The old priest in the apartment building basement

[Mr.G]

Was he infected? With all the coughing and the hobbling, and giving last rites to a roomfull of zombies, I think he was. Regardless, living with only one good leg in a zombie world, I'm very comfortable assuming he is on borrowed time.

What are your opinions?

[darth los]

Was he infected? With all the coughing and the hobbling, and giving last rites to a roomfull of zombies, I think he was. Regardless, living with only one good leg in a zombie world, I'm very comfortable assuming he is on borrowed time.

What are your opinions?

Well, here's the way I see it point by point:

The coughing was most likely the result of the tear GAs PHILLY SWAT saturated the building with. After all, Roger and Peter were hacking and wheezing as well and we know for a fact that they were not infected.

The Leg being missing is a more murky issue. We know at that point that the plague had been going on for approx. 3 weeks. If that leg was missing before all that then why does it look like a makeshift contraption (Crutch?) helping him get around? If it happened as a result of the bite everything we know about how amputating the affected area is inconclusive, but if that were the case one would think he'd be in no shape to be up and about.

About giving last rights, he is a priest after all so that part of the job decription. I saw no evidence that he was bit or favoring a wound.

That's my quick take anyways.

:cool:

[bassman]

I agree with Darth. The gas caused the coughing and the leg had been gone for quite some time. Surely before the dead began to rise. He was pretty quick and comfortable with one leg, iirc. That seems like something that would take time to get used to.

BTW....was that set supposed to be the basement? I always thought they were on some sort of roof. The clothes hanging to dry, the shafts going down, etc. Who hangs clothes to dry in a basement?

[Rancid Carcass]

The Leg being missing is a more murky issue. We know at that point that the plague had been going on for approx. 3 weeks. If that leg was missing before all that then why does it look like a makeshift contraption (Crutch?) helping him get around?

I don't see it as a recent amputation for the simple reason that when he walks away he does it 'naturally', like he's been doing it for years. If it were more recent he'd be hobbling along a bit more clumsily - mobility after the loss of a limb, I'm sure, would take some time to get used to.
Also don't forget he's a priest - they have that worldy possessions thing going on - perhaps a simple wooden crutch was all he needed.

[Mr.G]

I assumed it was the basement....but I could be wrong. IIRC, there's a message by the door that reads "please lock cellar when finished".

If his leg was bitten by a zombie, maybe his pals helped him (cut off the leg, stopped the bleeding, gave him the crutch). I only pause because he was walking really well on the one crutch which makes me think he was legless for a long time.

Who knows! I'm heading to 'THE mall' this weekend and was just bored at work.

[darth los]

I have the answer right here ! Ahem:

They couldn't have been in the basement because the priest clearly states, "In the basement of this building you will find them." So obviously the place where they had that exchange wasn't it.

:cool:

[Thorn]

I never thought he was infected at all, I just assumed he was an elderly priest and one who was in a poor area and could not afford great medical care. It would explain away why he was not using amazingly high tech prosthesis and the like. Maybe he was an old priest from the islands who was used to it and refused to spend the churches money or his own on expensive solutions when there was so much suffering in the world and he could get by fine with what he had.

The coughing was likely the gas in my opinion as well.

[JDFP]

The old coughing man with the crutch was certainly a metaphor for the shoddy state of affairs of the U.S. under the Carter administration. The old man was representative of society under the heel of high taxation and stagflation. He would have gotten a prosthetic but due to the increasing high taxes on him by gov't was unable to afford it. Not to mention, having to wait in lines for hours for gas on his 10-mile-a-gallon Nova probably had an impact on his naturally depressed condition as well. "Soon they will be stronger than us!" is certainly an indictment on the Arab warlords who were sticking it to us with a stick without the comfort of vaseline at the time with the fuel shortage.

See, there you go, even something "safe" can be turned into a political indictment. :p:D

I always imagined they were in the basement too and never thought Morgan Freeman look-alike was infected (just old and in poorly shape from the no doubt lack of sleep and stress of the situation, he was probably going around the clock with assistance to his parishoners for the little comfort he could offer). If they were on the roof where was the soldier above them opening the hatch coming from? The roof above the roof?

j.p.

[bassman]

If they were on the roof where was the soldier above them opening the hatch coming from? The roof above the roof?


That's a different set. After the priest tells them "in the basement of this building", it switches to a new set. I'm not sure the priest set was supposed to be a roof, but it certainly has a few things that point in that direction. I think Roger drops his mask down one of the vents, there are clothes hanging to dry, etc. Drying clothes in a dark and damp environment isnt the best of ideas....

[JDFP]

That's a different set. After the priest tells them "in the basement of this building", it switches to a new set. I'm not sure the priest set was supposed to be a roof, but it certainly has a few things that point in that direction. I think Roger drops his mask down one of the vents, there are clothes hanging to dry, etc. Drying clothes in a dark and damp environment isnt the best of ideas....

Well, frick, you got me there. It's been awhile since I've seen it (and the last few times I did watch it I was fairly drunk, which I know comes as a great shock to everyone). Good catch, Bassy.

j.p.

[bassman]

1:37

_FmzOoTHT2I

Looks like it isn't on the roof. Could be the basement, but not the same room where they find the bodies. Strange place to hang dry clothes, but whatever.

And yeah....the priest is WAY to comfortable with that crutch for it to have been a more recent wound.

[Trin]

Regarding basement vs. roof... I never imagined there was any debate possible on this topic. I just always assumed it was one part of the basement, and the room full of dead was another part of the same basement, very nearby. Once again HPOTD makes me think harder about the movies!!

I think it's basement... here are my reasons:
- Peter and Roger escaped the mass of fighting to a quiet spot. The fight was progressing up the stairs floor by floor as they took the building. To go up toward the roof would've had them fighting through and past the front lines and then through more infested areas. The retreat option would've been back down. The basement would've been an obvious place of refuge.

- The old priest told them where the dead were (the basement) and that he'd performed last rites. I got the impression he'd just come from them. I don't see him hobbling up the entire building's worth of stairs on that crutch through the fighting.

- Peter and Roger assumedly made it from the priest to the room full of dead without distraction and without meeting up with other forces who might've questioned where they were going. I got the impression they were just a few rooms away, not the entire building's length of stairs away.

Regarding clotheslines in basements... I had a clothesline in my basement in college. I was sharing a house and we only had a washer, not a dryer. We didn't have outdoor areas accessible to us. The basement was the best place to dry clothes because it had a floor drain and it was near the washer. The room in that scene looks remarkably similar to the basement of my college place, right down to the clothesline.

Regarding the old priest and infection... he sure didn't seem infected. The leg wound had to have been old (for all the reasons already mentioned). Aside from that he had no bandages or visible wounds. His clothing appeared intact. He wasn't nursing any wounds that we could tell.

[Mr.G]

I still say the scene occurred in the basement. Notice at the 3:20 mark the writing on the wall left of the priest. I think it’s safe to say cellar is analogous to basement. Why would someone write it on the wall if it wasn’t located in the same space?

My next question is why is the room with the priest so smoky while the room with Peter & Roger smoke free? Is the priest self medicating due to the pain? I often wondered how this man of the cloth seemed so cool considering the condition of his world.

[darth los]

@ trin and G.

The reason I think the basement he's referring to is another room is this:

If you and a friend were in the kitchen and they asked you where you kept the dishwasher you wouldn't say "it's in the kitchen" would you? Of course not because you're already there.

The priest cleary states " in the basement of this building you will find them". So using the same logic (and that's pretty much all we can do in cases like this) he meant in another room, not actually the one they were in.

:cool:

[AcesandEights]

If you and a friend were in the kitchen and they asked you where you kept the dishwasher you wouldn't say "it's in the kitchen" would you? Of course not because you're already there.

The priest cleary states " in the basement of this building you will find them". So using the same logic (and that's pretty much all we can do in cases like this) he meant in another room, not actually the one they were in.

I've always thought this, as well and I figure that conversation took place in an out of the way (service ?) area that was close to the steps to the basement (hence the sign on the wall that one may put near the steps down to their basement).

[Trin]

The room Peter and Roger are in has cinderblock walls with what appear to be window wells near the ceiling. A smooth concrete floor. Light switches have electricity running down from the ceilings. Overhead pipes running overhead. Sewer pipes running into the floor. It's hard to imagine that's not a basement.

And I think it's the same basement.

I think the old priest saying "in the basement of this building you will find them" makes sense even if they're already in the basement. I think the key is when he says "of this building." Why would he say that? Remember that the tenants of the building were harboring their dead and the swat team was there to root them out. I think the priest assumes Peter and Roger are searching for the dead and he's telling them that they are in fact in the right place but that they need to look harder.

[Mr.G]

Nothing shows the value or universal love of a film more so than fans debating where a specific scene location takes place. This is why I love these forums!

[JDFP]

Nothing shows the value or universal love of a film more so than fans debating where a specific scene location takes place. This is why I love these forums!

Agreed. I'm still waiting on Philly (or is it Yojmbo?) to come in and draw us some diagrams with some pointing lines in order to clarify this certainly major issue of contention!

j.p.

[darth los]

The room Peter and Roger are in has cinderblock walls with what appear to be window wells near the ceiling. A smooth concrete floor. Light switches have electricity running down from the ceilings. Overhead pipes running overhead. Sewer pipes running into the floor. It's hard to imagine that's not a basement.

And I think it's the same basement.

I think the old priest saying "in the basement of this building you will find them" makes sense even if they're already in the basement. I think the key is when he says "of this building." Why would he say that? Remember that the tenants of the building were harboring their dead and the swat team was there to root them out. I think the priest assumes Peter and Roger are searching for the dead and he's telling them that they are in fact in the right place but that they need to look harder.

I hear you. However, all the features you listed are nice but 99.99999999999% of people on the planet would not say " In the basement of this building" if they were in the the same room. (I am of course alotting that billionth of a percentage point for you)

I didn't hear any moans of the dead in that room. And certainly if they were in a close proxinity the coughing would have alerted them to their presence, And once they're riled up they're relentless. Of course He would say, "of this building" why wouldn't he? That statement still holds true even if they were 100 stories above it.

Your argument seems to hinge on the features of the room that they were in, perhaps willingfully ignoring all the other evidence that they are indeed not in the same room with the ghouls.

Example. I live in NYC and Every feature you listed can be found in the sixth story of a loft in soho. Just because a room has a sink in it does it make it kitchen? It could be a bathroom or even a mop closet.

Like a great man once said, " We gotta operate on what we do know." And there's no indication on film that they are in the same room as the ghouls and that's what we have to go on. The burden of proof is on the other side to prove that they indeed are and I have seen no conclusive evidence of that.

:cool:

[sandrock74]

Who hangs clothes to dry in a basement?

A crackhead? (sorry, had to be said, considering their location and all)

But, if I may be serious for a moment, it all looks like they are indeed in a basement. Maybe there was a short flight of steps down to "the basement" the priest was talking about? Essentially making it a sub-basement. Of course, the priest did have a noticable accent, maybe english wasn't his native language? That could easily account for his odd phrasing of things.

You know it to be true! :)

[Mr.G]

I'm watching episode 3 on cable and I think I figured the priest out...perhaps he talks like Yoda? :D

[SRP76]

I figure they're in the ground floor washroom. Modern apartment complexes have them, why not old tenement buildings? In fact, I know a lot of them did have them. Washroom being a laundry, not a shitter. Thus the deepsink Roger was puking into. Also home to the door to the cellar.

[Trin]

I hear you. However, all the features you listed are nice but 99.99999999999% of people on the planet would not say " In the basement of this building" if they were in the the same room. (I am of course alotting that billionth of a percentage point for you)

I didn't hear any moans of the dead in that room. And certainly if they were in a close proxinity the coughing would have alerted them to their presence, And once they're riled up they're relentless. Of course He would say, "of this building" why wouldn't he? That statement still holds true even if they were 100 stories above it.

Your argument seems to hinge on the features of the room that they were in, perhaps willingfully ignoring all the other evidence that they are indeed not in the same room with the ghouls.

Example. I live in NYC and Every feature you listed can be found in the sixth story of a loft in soho. Just because a room has a sink in it does it make it kitchen? It could be a bathroom or even a mop closet.

Like a great man once said, " We gotta operate on what we do know." And there's no indication on film that they are in the same room as the ghouls and that's what we have to go on. The burden of proof is on the other side to prove that they indeed are and I have seen no conclusive evidence of that.

:cool:I'm not arguing that they're in the same room. I'm saying they are in the same basement. Basements potentially being many rooms. I agree 100% that they aren't in the same room.

The scene shows the priest coming from a different room on the same level. The area where the dead are stored has a door leading into it from a hallway. There are other swat guys moving about. Peter and Roger come in through that doorway. It's clear that the basement is more than just one room.

In support of the opposing viewpoint... here's a good argument. It's questionable why Peter and Roger would retreat all the way to the basement. I understand the desire to get out of the fray, but it seems odd that they'd go into unsecured areas of the buliding, and areas below ground that might not have an escape route. I'd expect they'd retreat the way they came in, and at most find a quiet room off that route.

@sandrock74 - I could believe it's a partial below ground level that is not the basement, and that the basement is down a set of stairs from the way the priest came into the room.

@SRP - I'm still a bit hazy on the lack of windows and what appear to be window wells. The room just looks like it's built on the foundation and is below ground. I'd have a hard time believing it is a ground floor washroom.

If we consider that the room where the dead were stored had that little chute thing that the army guy busted through it is very clear that there is another level of the building that is a partial floor up. Maybe that's on the same level as the washroom?

I love these debates. And, no, I'm not ignoring any points. I carefully consider each thing that is said.

[AcesandEights]

@SRP - I'm still a bit hazy on the lack of windows and what appear to be window wells. The room just looks like it's built on the foundation and is below ground. I'd have a hard time believing it is a ground floor washroom.

Honestly, it looks like the 1st floor back service/washroom area of a rundown inner city tenement circa 1970s to me, which would fairly often also be near to where they stuck a flight of stairs.

[Trin]

I could buy that if it weren't for the things that appear to be window wells. It does look like it could be a back service/washroom area. And that would be nice and tidy to explain all the other points. But window wells pretty much imply it is below ground.

I would like Philly to come in with pictures and arrows and such. I think we're at the level of nitpicky that plays to his strengths.

[darth los]

Word. Where is he when you need him? And why aren't his nerd senses tigling alerting him to this debate? He's slippin' I tell ya.

:cool:

[AcesandEights]

I would like Philly to come in with pictures and arrows and such. I think we're at the level of nitpicky that plays to his strengths.

Philly will try and convince us it's a penthouse suite circa 2092. ;) (Miss you Philly :))


I could buy that if it weren't for the things that appear to be window wells.
I have to re-watch and see if they are window wells or just high set windows.

I also didn't bring this up earlier, because it could lead to a whole other tangent, but it could just be bad writing and/or the priest not being a native English speaker that has him refer to the basement as he does.

[JDFP]

I know this is blasphemy to posit this, but maybe it was just an error in the script? Or perhaps they had intended to film it somewhere else instead of the basement but ultimately moved to the basement for the filming and just kept the script with the "in the basement" line in it?

After all, there were some interesting things going on with the script in Dawn, fellow street brothers and chocolate men!

j.p.

[darth los]

I know this is blasphemy to posit this, but maybe it was just an error in the script? Or perhaps they had intended to film it somewhere else instead of the basement but ultimately moved to the basement for the filming and just kept the script with the "in the basement" line in it?

After all, there were some interesting things going on with the script in Dawn, fellow street brothers and chocolate men!

j.p.


What blashphemy? It's common knowledge that GAr dead films are chock full of them.

:cool:

[blind2d]

I don't think he really looks like Morgan Freeman all that much...
It's the top basement. The lower basement is the second set, from where he comes from. Either way, they're not "Down there by themselves, boy".

[Trin]

Oooh... "down here by yourself boy." That does imply a lower level of some sort!

And as for the script being in error... where's the fun in that? It's more fun to take what we see on the screen and try to explain it than to let the reality of filmmaking creep into the discussion. :)

Since Philly isn't here to contribute (or to defend himself)... here's my take on what Philly would say... "Without seeing sunlight (which wouldn't in itself be conclusive) we have no direct evidence that the room is either above or below ground. Window wells do not imply a basement. It is not architecturally impossible to build window wells on a first floor room, or on a tenth floor room for that matter. We don't even know for a fact that the priest (assuming he is a real priest - we have no evidence of that either) uses the term 'basement' to mean a below ground structure. If you look at the intial scene where the gunfight occurs outside the building you will see that there are stretches of wall with no visible windows, thus the room Peter and Roger are in could well have been on that level, perhaps a room near that entrance. We do see a cloud of smoke exiting the room the alleged priest just came out of and the priest is coughing. Therefore we know the alleged priest is stoned and Land comes before Day."

[AcesandEights]

Oooh... "down here by yourself boy."

Nah, he meant down here in the barrio :p

[bassman]

Oooh... "down here by yourself boy." That does imply a lower level of some sort!

I'm fairly certain he says "in here by yourself boy". But yeah....your Philly response is spot on. I miss that guy....

[blind2d]

I'm fairly certain he says "in here by yourself boy". But yeah....your Philly response is spot on. I miss that guy....
Argh! You're right! Curse you, Bassman! *puff of smoke* *Runs off into the night to plot schemes for another day*

[sandrock74]

But yeah....your Philly response is spot on. I miss that guy....

Me too. I hope the zombies didn't get him!