into a steady pace of reading and close to finishing World War Z and it makes me look at it a little bit differently (not that there is any truth to that book or the films). I do realize that none of the films are connected as far as the characters go, but I will always see them as part of the same outbreak. It just doesn't seem right to have them all part of something seperate, and it doesn't seem to be intended that way. Especially with every film being a further progression of the initial outbreak. The decomposition of the dead, the intellect of the dead, the landscape, the morale, it all seems continue to get worse in some way or another.

[hadrian0117]

...- The economy in Land was a Kaufman re-estabilished one, not the previous free market one. It's implausible to believe that they just kept spending money from the initial point of the outbreak right up until Land began. At some point the economy had to fall and Kaufman had to re-establish it. Also when Cholo demands money even though he's not planning to return to Pittsburgh. So either he's insane or other settlements exist and use the same money. Romero didn't **** up by having people still use money. He ****ed up by having them use American currency left over from before the outbreak istead of Kaufman issued scrip.

[Trin]

I do realize that none of the films are connected as far as the characters go, but I will always see them as part of the same outbreak. It just doesn't seem right to have them all part of something seperate, and it doesn't seem to be intended that way. Especially with every film being a further progression of the initial outbreak. The decomposition of the dead, the intellect of the dead, the landscape, the morale, it all seems continue to get worse in some way or another. This is exactly how I think on the topic.

[Philly_SWAT]

Trin, I respectfuly disagree with a lot of your points here. Day - I believe there is a lot of evidence that Day was within the first year. The researchers were still hung up on basics. The military were still losing people. They'd only recently lost contact with the government. The place was in a rapid downward spiral. It couldn't have been going on for years like that. They would've either imploded (like they did) or found some level point that would've likely continued indefinitely. If researchers were not "hung up" on the basics, what would be the point of research? As a situation gets more disperate, what approach should researchers take...a "swig some liquor and dance a jig while we try to solve the biggest problem of all-time" approach? And the fact that the military was "still" losing people does not have any bearing on the passing of time. Plus, it is not logical to think that after a short period of time, in Day they were on the brink of destruction, yet after a long period of time, in Land they were engaged in trade, going to clubs and having fun, etc. A lso, the attitudes of the researchers and military was that there was still hope of finding a cure and returning the world to some semblance of normalcy. The military in particular were just waiting for the researches to figure it out so they could all go home. At the beginning of the movie Sarah was in denial over the new world. John was not. He'd moved on and was ready to start living according to the new world's rules. By the end of the movie Sarah had moved to acceptance as well. What else could the military do other than wait for the researchers? They certainly had no way to solve the problem on their own. The military was growing marijuana topside, and openly smoking joints in the middle of meetings. Would the military have such lax protocals after a short perios of time? And Sarahs denial and Johns acceptance have no bearing on the passage of time. Land - As opposed to Day they'd given up on the old world. They'd moved on and learned to exist in the new zombie world. They reached the level where they'd found the routine and survival mechanisms to cope. They saw the zombies as part of their world, not an aberration. They were no longer horrified by them - they used them for sport and novelty. No one was trying to solve the problem, they were living with it. They had long ago moved from denial into acceptance. I see all these attitudes as being MUCH further into the outbreak than what we saw in Day. I disagree. GAR himself has said the Land was about "ignoring" the problem, not coming to grips with it. We saw in Night90 that in the period of the initial outbreak, they were using the zombies for sport and novelty. In Dawn, the biker gang was hitting them in the face with pies. This fact in Land points to it being early in the outbreak, not later. Riley in particular had been part of the new society long enough that he wanted out. He was so frustrated and beaten down over what he was having to do day in and day out that he was ready to leave the protected area and go out on his own. That kind of attitude doesn't come in a short period of time. I would say that it easily could. How long would you want to live in a world where all your friends and fanily were dead, and reanimated, and everyone around you was just ignoring this and acting as if all they want is money? A few observations: - In Day the helicopter flew over the Florida coastline. Power lines were still intact and boats were still moored. I don't see that being the case after even one storm season. This is more of a movie making flaw than evidence of a short time passing. There was no cgi in the first 3 movies, and GAR did not have a budget to rig a couple of boatyards to have overturned boats, etc. By this line of reasoning, then Land would be 40 years after Night, due to clothing styles differences, technology, etc. - We don't know how many people lived in Land nor do we know how far and wide they were scavenging. We do know that the zombies walked nearly 24 hours to reach the Green, which means it was a fair distance. As is well documented, zombies move VERY slowly... - The economy in Land was a Kaufman re-estabilished one, not the previous free market one. It's implausible to believe that they just kept spending money from the initial point of the outbreak right up until Land began. At some point the economy had to fall and Kaufman had to re-establish it. Yes, it was a "Kaufman" economy, but it was still the same money we have now, now some re-issued Kaufman currency. To me, it is implausible to believe that in a world overrun with the living dead that the aquisisition of money would be the prime concern of a large part of the populace, unless it was so close to the start of the outbreak that people were still in denial about the problem and thought the world would shortyly return to normal. SRP76, in response to my assertion that "With all of the people that are alive in the Green, they are still able to find food, medicine, booze, etc. in towns close enough to the Green to support everyone. Seems to me that after a long period of time, towns close enough for raids of this type would be depleted in short order," you say... Perhaps not. They aren't in an underground bunker; they are in a city. Not a little one, either; it's a huge urban area. Before even thinking about venturing out to raid the surrounding towns, the people holed up in the city would live on what's already there. And we know that Pittsburgh has a LOT of items within its borders at all times. With all the supermarkets, restaurants, drugstores, and so on, the survivors would have enough supplies already inside to last a very, very long time. Especially when the "unwashed masses" are only allowed tablescraps to begin with. They probably didn't have to go on their first raid until a couple years in. I think your idea here is not correct at all. "The Green" was not a huge urban area, it was mainly just the downtown area of Pittsburgh, not the entire city. Here is Florida a few years ago after a series of hurricanes came through, power was out for several days on end, and a few of the main roads into the area I live were blocked with trees/debris. In that few days time, both gasoline and food delivery were scarce. People were calling people at 3 am if they saw a gas station open, and lines of cars were blocking main raods with the lines trying to get gas. Many grocery stores were closed all together. Restaurants were closed. This is because there was no food in either. Most or the perishable items in the grocery stores...perished. Even though the rest of the country was having no problems, a few blocked roads had supplies at a minimum for most of my county. You are talking about a time where no new supplies would be produced anywhere else. And as we see in Dawn, chaos was erupting in the early stages of the outbreak, where people were taking guns and stealing what they wanted, and even cops were losing it and shooting innocent people for no reason. Not having to go on a raid until "a couple of years in" is way off the mark. And as you can see from the computer screens in Land, only the downtown area was blocked off, not the entire city.

[SRP76]

I think your idea here is not correct at all. "The Green" was not a huge urban area, it was mainly just the downtown area of Pittsburgh, not the entire city. Here is Florida a few years ago after a series of hurricanes came through, power was out for several days on end, and a few of the main roads into the area I live were blocked with trees/debris. In that few days time, both gasoline and food delivery were scarce. People were calling people at 3 am if they saw a gas station open, and lines of cars were blocking main raods with the lines trying to get gas. Many grocery stores were closed all together. Restaurants were closed. This is because there was no food in either. Most or the perishable items in the grocery stores...perished. Even though the rest of the country was having no problems, a few blocked roads had supplies at a minimum for most of my county. You are talking about a time where no new supplies would be produced anywhere else. And as we see in Dawn, chaos was erupting in the early stages of the outbreak, where people were taking guns and stealing what they wanted, and even cops were losing it and shooting innocent people for no reason. Not having to go on a raid until "a couple of years in" is way off the mark. And as you can see from the computer screens in Land, only the downtown area was blocked off, not the entire city. All the "depleted supplies" along a hurricane route happen due to masses of people passing through, not due to the people who live there. There was nobody "passing through" their little area. The fences went up at the first sign of outbreak, and that was it. It can be no other way. Any waiting at all, and it would be utterly impossible to accomplish what they did, because they'd have already been overrun. The area they have is over 70 blocks. Inside are over 60 restaurants, a dozen small markets, and not one, not two, but four supermarkets. That's just on the inside. And once they do venture beyond the wire, they have to raid the entire city of Pittsburgh first, before they can even think of going into surrounding towns. I don't know how many supermarkets are inside the entirety of the city, because I stopped counting at 100. Along with literally hundreds of restaurants, probably a thousand convenience stores, and so on. They were pretty well set for quite some time. ................... Now, the Day issue.... There is no chance of it happening years upon years into the outbreak. They have VERY limited resources. The entire thing was "thrown together in a matter of days". In other words, no supplying the site beforehand. I doubt 5 years' worth of food (not to mention booze) was just lying around. It was a derelict equipment facility, not a biodome. It would be filled with machinery and non-consumables, not outfitted for long-term, unresupplied habitation. And then there's the fuel issue. They run the helicopter, and ALL power off their tank of fuel. No way that's lasting very long. And do we really think they'd only reach 100 miles out after 5 years? And only be looking for survivors? They'd be looking for anything they could scavenge at that point (just like our friends at Fiddler's Green). Actually, do you really think they'd even look for survivors at that point? No way. They're not dumb enough to think that somebody would just be waiting in the middle of Main Street after years on end of zombie mayhem. And do you think Sarah wouldn't have already been raped a few hundred times by then? Realistically, hell no. As the only female, she'd be targeted within months most likely, and the people in that underground hell would resemble humans in no kind of way after 5 years. You saw how fast they imploded in a 4-day span. Yet, you think they co-existed for years prior to this? Not a chance.

[jim102016]

All the "depleted supplies" along a hurricane route happen due to masses of people passing through, not due to the people who live there. There was nobody "passing through" their little area. The fences went up at the first sign of outbreak, and that was it. It can be no other way. Any waiting at all, and it would be utterly impossible to accomplish what they did, because they'd have already been overrun. The area they have is over 70 blocks. Inside are over 60 restaurants, a dozen small markets, and not one, not two, but four supermarkets. That's just on the inside. And once they do venture beyond the wire, they have to raid the entire city of Pittsburgh first, before they can even think of going into surrounding towns. I don't know how many supermarkets are inside the entirety of the city, because I stopped counting at 100. Along with literally hundreds of restaurants, probably a thousand convenience stores, and so on. They were pretty well set for quite some time. ................... Now, the Day issue.... There is no chance of it happening years upon years into the outbreak. They have VERY limited resources. The entire thing was "thrown together in a matter of days". In other words, no supplying the site beforehand. I doubt 5 years' worth of food (not to mention booze) was just lying around. It was a derelict equipment facility, not a biodome. It would be filled with machinery and non-consumables, not outfitted for long-term, unresupplied habitation. And then there's the fuel issue. They run the helicopter, and ALL power off their tank of fuel. No way that's lasting very long. And do we really think they'd only reach 100 miles out after 5 years? And only be looking for survivors? They'd be looking for anything they could scavenge at that point (just like our friends at Fiddler's Green). Actually, do you really think they'd even look for survivors at that point? No way. They're not dumb enough to think that somebody would just be waiting in the middle of Main Street after years on end of zombie mayhem. And do you think Sarah wouldn't have already been raped a few hundred times by then? Realistically, hell no. As the only female, she'd be targeted within months most likely, and the people in that underground hell would resemble humans in no kind of way after 5 years. You saw how fast they imploded in a 4-day span. Yet, you think they co-existed for years prior to this? Not a chance. Have to agree with you on the Day' issue, it's definately set within months of the initial dead outbreak. Helicopters are complicated creatures that require lots of maintenance, there's no way it'd go years without breaking down. Perhaps one of the soldiers growing grass topside was a aviation mechanic, but how much equipment/spare parts could there be at a former missile site that was hastily reactivated within a matter of days for this mission? There's no way they could make it down in the silo for five years, what the hell could possibly keep them going that long? At least the Green' had drugs, hookers, and jobs to occupy the residents.

[Trin]

Day cannot be over a year. As others have mentioned the consumables alone would not last that long. In addition to gasoline, food, and booze you have to consider batteries for flashlights, medical supplies, light bulbs etc. Heck, there were working lights in the furthest reaches of the tunnels where no human had been since the base was established. I really like the point made regarding them searching for survivors. Why would they do that for 3+ years? They'd only do that for a short time and only within a short window after losing contact with other survivors/government. I also will reiterate that the researchers would NOT be still defining the problem after 3 years. Sarah says that Dr. Logan is still proving theories they put forth months ago. That implies they've been there months, not years. Can we really believe that it took Logan 3+ years to come up with the research that they don't take nourishment from their food? And there's no way I see the military sitting around for 3+ years prior to the inevitable "what are you doing with my time" speech. Not happening. They DO have options. They can stop helping the researchers and sit tight. They can go "on the road" and attempt to reach a former military base. I just don't see them regularly losing men for 3 solid years without putting their collective foot down. 6 or 8 months, yes, but not 3 years. As for Land - The list of reasons why this setting cannot exist in under a year is lengthy. The entire attitude of the populace is that the short term crisis is over and they've settled into a routine. The fact that they've re-established some sort of life that mimics their former society is evidence of a later time period, not an earlier one. There is no way that when the zombie apocalypse struck they just put up some fences and went about their business. The fact that they have re-established a currency and some semblance of their former society means they overcame the initial hurdles of the zombie world and built those things back up. They have power. They have running water. Those things would not be self-contained within the zone prior to the outbreak. Add in Dead Reckoning with its remote control and gps system and you have an enormous infrastructure and technology re-establishment. The zombies alone are evidence that Day precedes Land. In Day the zombies are still lined up outside the gates trying to get in. In Land "they hardly come around anymore." There were not as many zombies outside the walls in Land as there were in Dawn outside the mall or Night outside the farm house. They had to drive several dozen miles to find any concentration of zombies. That kind of space doesn't get cleaned out of zombies (and zombie corpses) in a major metropolitan area in just a few months. Also, if my arguments regarding Sarah and John's attitudes have no bearing on the passage of time, then neither do observations about the lax attitudes of the military or the general feeling of hopelessness of Day.