Did Rhodes really think that...

[JDP]

...he could attempt to fight his way through that onslaught of zombies that took over the bunker with only one M16 and a couple of clips of ammo??? LOL!

Another thing that apparently did not occur to Romero when he wrote/shot that sequence: we, the viewers, are well aware that the 3 other soldiers are now dead, but from Rhodes' point of view, all 3 or some of them might still be alive, and that's another "obstacle " in his attempt to fight his way out of the bunker. Those 3 guys will surely shoot at him if they encounter him again, after he treacherously left them behind as zombie decoys. Rhodes must in fact have been well aware that at least one of the 3 remaining men was still alive, since he must have heard all the shooting that Steel and "Bub" were doing in that section of the bunker where Rhodes also was. So, there is just no way that anyone in Rhodes' position would really have just taken one gun and a couple of clips of ammo to try to fight his way out of that mess. He definitely would have taken several guns, and plenty of ammo, and previously load them before trying to fight his way out, certainly not go around carelessly wandering the halls with unloaded guns (again, he must have known that that section of the bunker had already been breached, there is no way he did not hear all the gunfire in the area.) He would have known that he would have to put up a heck of a fight to try to find his way out, not only against the bunch of roaming zombies, but even against his own vengeful men (remember, he does not know that they are already dead, we know that, but as far as he is concerned, all of them might still be alive, and pissed off as hell!)

Realistically speaking, anyone in Rhodes' position would actually have stayed close to the armory room, weapons loaded and ready, waiting for any zombies or vengeful ex-subordinates to show up on that corridor and shoot them on sight, not carelessly wandering around the halls with an unloaded weapon. Once he has "thinned the herd", he can then venture farther around and see if he can find a way out of the bunker.

Note: some of you might try to pull the "maybe there was not enough ammo left, that's why he only took one gun and two clips" excuse. I say: not so. When Rhodes tells the civilians that he and his men are not going to help them anymore, he clearly says that tomorrow they are going to go into the cave system and waste all the zombies that have been brought down there as experiment specimens. So, they most definitely had enough ammo to at least kill that bunch of zombies in there. There certainly was still plenty of ammo around when the zombie invasion of the bunker happened, way more than just two clips worth.

[shootemindehead]

Panic isn't thinking.

[JDP]

Panic isn't thinking.

Until Steel shows up and blasts the door open, Rhodes had enough time to think up a better plan than running around the halls with a couple of ammo mags and an empty gun. For the moment being, he is securely locked up in an area where there are no hostile elements around, except for "Bub", but he thinks he is chained in Logan's lab. So, he can calm down and think of a better strategy.

[shootemindehead]

There is no time. He's shitting himself as soon as he sees the elevator descending with a ton of zombies on it. He's already at his wits end long before the dead gain access to the facility. "Calming down" is out of the question because his (and everyone's) stress levels are already through the roof. Look at the expression on Rhodes' face when he realises the situation. That's a man that's lost all reason, or what little reason he had. He has no weapons, he's in a state of high anxiety, and believes that he has nowhere left to go. All he has on his mind is self preservation and running. He abandons Steele, Rickles and Torrez, who are in the midst of panicking themselves.

When you panic, you don't think.

[JDP]

There is no time. He's shitting himself as soon as he sees the elevator descending with a ton of zombies on it. He's already at his wits end long before the dead gain access to the facility. "Calming down" is out of the question because his (and everyone's) stress levels are already through the roof. Look at the expression on Rhodes' face when he realises the situation. That's a man that's lost all reason, or what little reason he had. He has no weapons, he's in a state of high anxiety, and believes that he has nowhere left to go. All he has on his mind is self preservation and running. He abandons Steele, Rickles and Torrez, who are in the midst of panicking themselves.

When you panic, you don't think.

That's fine for that moment, but after the shock has worn off and self-preservation kicks in, Rhodes does the one thing that an unarmed man in that situation would certainly do: run to a safe area and secure weapons. But only one gun and two clips of ammo? Against that mob? LOL! Don't think so. He should have been very much aware that that was not enough to try to find a way out of there (his objective all along.) Plus then there's also the possibility that some of those guys he betrayed are still alive and thirsty for revenge if they find him, another threat to deal with. Rhodes certainly had time to better think how to survive that situation. Best bet for survival for Rhodes: do not go wandering around, stay within short distance of the armory room (he will need to go in and out of it), have plenty of weapons loaded and ready to go, and keep an eye on that hall. As soon as any zombies or disgruntled ex-comrades with a vendetta show up, shoot them down. When he has killed a load of them, then he can take ammo and several loaded weapons with him and venture out farther away. If the situation is more manageable now, not too many of those creeps left, he can try to find a way out of the bunker.

[MinionZombie]

When you panic, you don't think.

I can personally vouch for this. You can't think straight and even the simplest concepts of what to do next and why can easily be lost on you. You're betwixt and between, and it's incredibly easy to make mistakes or do things that wouldn't make sense to a rational and calm mind. You can't even get your breathing in check. Your mind is overloaded. It even affects you physically - you're literally shaking.


That's fine for that moment, but after the shock has worn off and self-preservation kicks in, Rhodes does the one thing that an unarmed man in that situation would certainly do: run to a safe area and secure weapons. But only one gun and two clips of ammo? Against that mob? LOL! Don't think so. He should have been very much aware that that was not enough to try to find a way out of there (his objective all along.) Plus then there's also the possibility that some of those guys he betrayed are still alive and thirsty for revenge if they find him, another threat to deal with. Rhodes certainly had time to better think how to survive that situation. Best bet for survival for Rhodes: do not go wandering around, stay within short distance of the armory room (he will need to go in and out of it), have plenty of weapons loaded and ready to go, and keep an eye on that hall. As soon as any zombies or disgruntled ex-comrades with a vendetta show up, shoot them down. When he has killed a load of them, then he can take ammo and several loaded weapons with him and venture out farther away. If the situation is more manageable now, not too many of those creeps left, he can try to find a way out of the bunker.

The amount of time that passes on-screen is actually quite short, so there isn't time for the panic or any shock to wear off. After Rhoades witnesses the zombies coming down the elevator, what transpires next all takes place in a very compressed amount of time, probably no more than half an hour.

He didn't have the time to think of a better survival method for his situation. Indeed, it's not really in-keeping with his character. Throughout the movie the guy is already at 11 most of the time, so when he freaks out it's like an absolute mental breakdown for most other people.

Plus, just having Rhoades hang out camping at the ammo room like a Counter Strike troll would be boring as fuck. Yes, I can see what you're getting at, but that doesn't make for a thrilling finale. Plus, being trapped in a series of corridors with a swarm of zombies coming at you and only you isn't gonna be great, especially if they're coming at you from more than one direction. You're not going to be able to shoot that many zombies that quickly and reload swiftly enough (and never mind an overheating weapon jamming up).

[shootemindehead]

That's fine for that moment, but after the shock has worn off and self-preservation kicks in, Rhodes does the one thing that an unarmed man in that situation would certainly do: run to a safe area and secure weapons. But only one gun and two clips of ammo? Against that mob? LOL! Don't think so. He should have been very much aware that that was not enough to try to find a way out of there (his objective all along.) Plus then there's also the possibility that some of those guys he betrayed are still alive and thirsty for revenge if they find him, another threat to deal with. Rhodes certainly had time to better think how to survive that situation. Best bet for survival for Rhodes: do not go wandering around, stay within short distance of the armory room (he will need to go in and out of it), have plenty of weapons loaded and ready to go, and keep an eye on that hall. As soon as any zombies or disgruntled ex-comrades with a vendetta show up, shoot them down. When he has killed a load of them, then he can take ammo and several loaded weapons with him and venture out farther away. If the situation is more manageable now, not too many of those creeps left, he can try to find a way out of the bunker.

Have you seen the film?

It's a matter of minutes from the time that Rhodes and Co. see the lift descend with the zombies. They shit themselves and run. Rhodes, in particular, legs it to a buggy abandoning "his" men and heads to a different part of the facility. He then heads to the armoury to tool up. He's in the middle of loading his M-16 when he encounters Bub. Bub shoots him and his fate is sealed.

All the while he's panicking like fuck because he's utterly terrified and with good cause.

He hasn't the time, nor the mental capacity to chill and come up with a plan. He's simply thinking "get away".

- - - Updated - - -


I can personally vouch for this. You can't think straight and even the simplest concepts of what to do next and why can easily be lost on you. You're betwixt and between, and it's incredibly easy to make mistakes or do things that wouldn't make sense to a rational and calm mind. You can't even get your breathing in check. Your mind is overloaded. It even affects you physically - you're literally shaking.

Coupled with this, the entire group have had months of extreme stress with death at their door, nowhere to run to and the increasing realisation that it really is all over. Into the bargain, Rhodes is clearly over the edge when we first encounter him. He's hardly what one would call a rational man in the first place. And finally, these soldiers are weekend warriors drafted when the shit hit the fan. They're not really trained military men.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that when their enclave is breached they'd panic and lose their minds.

[JDP]

I can personally vouch for this. You can't think straight and even the simplest concepts of what to do next and why can easily be lost on you. You're betwixt and between, and it's incredibly easy to make mistakes or do things that wouldn't make sense to a rational and calm mind. You can't even get your breathing in check. Your mind is overloaded. It even affects you physically - you're literally shaking.

Which most of the men involved in that sequence don't do, mind you. These guys have been handling zombies -a shitload of them, in fact- for quite a while. It is not like they have not confronted them before. Of course, it is shocking for them to see that Miguel unleashed that bunch on them (they all think he is a coward, and therefore is trying "to make a run for it"), but these guys actually do what anyone in that situation would do: try to get away from them and survive. Rhodes, who is unarmed, naturally heads to the area where the armory room is. He's got "the keys to the kingdom" and can safely lock himself up there, and get weapons. The two armed men try to get away from the zombies. Steel heads for the same area as Rhodes, while Rickles heads for the corral area (smart move, as there is a possible way to escape the bunker through the caves via the missile silo. Yet he bizarrely starts running around in circles and allows the zombies to eventually surround him. He could very easily have made it to the caves and then try to get to the missile silo, just like John, Sarah and Bill.) Torrez... I have no idea what that guy was thinking or doing. How in blazes did he get caught up in the middle of that bunch of zombies is one of the unexplained mysteries of this movie. You would think that the most logical and natural move for him would have been to stick with the two armed men, since he himself did not have any weapon at the time. Yet he seems to wander off by himself straight into the crowd of zombies. Absolutely suicidal!



The amount of time that passes on-screen is actually quite short, so there isn't time for the panic or any shock to wear off. After Rhoades witnesses the zombies coming down the elevator, what transpires next all takes place in a very compressed amount of time, probably no more than half an hour.

And you really think you need more time to come up with a plan to try to survive that mess? Again: Rhodes is now SAFELY LOCKED UP, he is no longer in immediate danger. He even stops at the door after he locks it, calms down a bit, thinks, and moves on (we later see what he is up to: yep, he's got the right basic idea, get armed, but, bizarrely, he only takes ONE gun and a COUPLE of ammo magazines, LOL! But he knows there is a mob of zombies on the loose, there is no way that that is going to be enough for him to fight them back.)


He didn't have the time to think of a better survival method for his situation. Indeed, it's not really in-keeping with his character. Throughout the movie the guy is already at 11 most of the time, so when he freaks out it's like an absolute mental breakdown for most other people.

Plus, just having Rhoades hang out camping at the ammo room like a Counter Strike troll would be boring as fuck. Yes, I can see what you're getting at, but that doesn't make for a thrilling finale. Plus, being trapped in a series of corridors with a swarm of zombies coming at you and only you isn't gonna be great, especially if they're coming at you from more than one direction. You're not going to be able to shoot that many zombies that quickly and reload swiftly enough (and never mind an overheating weapon jamming up).

We all know why that cannot be (the movie has to end with Rhodes dying a horrible death, so he has to make a fatal mistake), but you see what my point is. It is pretty unrealistic that someone in that situation would have made such a bizarre and contradictory decision. So, he knows he has to get armed, but only does so quite insufficiently. Realistically speaking, Rhodes best option would be to put his back against the armory room and dispatch any zombies or angry vengeful ex-men (like Steel, who, if he hadn't been intercepted by "Bub", would eventually have caught up with Rhodes, and he surely wasn't about to give him a handshake, but more like a hail of bullets!) coming his way. All he has to watch is the corridor leading to the armory room. If the situation gets really ugly and too many zombies are coming his way at once, he can always retreat to the armory room itself, lock himself up there, and start blasting the zombies through the door window. Pretty much any plan would have been better than just taking one unloaded gun and two clips of ammo and start carelessly wandering around, somehow thinking that would be enough to survive that situation.

[shootemindehead]

panic
/ˈpanɪk/

noun
noun: panic

sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety, often causing wildly unthinking behaviour.

[JDP]

"Panic" (and he has already calmed down by that time) does not seem to stop Rhodes from arriving at the right basic idea: get armed. Yet, strangely, he picks up only one gun and two ammo magazines. And this being very well aware that there is a large crowd of zombies on the loose. Plus three majorly pissed off ex-subordinates as well, who, for all he knows, might still be alive, and who surely are not going to be precisely friendly if they encounter him. I think that anyone, panic or no panic, would have in fact armed himself to the teeth in such a situation. You don't really even need to "think" much about it. Survival instinct, if you will. You know that the odds are against you, and that you are going to have to put up a hell of a fight in order to try to make it out of that mess alive. "GET WEAPONS & AMMO" would come very naturally to anyone in such a situation.

[shootemindehead]

He wasn't "calmed down" at all. He's filling his pants all the time. He can't even load his M-16 when he sees Bub because he's so panicky. He's shitting himself from the moment he realises what's on the lift to the point he opens to door to a room full of zombies.

Even Stevie bleedin Wonder could see this.

[MinionZombie]

Again, speaking from personal experience, you can look somewhat 'calmer' but still animated - outwardly not wailing and babbling with crazy eyes and the whole production - but your head's still a total mess. You simply don't think straight. Everything is muddied, you do things incorrectly, you try to make a good decision but you're just as likely, if not considerably more-so, to make a mistake as do something spot-on.

That's where Rhoades' headspace is at during the entire climax of Day of the Dead, which, again, takes place over a very short space of time - and certainly an amount of time that is entirely possible to remain in a state of panic and therefore poor thinking as well. I've been in such a state for over an hour and wouldn't have been able to get through it without someone else who I had on the phone helping guide me through what I needed to do ... and, quite frankly, I'm not entirely sure how I managed to drive to the hospital. I certainly had to concentrate very hard on what I was doing, and I took to very consciously trying to control my breathing to stop me from flipping out.

Rhoades certainly wasn't doing that. The man was on the cusp of losing it the entire movie, then all hell breaks loose and there's a swarm of zombies on his arse - when your whole world has been tipped upside down, crystal clear thinking couldn't be further from your grasp.

[JDP]

Rhodes panics when he sees "Bub" for two obvious reasons: 1- he thought he was chained in Logan's lab, 2- he has a GUN! After "Bub" shoots him and he loses the two ammo clips (again, just two? really?? he has the whole arsenal at his disposal but yet takes only two??? LOL!), now he is REALLY in "panic mode" again. Clear as day. It's pretty obvious even from his facial expressions that Rhodes is calmer after he has securely locked himself in the area. There's even a whole scene devoted to this. He does not start to run around aimlessly and screaming or anything like that. The zombies cannot get in, at least for the moment. He has time to collect his thoughts and take action. That's exactly what we see him doing later on (i.e. going to the armory room and arming himself.) But now things are starting to change again because there has been a breach in the area. It is no longer secure. One or more of the men have blasted their way in (remember, Rhodes does not know that it is Steel and "Bub" doing the shooting, he has no idea what exactly is going on except that "someone" has blasted through and is now having a shootout against the zombies. For all he knows, all 3 of the men he betrayed are still alive.) But none of this is any reason why he would only take one gun and two clips of ammo. On the contrary. It is the more reason why he would in fact take several guns and more ammo. He is fully conscious of what lies ahead of him and has had sufficient time to give it some thought. There is just no way he can fight his way through with only one gun and a couple of clips of ammo. He knows he has to get armed, but mysteriously he does so very insufficiently. Doesn't add up. This guy is fully conscious of the situation and the need for weapons if he is to try to survive it, yet makes such a poor decision.

We all know what is the real reason why Rhodes takes such a bizarre action: the movie requires that Rhodes die a horrible death, and "Bub" needs to be involved in it too, so Rhodes simply cannot do the obvious and realistic thing that anyone in that situation would have done. If he did, he would easily have just shot "Bub" down and continued to try to escape.

[Harleydude666]

Rhodes panics when he sees "Bub" for two obvious reasons: 1- he thought he was chained in Logan's lab, 2- he has a GUN! After "Bub" shoots him and he loses the two ammo clips (again, just two? really?? he has the whole arsenal at his disposal but yet takes only two??? LOL!), now he is REALLY in "panic mode" again. Clear as day. It's pretty obvious even from his facial expressions that Rhodes is calmer after he has securely locked himself in the area. There's even a whole scene devoted to this. He does not start to run around aimlessly and screaming or anything like that. The zombies cannot get in, at least for the moment. He has time to collect his thoughts and take action. That's exactly what we see him doing later on (i.e. going to the armory room and arming himself.) But now things are starting to change again because there has been a breach in the area. It is no longer secure. One or more of the men have blasted their way in (remember, Rhodes does not know that it is Steel and "Bub" doing the shooting, he has no idea what exactly is going on except that "someone" has blasted through and is now having a shootout against the zombies. For all he knows, all 3 of the men he betrayed are still alive.) But none of this is any reason why he would only take one gun and two clips of ammo. On the contrary. It is the more reason why he would in fact take several guns and more ammo. He is fully conscious of what lies ahead of him and has had sufficient time to give it some thought. There is just no way he can fight his way through with only one gun and a couple of clips of ammo. He knows he has to get armed, but mysteriously he does so very insufficiently. Doesn't add up. This guy is fully conscious of the situation and the need for weapons if he is to try to survive it, yet makes such a poor decision.

We all know what is the real reason why Rhodes takes such a bizarre action: the movie requires that Rhodes die a horrible death, and "Bub" needs to be involved in it too, so Rhodes simply cannot do the obvious and realistic thing that anyone in that situation would have done. If he did, he would easily have just shot "Bub" down and continued to try to escape.

Ok,cool story