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

[blind2d]

Yep, yep, yep... *sigh* What. The hell. Was she thinking? I guess she wasn't. Too bad, cute kid. Oh well, that's what happens, I guess. Sometimes the prettiest ones are also the dumbest. But yeah... I think... Nah, it's all good. Not the movie, just... everything. Peace, man...

[UndeadChicken]

I don't think that it's really so easy to believe that these charaters had a good reason for leaving the mall because they "felt like prisoners". A lot of us claim that we're experts on human nature and know how people would behave in an end-of-the-world type situation, but the truth is none of us really know what kind of stuff people do or think in a situation like that because we haven't experienced a true apocalypse or complete collapse of civilization yet. Like I said none of us are experts, but I think that if some major disaster really did happen, like a zombie outbreak infecting the entire world, that if a group of people got together and found a shelter that was completely secured and had a lot of supplies to live off of for a long time, that they would be very content in staying there for as long as possible. It would be no different then your own house where you are sheltered from the elements and have food stored and a place to sleep. Do people normally decide to just completely abandon their houses and venture out into an uncertain world because they feel trapped in their homes? Sure people do get bored and go out to do things to entertain themselves like eat at a resturant or go see a movie, but the truth is most people, when they're not working to pay the bills, spend more time at home then they do other places. So in my opinion you could think of the mall as the survivor's new home, where they have everything they need like food, weapons, clothing, a place to sleep, plumbing, and even the means to entertain themselves so that they don't go crazy from boredom. Like people said it was just really kind of unrealistic how they all decided to give all that up, I think real people in that situation would try their hardest to keep that shelter and only leave when they absolutely had to like the characters in the original Dawn of the Dead. Plus when you think about it, what sounds like a better shelter from zombies? A large sealed building filled with food supplies, power, and plumbing, or a deserted island out in the ocean where you can't find food unless you know how to hunt and know which plants are OK to eat, and where you don't have a solid shelter to protect you from things like hurricanes which can completely destroy islands, not to mention that you have other dangerous critters on the island such as poisonous spiders and snakes. Even if the island is completely free of zombies, those rotten flesh-eaters aren't the only dangers out there.

[shootemindehead]

As much as I dislike it, simply for it's existence (although I've seen it several times), there's a level of dread in Dawn '04 that's absent in a lot of "end of the world" type films, even from the original. The horizon filled with zombies growing larger each day really is a despairing sight and while the survivors had a neat little enclave to cling to, it's not that much of a stretch to believe that they felt that sooner or later they would be forced to leave. The decision to go isn't that bizarre. I've always felt that Dawn '04 would probably have benefited from (a.) sticking to the rules (shamblers etc) and (b.) more running time. It's just always felt like a much larger film that's been hacked to pieces mercilessly. However, the dog thing WAS an utterly ridiculous plot device.

[MoonSylver]

Here's the thing that I think makes it seem more implausible on the surface than it is or would come to be eventually: the abruptness of the decision & the lack of any real dissension or reasoning. "I ain't waitin' to die here!" "OK, well, let's go then!" (Audience) "Why?!?" "..." As I've said before, I'll chalk that up to poor film making more than anything else. All of you can say anything you want about GAR, but in "Dawn" in a few scenes he manages to convey the grind of days, the effect it has on his survivors, the mental & emotional state they're in by the time the bikers arrive. IN "'04" I get no sense of that, nor that they're in any IMMEDIATE danger (thought the growing threat looming is present), or running out of supplies, or anything else. The transition seems as abrupt as "Whelp, there was a big shoot-out...oktimetogo!!!!"

[bassman]

IN "'04" I get no sense of that, nor that they're in any IMMEDIATE danger (thought the growing threat looming is present), or running out of supplies, or anything else. The transition seems as abrupt as "Whelp, there was a big shoot-out...oktimetogo!!!!" There's also no sense of danger because you don't care about the characters. How could you? They're basically cut from any MTV Real World series and popped into the movie. There was almost a connection to "lost my son" guy but that only lasted for a few seconds, making it mean absolutely nothing when he gets bit. I actually wanted these characters to die. In the original you care what happens to Roger, Peter, and Fran. Hell....Romero even turned Stephen into a likable character before giving him the axe.

[Thorn]

Yep, yep, yep... *sigh* What. The hell. Was she thinking? I guess she wasn't. Too bad, cute kid. Oh well, that's what happens, I guess. Sometimes the prettiest ones are also the dumbest. But yeah... I think... Nah, it's all good. Not the movie, just... everything. Peace, man... You can go stir crazy in your own home when you are there by choice. That having been said some who are locked in actually adjust quite well to it in prison, and actually come to know it as home. Military men in Vietnam had a place they came to call home and still developed mental issues, same with Gulf War veterans, and anyone who has ever been in a combat zone. It is not a stretch to apply the same concept to a zombie siege. It is a combat zone, you are locked in unable to move freely under constant threat of death, running out of food, water, gas, or supplies. You just watched friends die. If you are saying this would not negatively impact some people I am sorry you are deluding yourself. I do not know how I would act or you, but I do know many would crack under these instances and I just need to look at PTSD to know this to be true. I do not know how I would act, no one does I touched on that in my own post but in reality we do know that being locked in against your will under the constant fear of death does in fact play on the human mind. As for being completely safe in the mall, they saw just how not true that was with the recent events of having lost people. Anything could happen, and you either sit and wait or you take action some people do in fact just need to go.

[JDFP]

I do not know how I would act or you, but I do know many would crack under these instances and I just need to look at PTSD to know this to be true. I do not know how I would act, no one does I touched on that in my own post but in reality we do know that being locked in against your will under the constant fear of death does in fact play on the human mind. As for being completely safe in the mall, they saw just how not true that was with the recent events of having lost people. Anything could happen, and you either sit and wait or you take action some people do in fact just need to go. I do know the first thought I would have would be: "How quickly can I get drunk?" That's a good start to dealing with an apocalypse, me thinks. j.p.

[blind2d]

Hm... Yes, you're right. Good points, all. I'm reminded of the blood-sucking lawyer from Jurassic Park. "When you gotta go, you gotta go." Maybe it's just because I'm not a dog person, I don't know...

[DjfunkmasterG]

There's also no sense of danger because you don't care about the characters. How could you? They're basically cut from any MTV Real World series and popped into the movie. There was almost a connection to "lost my son" guy but that only lasted for a few seconds, making it mean absolutely nothing when he gets bit. I actually wanted these characters to die. In the original you care what happens to Roger, Peter, and Fran. Hell....Romero even turned Stephen into a likable character before giving him the axe. I agree with you about Michael (Jake Webber), in the Unrated cut his character development goes a little deeper than the original theatrical cut, but it is all forgotten quickly. If they could have toned it down to just Ving, Jake, Sarah and Michael (CJ security guard) I think it woul dhave been a better movie, but I still enjoy it a lot. Honestly they could have done without the Mall aspect and had they set it at a Rescue shelter I think it would have played better... I would have like to have seen more of the chaos at the Military base and at the St Verbina church shelter

[Thorn]

I watched this again last night (every night since Tuesday actually) and more than the improperly motivated through dialogue decisions to flee bothers me. That really is believable to me. They just had a major altercation, people died, power was shutting off, items were running out. They had a major confrontation in the parking level and at the time there were still two factions within the mall three if you count preggers and poppa pistol. To use the mall is their house analogy. How cozy is your house if you have people trying to kill you in your basement, banging on the walls and windows outside trying to get in to react you, death and decay all around, conflict and infighting inside your house, and a growing sense that things are getting worse? It isn't. My BIGGEST complaint REALLY about the movie is the legless zombie doing gymnastics on the pipe. How would a legless zombie get up on a pipe? Why would he wait that way to "gotcha" in a shock moment, how is it no one heard or saw him coming, and then the whole arm strength thing... coupled with the fact his hands had to be decaying and slippery. That scene bothers more than most others.

[MoonSylver]

My BIGGEST complaint REALLY about the movie is the legless zombie doing gymnastics on the pipe. How would a legless zombie get up on a pipe? Why would he wait that way to "gotcha" in a shock moment, how is it no one heard or saw him coming, and then the whole arm strength thing... coupled with the fact his hands had to be decaying and slippery.

[bassman]

The Dawn remake zombies all have ridiculous strength. I haven't seen the film in a while, but I always remember there's one zombie that jumps from the bottom of a staircase.....all the way to the top....and lands on the hand rail. I don't know any living people that can accomplish that without wires and cgi....

[MoonSylver]

The Dawn remake zombies all have ridiculous strength. I haven't seen the film in a while, but I always remember there's one zombie that jumps from the bottom of a staircase.....all the way to the top....and lands on the hand rail. I don't know any living people that can accomplish that without wires and cgi.... Except them damn Parkour guys...they be jumpin' around on EVERYTHING!!! (but somehow I don't think some random zombie is one of them... )

[Trin]

Here's my take... I agree with Moon that the crux of the problem is lazy writing leading to plot contrivance. Someone decided that they couldn't be bothered with a 2 hour writing session and 2 minutes of screen time to make leaving the mall a decision the audience would buy. Shame on them. But the decision to leave the mall *could* easily be justified. I don't think the mall was a long-term solution. Malls in today's era don't stock food supplies like they did in the 60's and 70's, when civil defense was on high alert. So assuming you're in a mall and you have a limited supply of food and water what do you do? Wait for the food/water to run out? That would mean that your first stop once you leave the mall is to look for food! No, I think your better bet is to leave as soon as possible in the best circumstances possible so you can be choosy about what risks you take during the trip. Ideally you could live on the busses for a week or more if you had to. Their plan was pretty sound... take the time to make the busses defensible and stock them with food/water/guns/ammo/fuel... then head for the boat. It was dog chick who made it haphazard and frenetic. In my mind there's another BIG motivating factor to leave sooner rather than later. They were planning to head for a boat. Boats don't just sit on the water intact and pristine for weeks at a time. Weather and lack of maintenance can quickly lead to a boat being unusable. Any survival plan that requires you hop a boat puts you on a short timer. So I guess my defendment of Dawn '04 is this... in the same situation I'd make the decision to leave. And if you're going to leave, better to leave sooner than later.

[Philly_SWAT]

Find me a mall in the U.S. that has "food stocked for years" -- I doubt you could. Most food in most malls will spoil in a matter of weeks, most of the food in a matter of days if the power is gone. Most food stores in malls have freezers, therefore one of my first tasks in a "conquer the mall" zombie endevour would be to put all the food in the freezers. In fact, I would make that a priority, right after killing all the zeds in the mall. If I had to, I would move all the food out of however many freezers I may need to store the zeds to other freezers. Wouldnt have to be pretty, just frozen. I would shove all that shit in there. So it may not last for "years", but could last for quite a long time. With modern day food courts, there is probably a lot more food there then you may think. Think of it like this...20 total food places in the mall. Mall opened 12 hours. Each store serves 10 meals an hour (probably a low estimate). 20 X 12 X 10 = 2,400 meals in one day. Certainly food places dont get truck deliveries EVERY DAY, so there is enough in each place for AT LEAST a few days. Lets assume 3 days. That would be 2,400 X 3 = 7,200 meals. So to be greedy, lets say we intend to eat 3 meals a day, just as we did pre-outbreak. And that there are 4 survivors. That would be 12 meals a day. 7,200 / 12 = 600 days. Which is almost 2 years. If you decided to be more reasonable and only eat two meals a day, that would be 900 days. And I think I underestimated a lot here. And if there was only 2 surviors at two meals a day, that is 1800 days, or almost 5 years. I don't recall any spam/K-ration/"Civil Defense" boxes of food lying around as was the case in the original "Dawn". Of course, that poses the question: What the hell were Civil Defense boxes of food doing stored in the upstairs of a shopping mall in P.A. exactly in the original "Dawn"? I am pretty sure that when GAR was touring the mall originally, there actually was civil defense boxes in the actual mall, which is partly how he got the idea to have survivors hold up in a mall.