the DAWN screwed of observation thread

[acealive1]

i got one for ya. they were so busy living on canned goods,they failed to see all the fresh produce in the fridge they stored the dead bodies in.


also all they did was lock the entrance doors and not even cover them

[darth los]

i got one for ya. they were so busy living on canned goods,they failed to see all the fresh produce in the fridge they stored the dead bodies in.

I have definitely pondered that many times myself. I was like," how are they gonna keep their perishables from going bad?" Another thought. When they finally locked down the mall and got it "secure" they felt safe. It looks like they got really comfortable and really stopped planning contingencies for problems that could arise, like LOOTERS!!:rockbrow:

[sandrock74]

I always wondered why they didn't clean out the freezer of food first (there must have been another one somewhere in the mall to move the food to) prior to tossing the zombie stiffs in it! Unless maybe the food in that particular freezer was already bad? Or full of stuff they didn't like, like lima beans?
And when Peter made Fran and Steven dinner, didn't either of them wonder where Peter had gotten the food from??? Perhaps out of the zombie freezer!

[darth los]

or maybe they didn't have a choice. Like peter said, if they didn't clean the place up it was going to turn rotten. There was really no other place to put them. The entrance doors to the mall were already closed. The wall up to the apartment was up as weel. It would have been to burdensome to lug them up there individually and toss them off the roof anyway. Those were really their only other options.

[MaximusIncredulous]

They still could've taken the meat out of the freezer, get a couple of grills from J.C. Penny and have a BBQ. Even if they couldn't have eaten it all, the leftovers probably would've been small enough to store in a fridge or make sandwiches, stew, etc. Seemed like they were overwhelmed by their bounty and wasted some of it.

[zombieslayer]

i got one for ya. they were so busy living on canned goods,they failed to see all the fresh produce in the fridge they stored the dead bodies in.


also all they did was lock the entrance doors and not even cover them

if that was me, i would have just thrown the bodies off the roof.like in yawn 04.

[Philly_SWAT]

i got one for ya. they were so busy living on canned goods,they failed to see all the fresh produce in the fridge they stored the dead bodies in.


also all they did was lock the entrance doors and not even cover themThe entrance door thing has benn brought up before, at least by me it was. I think one of the first things they should have done once the mall was secure was to continue to barricade the entrance doors from the inside, to protect against both "looters", and the zeds, in case they finally broke the glass. At the least, I figure if they had made it tougher to get in, the biker gang would have had to spend more time to gain entry, possibly started to get attacked by the zeds, and gave up on trying to get in.

As far as the freezer thing, I have thought of that before. In actually fact, that freezer looked way too small to put ALL the zombies they killed in it (I attribute that to a "movie mistake"). In any event, most malls have other food shops, which should ahve had frig/freezers, and they should have moved the food in the freezer first. Presumably, the zombies already smelled a little 'rotton', seeing as they were dead already. The best plan would have been to take them to the roof and throw them off before making the false wall. This would have been an arduous task, however, they didnt ahve anything else to do. They definately should have put more thought into long-term plans. Imagine if the power eventually went off (which is a safe bet, I think). Then you would have a freezer full of rotting bodies, and the smell and/or disease potential would have been overwhelming. That stench would eventually seep out into the rest of the mall.

[sandrock74]

As far as losing power goes, I assumed that Peter was right when he suggested the place was run on nuclear power. If that were true and how my limited understanding of nuclear power goes, they were in no danger of losing power in their lifetime.
Isn't the half life of nuclear power supposed to be a century or so?

[darth los]

if that was me, i would have just thrown the bodies off the roof.like in yawn 04.

I think that was just too burdensome a task. They would have to individually lug them up the stairs. Riddle me this? How were they supossed to get the bodies up that ladder leading to the roof? And then toss them off? Kepp in mind, there were only 2 of them that would have been able to actually attempt to do so.

[MaximusIncredulous]

I think that was just too burdensome a task. They would have to individually lug them up the stairs. Riddle me this? How were they supossed to get the bodies up that ladder leading to the roof? And then toss them off? Kepp in mind, there were only 2 of them that would have been able to actually attempt to do so.

If they were keen for some dirty work, they could've cut up the bodies, placed the parts in triple layered Hefty bags and tossed them over the roof. Heaviest parts would've been the torsos :barf:.

[darth los]

All things considered i think they went with the most realistic option.

[acealive1]

the option got them killed honestly.

[darth los]

the option got them killed honestly.


putting the zeds in the freezer got them killed? :confused:

[sandrock74]

Lugging the zombies bodies thru thru the mall, up the stairs, up the ladder and chucking them over the roof would have taken Peter and Steven DAYS to do! Also, they would have needed protective clothing to wear to protect them from whatever diseases would be on the zombies rotting bodies. No one has mentioned that. I'm sure minimizing contact with the bodies was a major factor in the disposal of them!
Besides, all those zombie bodies littering the side of the mall would be a clear sign that the mall was inhabited! Peter was clearly against that!

[darth los]

Besides, all those zombie bodies littering the side of the mall would be a clear sign that the mall was inhabited! Peter was clearly against that!

You know? That's brilliant. You're the first person i've heard bring up that point. But think about this one. Perhaps anything they did, such as chucking the zombies off the roof, that would give away that they were in the mall is a moot point because the chopper was on the roof. That is how the bikers knew they were there after all.

[sandrock74]

You know? That's brilliant. You're the first person i've heard bring up that point. But think about this one. Perhaps anything they did, such as chucking the zombies off the roof, that would give away that they were in the mall is a moot point because the chopper was on the roof. That is how the bikers knew they were there after all.

The bikers saw the copter flying and landing...THAT'S how they knew the mall was inhabited! They just happened by at the right time to witness that. I have always thought that the copter on the roof alone wouldn't have tipped anyone off of anything.
Now the TRUCKS in front of the doors was much more of a give away!

[darth los]

The bikers saw the copter flying and landing...THAT'S how they knew the mall was inhabited! They just happened by at the right time to witness that. I have always thought that the copter on the roof alone wouldn't have tipped anyone off of anything.
Now the TRUCKS in front of the doors was much more of a give away!


The turck comment is on point and probably a much better indicator of the malls inhabitation. I know that the bikers saw the choper, i saw the movie a million times just like you did.:D But tell me when was the last time you saw a chopper on a rooftop? It's a very unusual thing.

[sandrock74]

The turck comment is on point and probably a much better indicator of the malls inhabitation. I know that the bikers saw the choper, i saw the movie a million times just like you did.:D But tell me when was the last time you saw a chopper on a rooftop? It's a very unusual thing.

Not that unusual. I have seen some a few times. Even on the ground. In a zombie apocalypse I would figure that someone had landed there and never got to fly out, they would be dead or maybe out of fuel. Either way, what would I care? I couldn't get to it and even if I could, I can't fly it.

[acealive1]

the trucks comment more supports my theory to completely seal off the doors from even sunlight

[darth los]

That just point again to their laziness. You could plainly see that they were not enough reinforcement.

[acealive1]

hardware store. doors. cars...... thats all.

[darth los]

They should have had booby traps as well in case of a breach of the bay doors. Maybe even made some grenades. Peter was swat, he probably has knowledge about all that stuff.

[acealive1]

They should have had booby traps as well in case of a breach of the bay doors. Maybe even made some grenades. Peter was swat, he probably has knowledge about all that stuff.



i never remembered that fact honestly. to be swat,they were pretty dumb

[darth los]

Yeah, you would figure that as a swat team member he would have had some tactics and tricks in mind in order to take a more "defensive"apraoch in protecting the mall.

[acealive1]

Yeah, you would figure that as a swat team member he would have had some tactics and tricks in mind in order to take a more "defensive"apraoch in protecting the mall.

also common sense. how the fack do u live in pitt and not know how to be street smart?

[darth los]

i don't think that indicated that he wasn't street smart. There's a case to be made that they were blinded by the consumer paradise that they found themselves in. They just got too relaxed and forgot about all the dangers that still posed a threat to them. They obviously weren't worried about someone seeing them because stephen decided to give helicopter lessons and that turned out to be a dead give away.

[sandrock74]

i don't think that indicated that he wasn't street smart. There's a case to be made that they were blinded by the consumer paradise that they found themselves in. They just got too relaxed and forgot about all the dangers that still posed a threat to them. They obviously weren't worried about someone seeing them because stephen decided to give helicopter lessons and that turned out to be a dead give away.

Well, in Steven's defense, he needed to teach someone else how to fly the copter. That was something they did that actually made sense! They were thinking ahead. If Steven were hurt and unable to fly it or dead, then what?
As for them not reinforcing the mall better, it seems that once they were out of immediate danger, they got comfortable. Their lack of reinforcement and contingency planning is utterly confounding!

[acealive1]

Well, in Steven's defense, he needed to teach someone else how to fly the copter. That was something they did that actually made sense! They were thinking ahead. If Steven were hurt and unable to fly it or dead, then what?
As for them not reinforcing the mall better, it seems that once they were out of immediate danger, they got comfortable. Their lack of reinforcement and contingency planning is utterly confounding!



amen. i woulda said "what if people get in?" then i wo uld have boared up the upstairs and down of pennys and hid out til they left or got eaten:elol:

[sandrock74]

Persoanlly, my plan would have been to lock all the stores on the second floor and both levels of the large department stores (every night, without fail). If the mall was invaded, cut the power and let the raiders stumble around in the dark feding off the zombies while they try to figure out what is open and easy to access and what isn't worth the effort. If they had no power to anything or lights on, I bet that entire scene would have worked out totally different! The zombies would have been a much more credible threat...

[darth los]

Persoanlly, my plan would have been to lock all the stores on the second floor and both levels of the large department stores (every night, without fail). If the mall was invaded, cut the power and let the raiders stumble around in the dark feding off the zombies while they try to figure out what is open and easy to access and what isn't worth the effort. If they had no power to anything or lights on, I bet that entire scene would have worked out totally different! The zombies would have been a much more credible threat...


Ii totally agree on your last point about cutting the lights off. Good plan. Alot of people say they should have planned better but they fail to come up with alternative strategies. 2 points!! As for the locking the stores, they all were locked and the bikers had to shoot the locks off.

[MissJacksonCA]

I couldn't believe they put the dead bodies of zombies in the walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer instead of taking them upstairs and dumping them off the roof (granted that would have taken a long time but still...)...

I also have to wonder about how fresh the produce was inside the Brown Derby... I'd say that was dependant on how long it was from the time the mall was overrun by zombies and their last food delivery to the time it took the gang to get there.

I liked in 28 Days Later they were plugging irradiated food though...

[darth los]

I couldn't believe they put the dead bodies of zombies in the walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer instead of taking them upstairs and dumping them off the roof (granted that would have taken a long time but still...)...

I also have to wonder about how fresh the produce was inside the Brown Derby... I'd say that was dependant on how long it was from the time the mall was overrun by zombies and their last food delivery to the time it took the gang to get there.

I liked in 28 Days Later they were plugging irradiated food though...

I don't think you guys are taking into account the virtual impossibility of getting them up there and tossing them off. You think they didn't have this conversation? Petr was like "F**k this man, let's just throw these suckers in the frezer." we talk all this junk but we probably would have done the same thing.

[MissJacksonCA]

I didn't know they had that talk...

[darth los]

I didn't know they had that talk...

I'm sorry mj, ididn't mean to give the impression that they said that in the film. :lol: Alot of things happened off camera in the movie that we just have to fill in the blanks to. But common sense dictates that they had a conversation about what to do with the bodies. They probably went through all their options and went with the most practical one.

[MissJacksonCA]

ohhh but there was scarcely enough space in the coolers to keep all the zombies...

[DeadJonas190]

They should have just put all the zombies in the ice arena instead of the freezer. The arena had a lot more room than the tiny freezer plus they wouldn't have to worry about all the food wasted.

[darth los]

They should have just put all the zombies in the ice arena instead of the freezer. The arena had a lot more room than the tiny freezer plus they wouldn't have to worry about all the food wasted.


Now there's the first viable solution i've heard. Way to use the old noodle dude!!

[acealive1]

Persoanlly, my plan would have been to lock all the stores on the second floor and both levels of the large department stores (every night, without fail). If the mall was invaded, cut the power and let the raiders stumble around in the dark feding off the zombies while they try to figure out what is open and easy to access and what isn't worth the effort. If they had no power to anything or lights on, I bet that entire scene would have worked out totally different! The zombies would have been a much more credible threat...

cuttin the power woulda made a world of difference. but also,flyboy still would have tried to shoot them and missed with all the shots.....again. he couldnt hit the broad side of a barn.

[darth los]

cuttin the power woulda made a world of difference. but also,flyboy still would have tried to shoot them and missed with all the shots.....again. he couldnt hit the broad side of a barn.

I think that statement was definitely true at the begining of the film, but i think he got a little better through practice. He was after all able to shoot a couple of bikers off their bikes, who were moving targets by the way. Anybody who's fired a gun can tell you that's not easy. As for turning of the lights, hell yeah it would have made a big difference. You saw the chaos that ensued when the bikers shut off the lights.

[sandrock74]

They should have just put all the zombies in the ice arena instead of the freezer. The arena had a lot more room than the tiny freezer plus they wouldn't have to worry about all the food wasted.

Not a bad idea but take it from me, ice rinks are no where near cold enough to keep bodies from rotting. I have spent time at school level and minor league hocky rinks and NHL arenas (Go Wings!) and during the late spring thru early fall, while the ice is frozen, the air around it is still very warm. Those bodies would have been rank!
Maybe they could have left the bodies there as a temporary solution but not for too long.

[darth los]

Not a bad idea but take it from me, ice rinks are no where near cold enough to keep bodies from rotting. I have spent time at school level and minor league hocky rinks and NHL arenas (Go Wings!) and during the late spring thru early fall, while the ice is frozen, the air around it is still very warm. Those bodies would have been rank!
Maybe they could have left the bodies there as a temporary solution but not for too long.

I have no idea how the whole ice skating thing works so this might sound crazy, but couldn't they let the ice melt, throw the zeds in there, then refreeze it with them entombed in ice?

[MaximusIncredulous]

I have no idea how the whole ice skating thing works so this might sound crazy, but couldn't they let the ice melt, throw the zeds in there, then refreeze it with them entombed in ice?

I would imagine that an ice rink would only consist of a thin layer of ice as that would be more efficient for freezing and maintenance purposes.

[darth los]

I would imagine that an ice rink would only consist of a thin layer of ice as that would be more efficient for freezing and maintenance purposes.


Well i gues a couple of inches of ice would be enough for a couple of people, but what about if it's a couple hundred on the ice at the same time? Wouldn't it have to be significantly thicker? Maybe 6 inches? If that's the case one would imagine that would be enough.

[jim102016]

Would the smell of rotting bodies come seeping out of the freezers if the power were off-line for some time?

[darth los]

Would the smell of rotting bodies come seeping out of the freezers if the power were off-line for some time?

In all likelyhood yes, unless it was airtight.

[MaximusIncredulous]

Well i gues a couple of inches of ice would be enough for a couple of people, but what about if it's a couple hundred on the ice at the same time? Wouldn't it have to be significantly thicker? Maybe 6 inches? If that's the case one would imagine that would be enough.

Six inches of water for a couple of hundred people? I figure it would have to be feet of water for that. Lots of feet.

[darth los]

Six inches of water for a couple of hundred people? I figure it would have to be feet of water for that. Lots of feet.


Why not? How many inches of ice were they under in the freezer? The important part is that they be kept cold.

[MaximusIncredulous]

Why not? How many inches of ice were they under in the freezer? The important part is that they be kept cold.

You have to take into consideration the whole volume of the freezer which was, what, 10'x10'? The entire freezer would contribute to keeping the bodies on ice. The rink didn't seem big enough to hold a couple of hundred bodies without stacking them. If stacking is needed, I figure about 1 foot of water per person. Then again there didn't seem to be hundreds of zombies locked in the mall for extermination so a good, solid foot of water should do. Water expansion as it freezes should cover any overweight bodies.

[darth los]

You have to take into consideration the whole volume of the freezer which was, what, 10'x10'? The entire freezer would contribute to keeping the bodies on ice. The rink didn't seem big enough to hold a couple of hundred bodies without stacking them. If stacking is needed, I figure about 1 foot of water per person. Then again there didn't seem to be hundreds of zombies locked in the mall for extermination so a good, solid foot of water should do. Water expansion as it freezes should cover any overweight bodies.


Sounds reasonable. Like i said, i know jack about ice rinks.

[MaximusIncredulous]

Sounds reasonable. Like i said, i know jack about ice rinks.

Me too. I'm just taking shots in the dark.

[darth los]

But isn't speculation what this thread is all about? If it wasn't for what ifs we'd have nothing to post about.

[MaximusIncredulous]

Of course, the guesswork and speculation of posters here helps keep the films vivid.

[darth los]

Or full of stuff they didn't like, like lima beans?
And when Peter made Fran and Steven dinner, didn't either of them wonder where Peter had gotten the food from??? Perhaps out of the zombie freezer!


:lol: :lol:

That's funny. That's definitely a good question. We don't know for sure if that was the only food storage area in the mall. It might have just been the biggest.

Perhaps, Stephen was a bundle of nerves and Fran was too busy trying to think of a way to blow stephen off to notice.

[sandrock74]

Sounds reasonable. Like i said, i know jack about ice rinks.

On NHL ice rinks, the ice is only a few inches thick. I would imagine that a non-professional ice rink would be about the same...maybe even less.

[jim102016]

What about if the power company decided to shut down operations to the area? For instance, lets say their re-animated selves can't remember how to keep the machinery going at the power plant. Then you'd be stuck with hundreds of bodies rotting in the freezers and/or the ice rink. Quickly, it'll be one ecological disaster. I can see temporary storage on ice, but maybe they should have thought of a way to get the bodies up to the roof and over the side into the parking lot.

Maybe sort sort of pulley system that went thorough the skylights so they wouldn't have to carrry those nasty bastards through their living areas.

[darth los]

On NHL ice rinks, the ice is only a few inches thick. I would imagine that a non-professional ice rink would be about the same...maybe even less.

That may be, but the question is this: would that be enough to store the bodies?

[DEAD BEAT]

Did everyone forget when they arrived @ the mall it had power but wasn't turn on.
Remember Peter saying that then Roger hits all the switches!
Now if the plague had been going on for weeks @ that point, then the mall must have also been abandoned that long as well!

With that in mind im sure that food had already gone bad by the time they got there!:rockbrow:

[darth los]

Did everyone forget when they arrived @ the mall it had power but wasn't turn on.
Remember Peter saying that then Roger hits all the switches!
Now if the plague had been going on for weeks @ that point, then the mall must have also been abandoned that long as well!

With that in mind im sure that food had already gone bad by the time they got there!:rockbrow:

My man, you're totally right!! BRILLIANT!! The plauge hd been going on for 3 weeks so one would imagine that the mall had been abandoned for atleast a week. Any perishables would have gone bad by then.

[sandrock74]

Did everyone forget when they arrived @ the mall it had power but wasn't turn on.
Remember Peter saying that then Roger hits all the switches!
Now if the plague had been going on for weeks @ that point, then the mall must have also been abandoned that long as well!

With that in mind im sure that food had already gone bad by the time they got there!:rockbrow:

Incorrect about the power not being on. The ice in the rink would have all melted away and have drained out. It would have been nothing more than a wide open area of cement with drain graitings.
It's a lot of effort to replace the ice in a rink and I'm fairly certain that these four people didn't have the ready knowledge to refreeze the rink once the power turned back on. Besides, remember on the roof after they first got there, Peter noted how it (the mall) still had power and he theorized it must be nuclear.
Although it could just be that the ice rink still having ice was just a mistake on Romero's part. Something no one thought about. Well, except us and the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons!

[darth los]

Incorrect about the power not being on. The ice in the rink would have all melted away and have drained out. It would have been nothing more than a wide open area of cement with drain graitings.
It's a lot of effort to replace the ice in a rink and I'm fairly certain that these four people didn't have the ready knowledge to refreeze the rink once the power turned back on. Besides, remember on the roof after they first got there, Peter noted how it (the mall) still had power and he theorized it must be nuclear.
Although it could just be that the ice rink still having ice was just a mistake on Romero's part. Something no one thought about. Well, except us and the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons!

The power was definitely on because when they first land on the roof you can see the lights on in the stores. Also, when they get to the control room the lights were on there also. I think that the power was indeed off to some things but not all.

[RustyHicks]

The power was on, but just nothing was turned on. Well hardly anything was turned on. That freezer thing always puzzled me, so small and so many bodies. It's too bad they couldn't find a place to have a big bomb fire like in NOTLD, that would have solved the problems.

[darth los]

The power was on, but just nothing was turned on. Well hardly anything was turned on. That freezer thing always puzzled me, so small and so many bodies. It's too bad they couldn't find a place to have a big bomb fire like in NOTLD, that would have solved the problems.

It's always been unclear as to exactly how many ghouls were left in the mall after they locked the doors and "went on a hunt". Judging by what we saw on camera i'd say atleast a hundred. But who can be sure?