What were the bikers in Dawn tossing grenades at?

[JDP]

Peter and Stephen do indeed steal some money and get blinged up a bit with new clothes etc, but they're also feathering their nest up there in the converted storage room. They also do that only about 4 weeks into the ZA, whereas when the bikers come along we're up to 12 weeks into the ZA and the TV hasn't been broadcasting for several days. "My God, what have we done to ourselves?" says Fran, and they all take a step back and reset their sights - there's hope for them, but sadly the bikers just so happen to be there right at the wrong time for our little group of survivors, who have kinda 'learned their lesson'. The bikers are still acting like it's the beginning. When our group first get to the mall Fran says how they're all "hypnotised" by the place, but towards the end of the film the spell is breaking. The bikers, on the other hand, are well and truly still under the spell and it's all about greed and plenty and take-take-take, their minds still very much in the pre-ZA world, snatching up all the stuff they'd wished they could pillage with impunity in the old world. Shoot - indeed, lots of stuff thrown in. Although the screwdriver zombie did have a specific purpose in itself - to cover a continuity error (hence why the top tied around Roger's waist gets trapped in the zombie's grip). I loved hearing that story. An iconic scene that almost never happened and was improvised and stuffed into the schedule ... in fact, considering how much stuff they were kinda 'free styling' as they shot, it's amazing they got as much as they did. That still boggles my mind, just how much footage they got as well as the kind of footage they got - there's so much action and gunfire and stunts and effects and, yes, even explosions, in that final portion. The sheer volume of set-ups is crazy to think about. Unlike them, though, the bikers are "out there", they know what is going on better than people who have isolated themselves from the rest of the world and depend entirely on TV broadcasts for information. Therefore, if anyone knows what still has value "out there", it is them. And when they so relentlessly still pursue the theft of some items, it is obviously because they still have use for them. Otherwise they would not bother and would concentrate on other things instead. It doesn't make any sense that they would steal money and jewelry if those things have no value whatsoever at this point of the zombie crisis. Evidently those things still come in handy "out there" in the world that they dwell and survive on a daily basis. The maintenance/janitor zombie introduced a few problem details as well: how exactly did this guy die when he was securely locked up inside that department store? One can understand why the security guard became a zombie; he was performing his duty of defending the mall from unwanted intruders (we see a dead zombie with a bullet hole on his head on one of the escalators, evidently shot down by the security guard), and he has the outward signs of having endured wounds in the process. But the zombie maintenance/janitor looks "intact", he does not appear to have had to struggle with the zombies. And he obviously would not have died of hunger since he had access to food inside the department store. Another thing is: where in blazes was he while Peter and Roger are looting the department store??? With all the noise that they are making, you would think that this zombie would have been strongly attracted to all this activity, yet he mysteriously shows up only after Flyboy arrives on the scene. Plus the way he seems to mimic a mannequin until a potential victim just passes nearby is another very un-zombie-like behavior.

[shootemindehead]

I'm sure that there's plenty of villains out there and what's of value to them is fucking things up, rape, murder and pilage.

[MinionZombie]

The maintenance/janitor zombie introduced a few problem details as well: how exactly did this guy die when he was securely locked up inside that department store? One can understand why the security guard became a zombie; he was performing his duty of defending the mall from unwanted intruders (we see a dead zombie with a bullet hole on his head on one of the escalators, evidently shot down by the security guard), and he has the outward signs of having endured wounds in the process. But the zombie maintenance/janitor looks "intact", he does not appear to have had to struggle with the zombies. And he obviously would not have died of hunger since he had access to food inside the department store. Another thing is: where in blazes was he while Peter and Roger are looting the department store??? With all the noise that they are making, you would think that this zombie would have been strongly attracted to all this activity, yet he mysteriously shows up only after Flyboy arrives on the scene. Plus the way he seems to mimic a mannequin until a potential victim just passes nearby is another very un-zombie-like behavior. Romero or anyone else on the production clearly didn't think about any of that. With Night, Romero put no deep thought into creating a consistent ghoul/zombie as at that time it was a new type of movie monster. There were a couple of simple rules, but beyond that, no real depth of thought put into working out the tiny details of how they would and wouldn't operate. With the screwdriver zombie, the entire reason for that scene to exist is to cover up a continuity error. That's literally it. They needed something quick, so they did that. Great scene, but one which was never intended to stand up against microscopic scrutiny and cross examination. It's a good jump scare for the audience, who aren't expecting that to happen, moreso because it references a moment earlier where Roger gets a fright from one of the mannequins, him thinking it's a zombie. As Shoot says, Romero had a loose approach to his filmmaking and was always ready to freestyle it, to experiment, to improvise - but of course, such an approach doesn't particularly gel with having 100% water tight movie monster logic, and you'll never ever ever find that with any of Romero's zombie flicks. You just won't, so it's madness to even try seeking such a thing.

[JDP]

Romero or anyone else on the production clearly didn't think about any of that. With Night, Romero put no deep thought into creating a consistent ghoul/zombie as at that time it was a new type of movie monster. There were a couple of simple rules, but beyond that, no real depth of thought put into working out the tiny details of how they would and wouldn't operate. With the screwdriver zombie, the entire reason for that scene to exist is to cover up a continuity error. That's literally it. They needed something quick, so they did that. Great scene, but one which was never intended to stand up against microscopic scrutiny and cross examination. It's a good jump scare for the audience, who aren't expecting that to happen, moreso because it references a moment earlier where Roger gets a fright from one of the mannequins, him thinking it's a zombie. As Shoot says, Romero had a loose approach to his filmmaking and was always ready to freestyle it, to experiment, to improvise - but of course, such an approach doesn't particularly gel with having 100% water tight movie monster logic, and you'll never ever ever find that with any of Romero's zombie flicks. You just won't, so it's madness to even try seeking such a thing. Such things are not difficult to "patch up", though. For example, you could easily have put some visible make-up wound on the maintenance/janitor zombie, that would give a readily deducible reason why this guy eventually died inside the secure setting of the locked up department store (he struggled with the zombies before he found his way into the department store, locked himself up there and died later on from his wounds), or show a scene of him in some sort of office or storage area of the department store, apart from the store's public areas, that's why he did not notice that Peter and Roger were running around and making noise in the store until later on when he came out from there. "As is", the zombie janitor/maintenance guy does not make much sense. He is a puzzling element. I think some of you are underestimating Romero's capability for logic. He many times shows that he is perfectly capable of coming up with and explicitly showing such self-explanatory details. For example, the zombie mall guard is adequately explained. There is nothing puzzling about him. By simply putting outward visible wounds on this guy and showing a dead zombie with a bullet hole on his head in a public area of the mall, Romero gave a means to his audience to easily deduce that this guy struggled with the invading zombies, got wounded in the process, went back to a secure place (i.e. the machine room and security area of the mall) where there were no zombies around, died later on from his wounds and became a zombie. It's not that difficult. Two well-placed, clearly visible details is all it took to explain that one. He could easily have done something similar for the zombie janitor/maintenance guy. Weird that he apparently did not think about justifying this one.

[MinionZombie]

He died of a heart attack, or appendicitis, or sepsis, or he wrapped his brain in knots trying to ascribe water tight logic where film production reality hasn't allowed it. There. Move along.

[shootemindehead]

Next up... Why the fuck did yer man decide to test his blood pressure when there were a ton of flesh eating ghouls walking around not 10 feet away?

[JDP]

He died of a heart attack, or appendicitis, or sepsis, or he wrapped his brain in knots trying to ascribe water tight logic where film production reality hasn't allowed it. There. Move along. Film production reality only would have required a visible wound on the guy. Same thing that it required for the security guard. It sure is not going to stretch the film's budget. - - - Updated - - - Next up... Why the fuck did yer man decide to test his blood pressure when there were a ton of flesh eating ghouls walking around not 10 feet away? That looter obviously has some weird fixation with that topic. Earlier, after Flyboy starts the war between both groups, he also tries testing his blood pressure. One of the other bikers reprimands him for it: WTH, we are being shot at and you are fooling around with that machine???

[MinionZombie]

Film production reality only would have required a visible wound on the guy. Same thing that it required for the security guard. It sure is not going to stretch the film's budget. And yet they seemingly didn't, oopsie daisy, leave it at that, eh? Considering the sheer volume of footage they were gathering and the pace at which the production was moving, it's hardly surprising that they'd forget something like that. There are numerous other zombies that don't have visible wounds throughout the film. For instance, some may have died by suicide (i.e. overdose on pills). Also, who knows what else they were shooting on that particular day (or night, rather) in the production? They didn't have many people available to do zombie make-ups, with a few people roped in to do the simplest task to fill out the ranks - slapping on some of that grey mixture for the skin tone. There might have not been the actual time to apply a wound before they shot the scene. An easy mix up in communication could have led to crossed wires, and so therefore you've not got a zombie ready for an upcoming scene you had thought was later in the day's shoot.

[Neil]

Next up... Why the fuck did yer man decide to test his blood pressure when there were a ton of flesh eating ghouls walking around not 10 feet away? That was one of the most bizarre moments of the film, and TBH was counter productive. These people had clearly survived the apocalypse where most had not. Clearly they had been careful enough to achieve this. Yet our numpty decided to pi$$ about risking his life with a horde of zombies all around? Hmmm...

[MinionZombie]

That was one of the most bizarre moments of the film, and TBH was counter productive. These people had clearly survived the apocalypse where most had not. Clearly they had been careful enough to achieve this. Yet our numpty decided to pi$$ about risking his life with a horde of zombies all around? Hmmm... Good for a quality gore gag, and further proof of how this is just a marauding band of maniacs sweeping across the land like locusts.

[Neil]

[JDP]

That was one of the most bizarre moments of the film, and TBH was counter productive. These people had clearly survived the apocalypse where most had not. Clearly they had been careful enough to achieve this. Yet our numpty decided to pi$$ about risking his life with a horde of zombies all around? Hmmm... There's some nuttier elements in the gang. This fellow is evidently one of them. One of the bikers even reprimands him for his careless behavior (when you are under fire, the most logical thing is to run for cover and shoot back, definitely not take your blood pressure while bullets are being exchanged!) Most of the other bikers were more cautious, that's why they keep on surviving.

[Neil]

...when you are under fire, the most logical thing is to run for cover and shoot back, definitely not take your blood pressure... Uber handy advice that

[shootemindehead]

That was one of the most bizarre moments of the film, and TBH was counter productive. These people had clearly survived the apocalypse where most had not. Clearly they had been careful enough to achieve this. Yet our numpty decided to pi$$ about risking his life with a horde of zombies all around? Hmmm... Yeah, it's incredibly dumb and as a scene it doesn't work at all. It gets a pass because most of the rest of the movie is pretty good. But it's really a case where either nobody advised George not to do it or he ignored them and did it anyway.

[Moon Knight]

Yeah, it's incredibly dumb and as a scene it doesn't work at all. It gets a pass because most of the rest of the movie is pretty good. But it's really a case where either nobody advised George not to do it or he ignored them and did it anyway. Yes, but still talked about to this day! Dawn of the Dead is goofy as hell and I love it for that.