How About Skyscraper Zombies?

[SRP76]

Alright, new discussion.

Everyone's seen Towering Inferno. People stuck in skyscraper on fire, trapped upstairs, yaddayadda.

Well, how about a movie that uses the same premise, only with zombies? People stuck on the upper floors, cut off by a horde of the dead on the ground floor. Before you know it, the zombies are movin' on up like the Jeffersons.

Would you like a movie like that? Yes? No?

[AcesandEights]

Would you like a movie like that? Yes? No?

Well, you know, it depends on how it was done. I could see it as a fun adventure/horror romp with a lot of cheese or a somewhat tense and scary zombie film with still a fair bit of excitement. Both seem very hard for people to do well with zombies right now, though.

Tons of zombie movies now, but few good ones :(

Anyway, it's a fine, if cliche, premise and cliches are fun to explore if done well. Yeah, could work nicely.

[JDFP]

It would have made a perfect Charlton Heston movie. Man, I miss Charlton Heston. But yes, I'd be all for it if, as Aces pointed out, it was well done. I'm tired of crappy zombie flicks as well.

I think it could definitely make for an entertaining story. How do they get out of the tower? Where do they go if they do? Etc. etc...

j.p.

[SRP76]

How do they get out of the tower? Where do they go if they do? Etc. etc...

j.p.

That right there would be a huge issue in "real life":

You've got zombies coming up. Okay, you have two choices.

You can either attempt to block them off at the lowest floor possible, maybe even engaging them in combat as your crew tries desperately to seal them out of your lowest story. HUGE risk, because if they overpower you at that point and overrun that first line, you've got a problem. You're going to lose a bunch of people, and the rest are left racing upstairs, back to the drawing board.

Or, you can give yourself some "breathing room", trying to go multiple stories above where the dead are currently located, and try to set up a protective barrier there. This is safer, since you won't have zombies all over you as you work, but it presents a huge issue: you now allow the dead to overrun several more floors, providing you with a longer blood-and-guts gauntlet to run when you ever try to get back down and out of the building.

[Mike70]

Tons of zombie movies now, but few good ones :(


yep. "dead air" was the proverbial straw. i'm finished with zombie movies for a bit. i'll stick with the classics but i am done, done, done with low budget, straight to DVD zombie flicks. much chaff, little wheat.


now to the matter at hand:

for this scenario to be a believable flick, you'd need a compelling reason for the people to have to leave the building. as long as they can cozily hold up on the upper floors, i don't see a movie length story. if you come up with something that is going to force the folks out of the building, i'd think you were on to something.

[SRP76]

They're going to have to eat eventually. Depending on the type of building, there might not be enough non-perishable food in it to last a large number of people forever. Also depends on if the food-having areas are overrun or not.

Leaving might not even be an issue; depends what kind of story you want. For instance, nobody here ever said that Dawn sucked until the looters arrived. It was plenty enjoyable the whole time the gang was "safe" inside.

[krakenslayer]

They're going to have to eat eventually. Depending on the type of building, there might not be enough non-perishable food in it to last a large number of people forever. Also depends on if the food-having areas are overrun or not.

Leaving might not even be an issue; depends what kind of story you want. For instance, nobody here ever said that Dawn sucked until the looters arrived. It was plenty enjoyable the whole time the gang was "safe" inside.

I agree with this. I think it could make for a fun scenario as long as it wasn't done Snakes on a Plane stylee.

They should call it The Towering Gorefest :D

[Mike70]

I agree with this. I think it could make for a fun scenario as long as it wasn't done Snakes on a Plane stylee.


that's been done and it was even on a plane. see "flight of the living dead."

[krakenslayer]

that's been done and it was even on a plane. see "flight of the living dead."

Yeah, that was bad. :rolleyes:

[MikePizzoff]

I'd be into a movie like this, SRP, as long as it were properly done. I think it's a cool premise, however it could be spiced up if you add in a little Earthquake flavor! Have a quake shake LA - the building is falling apart - then Charlton Heston look-alikes rise from the grave, making matters even worse for the people trapped in the skyscraper.

[Trin]

Given the way buildings are designed you really wouldn't have a floor by floor siege/battle going on. The stairwells are all or nothing. You either hold them and thus can move freely between floors or the zombies hold them and you're stuck on whatever floor you're on. Going up 5 floors doesn't give you breathing room beyond the time it takes to walk up 5 flights of stairs.

Blocking the stairwells at some height by dumping furniture and equipment and stuff into them is probably your only bet for keeping the top of the building accessible. And that would have to happen right away, as soon as the threat is realized.

Your best bet is probably to lure as many of the zombies into the stairwells as you can and get them as high in the building as you can. Then attempt to flee downward through the elevator shafts.

It'd be a fun movie. You'd have to concoct a reason why the people can expect no help from outside (which could be that the zombies are everywhere) and a reason why they would want to leave (which could be as simple as running out of food).

[krakenslayer]

Given the way buildings are designed you really wouldn't have a floor by floor siege/battle going on. The stairwells are all or nothing. You either hold them and thus can move freely between floors or the zombies hold them and you're stuck on whatever floor you're on. Going up 5 floors doesn't give you breathing room beyond the time it takes to walk up 5 flights of stairs.

Blocking the stairwells at some height by dumping furniture and equipment and stuff into them is probably your only bet for keeping the top of the building accessible. And that would have to happen right away, as soon as the threat is realized.

Your best bet is probably to lure as many of the zombies into the stairwells as you can and get them as high in the building as you can. Then attempt to flee downward through the elevator shafts.

It'd be a fun movie. You'd have to concoct a reason why the people can expect no help from outside (which could be that the zombies are everywhere) and a reason why they would want to leave (which could be as simple as running out of food).

I'm thinking pipe bombs - use them to collapse a single flight of the stairwell at the lowest point you can hold, voila.

[Trin]

I'm thinking pipe bombs - use them to collapse a single flight of the stairwell at the lowest point you can hold, voila.Because what would be better than a Towering Inferno-like movie with zombies? The Actual Towering Inferno movie with Zombies!! :p

[JDFP]

I'd be into a movie like this, SRP, as long as it were properly done. I think it's a cool premise, however it could be spiced up if you add in a little Earthquake flavor! Have a quake shake LA - the building is falling apart - then Charlton Heston look-alikes rise from the grave, making matters even worse for the people trapped in the skyscraper.

Don't forget the Charlton Heston look-alike zombies have to belong to a cult called "The Family" and they all wear sunglasses at night ('cause that's cool, you dig, cat?) and black robes.

It would only be great if you could get the actual Heston to play himself in the role of a high-rise survivor though. His role of course would be to bring a group of survivors from the high-rise who hold the vaccine within their blood. He's attempting to take the survivors to a safe-hold similar to Moses bringing the Hebrews out of captivity.

"ZOMBIES, GET YOUR DAMN DIRTY HANDS OFF ME!!!"

:lol::lol::lol:

j.p.

[bassman]

It COULD make an interesting zed film, but my question is this....

How is this any different from 99.9% of all other zombie flicks? It's the same as being stuck in a farmhouse/crematory/mall/bunker/etc with the dead outside.

So I guess what I'm saying is that it would have to be something special or else it would just become another zombie film with characters boarding themselves in.

[SRP76]

But how many pipe bombs can you reasonably expect to be lying around an insurance office?


How is this any different from 99.9% of all other zombie flicks? It's the same as being stuck in a farmhouse/crematory/mall/bunker/etc with the dead outside.

So I guess what I'm saying is that it would have to be something special or else it would just become another zombie film with characters boarding themselves in.

The only movie I've seen like that is Day. Every other film is about people fleeing from place to place. None are self-contained, just showing one set of people in one spot the whole movie, which would be about the people interacting mostly, not "oh, here come the brain-gobblers, run for it" and a bunch of shootouts.

[MoonSylver]

That would be cool done straight. Heck, could even be done a couple of different ways: Die Hard w/ zombies for example ( ie, zombies storming the skyscraper, lots of escaping up the tower & shooting 'em up, big helicopter escape & blow 'em up real good...I would watch that, if it was done well...)


that's been done and it was even on a plane. see "flight of the living dead."

I actually rather liked that one, for what it was. One of the better ones out of the modern zombie crop I've seen (not much of a competition there, granted, but I digress...)

[bassman]

The only movie I've seen like that is Day. Every other film is about people fleeing from place to place. None are self-contained, just showing one set of people in one spot the whole movie, which would be about the people interacting mostly, not "oh, here come the brain-gobblers, run for it" and a bunch of shootouts.

I don't think i'm following you. If they're in one place for the entire film.....the entire film takes place in one boarded up location. So all that I mentioned apply. They're all holding up against the dead outside.:rockbrow:

[krakenslayer]

Because what would be better than a Towering Inferno-like movie with zombies? The Actual Towering Inferno movie with Zombies!! :p

Pipe bombs are not especially incendiary, they are all about the blast. Plus, there is rarely any flammable furniture/upholstery in an office complex, especially in corridors/stairwells where even the floor is usually linoleum or concrete.


But how many pipe bombs can you reasonably expect to be lying around an insurance office?



The only movie I've seen like that is Day. Every other film is about people fleeing from place to place. None are self-contained, just showing one set of people in one spot the whole movie, which would be about the people interacting mostly, not "oh, here come the brain-gobblers, run for it" and a bunch of shootouts.

No but there are plenty of pipes and I'm sure, given the artistic license of a Hollywood script-writer, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to have some office-minion who just happens to know to make low explosive out of printer toner and cleaning fluids, or some such nonsense.

Or you could go the He Was a Quiet Man route and write in a suicidal passive-aggressive nutbag who's been fantasising about going postal and blowing up his work for years, and ends up redeeming himself by using his locker full of weapons (including bombs) to save the lives of his coworkers.

[bassman]

Or you could go the He Was a Quiet Man route...


Off topic, but I really liked that film. I still watch it everytime I see it on the tube...

[SRP76]

Or you could go the He Was a Quiet Man route and write in a suicidal passive-aggressive nutbag who's been fantasising about going postal and blowing up his work for years, and ends up redeeming himself by using his locker full of weapons (including bombs) to save the lives of his coworkers.

I guess that would be somewhat interesting.

Some people wouldn't buy him, though. For instance, I wouldn't "root for" the guy through the film. At the end, I'd be saying, "he's STILL a fucking nutbag, why are they cheering him?"

A lot of people would go along with the whole "redemption" bit, though, I suppose.

[krakenslayer]

I guess that would be somewhat interesting.

Some people wouldn't buy him, though. For instance, I wouldn't "root for" the guy through the film. At the end, I'd be saying, "he's STILL a fucking nutbag, why are they cheering him?"

A lot of people would go along with the whole "redemption" bit, though, I suppose.

I wouldn't have him as the main hero, but he could be the "weirdo" of the group. When they discover he has all these weapons, it would make for a pretty dramatic and tense scene with the other survivors. The audience doesn't really like him very much either, for obvious reasons. But over the course of the movie both him and the others are forced to fight together for their lives.Then at the end he is placed in some situation where he can save himself, and watch the others get eaten alive (basically, a version of his old fantasy) or sacrifice himself, taking a bunch of zeds with him, and helping the others escape. So he doesn't get to walk away at the end with his head held high, but at least he makes the right choice and dies a glorious death.

[FoodFight]

Or, the nutbag could die and the other survivors would utilize his weapons (cursing him, despite the fact that the hardware is saving their lives), ala 'Maximum Overdrive'. Yeah, I did it. Referenced maximum overdrive.:elol:

[Mike70]

this shit might get elaborate, so pardon me. i'm just in that kind of feckin' mood.

HPOTD Presents

SKYFERNO OF THE LIVING DEAD

an SRP Production

of an SRP Film (i think SRP might have some carpenter in him)

Starring:

Clint Eastwood as Metellus Robinson. a man one day from retirement, who just wants to get through the fuckin' day and go fishing but yet, is forced to pull out his vietnam skills and save a bunch of pantywaist bastards from getting eaten alive.

Toby Maguire as Paul Tremont. Metellus Robinson's replacement on the job. Metellus thinks he's a fricking pussy at first but, of course, they bond and then the inevitable moment comes when Metellus says, "kid, you're alright."

Pauly Shore as the asshole Metellus Robinson uses as bait to save the more worthy human characters. Metellus has always known he's a pussy.

Damian Lewis as Will Collins. the sensitive type. Metellus thinks he's a pussy until Will sacrifices himself in an effort to hold off the living dead so that Dani can be saved, which brings me to:

Gabrielle Union as Danielle Collins. she's the chick and yes, she will live.

Vin Diesel as John Edmonds. the guy who thinks he is tough until Metellus tells him what a pussy he is. dies in a foolish act of bravado.

Jolene Blalock as Teresa Gibbons. the tough bitch who gets killed watching Metellus' back. she's the only one Metellus doesn't think is a pussy.

Jon Lovitz as the Officious Office Prick. eaten after his attempts to use his authority on the undead. of course, Metellus thinks he's a complete and total pussy.

----------

i took the name Metellus from Quintus Metellus Scipio, a senator and one of the leaders of the resistance to Julius Caesar. Clint Eastwood has to have a heroic name and it doesn't get more heroic than someone with the balls to stand up to Caesar.

[deadpunk]

This could be kept interesting if the survivors were on different floors and the zombies somehow managed to get between them. Now, they've got to try and regroup before they can escape...

I'm picturing people trying to climb through an open elevator shaft on a firehose when, lo and behold, a zombie wanders into the open car on the ground floor and accidentally bumps the 'up' button. Squish. :elol:

[SRP76]

Clint Eastwood as Metellus Robinson. a man one day from retirement, who just wants to get through the fuckin' day and go fishing but yet, is forced to pull out his vietnam skills and save a bunch of pantywaist bastards from getting eaten alive.

Pauly Shore as the asshole Metellus Robinson uses as bait to save the more worthy human characters. Metellus has always known he's a pussy.

Vin Diesel as John Edmonds. the guy who thinks he is tough until Metellus tells him what a pussy he is. dies in a foolish act of bravado.



WINNER!!:lol:

Any movie that has both Paulie Shore and Vin Diesel eaten alive is an instant classic. Adding the immortal Clint to the mix is just a bonanza of awesomeness.

[hadrian0117]

...Your best bet is probably to lure as many of the zombies into the stairwells as you can and get them as high in the building as you can. Then attempt to flee downward through the elevator shafts...It'd be a fun movie. You'd have to concoct a reason why the people can expect no help from outside...

How about the survivors do in fact manage to make contact with the outside, but "help" is in the form of a helicopter and they have to flee upward?

[BillyRay]

How about the survivors do in fact manage to make contact with the outside, but "help" is in the form of a helicopter and they have to flee upward?

Well, it isn't a PROPER zombie flick without a helicopter...

[Trin]

It COULD make an interesting zed film, but my question is this....

How is this any different from 99.9% of all other zombie flicks? It's the same as being stuck in a farmhouse/crematory/mall/bunker/etc with the dead outside.

So I guess what I'm saying is that it would have to be something special or else it would just become another zombie film with characters boarding themselves in.I don't want to live in a world where I get tired of seeing that film made over and over and over again.

[Wooley]

Who was it that said all zombie movies are either a chase flick where you are running from them or a siege flick where they're here and you are trying to keep them out?

That said, I think it's been done by someone, somewhere. I recall reading about a guy stuck in an office building, and dealing with the dead. I don't think it was here but damned if I can remember where right now.

Anyway, I don't see many hi-rises, unless it's an apartment, having much food, water or other necessities for long. But fortifying the stairwells with furniture would be pretty easy.

Thumbs down on pipe bombs too. I really don't think you can make a pipe bomb with enough force to cut a reinforced concrete hi-rise stairwell.

For weapons, armed security guards, concealed handgun permit holders, a police officer or two, fire axes (who's ever been in a building where they've seen one of these things?) Molotov cocktails, kitchen knives, blunt objects like golf clubs, baseball bats, stuff like that.

[DubiousComforts]

How about the survivors do in fact manage to make contact with the outside, but "help" is in the form of a helicopter and they have to flee upward?
Hasn't this same premise been done already with [REC]?

[Eyebiter]

28 Days Later addressed many of the issues including barricades on the ground floor, raiding other apartments for supplies, lack of access to fresh water.

[Thorn]

I think it has potential honestly.

[zombieparanoia]

As long as it was effectively "Die Hard with zombies" German terrorists seize a christmas party full of office workers trying to heist the vault in the chaos of the zombie outbreak. The tough NY cop estranged husband of one of the executives has to kill the terrorists and stop the zombies advance(I'm thinking the TV with the C4 in the elevator shaft scene here) The terrorists would provide the source for weaponry as they had submachineguns, assault rifles, grenades and an anti tank weapon. Lots of cannon fodder office workers too. You could put in a siege as well while they waited out the rescue chopper as most high rise office buildings have plenty of kitchens, cafeterias and vending machines.

Yippee-ki-yay dead motherfucker.

Hell, Bruce Willis might be available he's not exactly making a lot of movies lately.

[Neil]

Here you go... Base it in here :)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8438416.stm

[AcesandEights]

Here you go... Base it in here :)


Bwahaha :lol: Classic! It's a great idea, save for the possibility that some cheesy Syfy (:barf:) project claim-jumping the idea first and thus crapping all over it.

But the setting would be great, when you think about it...at least it seems fun when I picture it.

[Neil]

Bwahaha :lol: Classic! It's a great idea, save for the possibility that some cheesy Syfy (:barf:) project claim-jumping the idea first and thus crapping all over it.

But the setting would be great, when you think about it...at least it seems fun when I picture it.

Trying to secure each floor to prevent the creatures coming up the stair wells...

Trying to secure food/supplies from lower floors/rooms? Maybe by using air ducts / elevator shafts?