# Dawn Of The Dead (2004) - no spoilers in O/P **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788 "2004-03-17T04:15:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/121 "2004-03-25T00:03:49Z")
The chainsaw bugged me too. Kind of a cheap shocker way to off a few characters as they neared the end. Also why the hell did they need to go at such breakneck speeds once they split from the crowd at the mall. Seeing as the driving conditions were not conducive to a high speed fetaway they could have slowed a little or found a different route to the marina to shake any zombies. Heck they could have stopped for a few seconds chopped a few legs and drove off. Less Zombies able to follow. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/122 "2004-03-25T13:34:36Z")
**BeerDog** , they didn’t really do a good job on expressing it, but I have a feeling they were really getting ready to leave because they recognized they were running out of food. Before that one lady goes to check on Luda, she brings up a case of something and states “That’s the last of it”, which makes me think that whatever it was they brought up, ithat was the last of the supply. There was also a comment on the fact that the lemon syrup at the bar was all gone because Steve “used it all. He likes to put it in his booze.” If this was the big reason to push them out the door, they did a really piss poor way of expressing it, but I have a feeling it had something do do with it. I aslo agree about Andy’s last sign being one of the most impactful bits in this movie. We all knew what was coming, but that was just really well done. Just out of curiosity, did anyone catch all the cameos from the original cast? I recognized Savini as the Sherriff, and the guy who played Peter also played the minister who gave the ever popular “When there’s no more room in Hell, the Dead shall walk the earth” speech, but that’s it. Were those the only two, or were there more? ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/123 "2004-03-25T14:52:21Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > **BeerDog** > > Just out of curiosity, did anyone catch all the cameos from the original cast? I recognized Savini as the Sherriff, and the guy who played Peter also played the minister who gave the ever popular “When there’s no more room in Hell, the Dead shall walk the earth” speech, but that’s it. Were those the only two, or were there more? Roger (Scott Reiniger) was also in the movie as the solider (fatigues, black beret) shown on the television at Fort Polk before it was over-run. Just saw it the 2nd time and one other little “tribute” to the first DotD I had not noticed before: The truck that the old lady brings the other survivors to the mall in is a tribute to the original. The company name (BP) on the side of the truck is the same as the trucks used in the original DotD to block the mall entrances. The logos are _slightly_ different but close enough that it had to be intentional. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/124 "2004-03-25T15:07:39Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > Hmmmm…I guess I just had a different understanding of the layout of their location on the mall. It didn’t seem like they had the parking garage between them and Andy’s shop, so the distance didn’t seem that far. > > As for the zombies stopping, it still didn’t seem like the dock was wrecked that much. These zombies seemed pretty determined, I’m sure a five to ten foot gap wouldn’t stop them from throwing themselves at the dock to get some food. There were enough of them anyway that even if they couldn’t swim, they’d probably clog up the gap soon enough so the others could walk over…but these guys weren’t smart enough to throw rocks at windows, so who can say? Alright, upon further review (2nd viewing last night) I think I can clear the mall and dock scene up a little bit. First the mall in relation to Andy’s shop. From what I recall, there were not any clear scenes showing the distance that one could measure easily. The characters on the mall roof are using their binoculars to scope out the lot and surrounding areas when Andy fires two shots into the air to get their attention. There is one quick cut, through the binoculars, of a sweep from the mall parking lot, over the fence and trees on the outer edge of the parking lot, across a small grass area and then over the street to Andy’s building. It is _really_ fast but it reinforced my opinion that the distance was substantial enough to make any way to run a line impossible. To further support this, and boy do I feel dumb for not thinking of this earlier, if he was one or two football field lengths away… why use white boards? The distance had to be great enough that screaming at each other would not be possible. Secondly, the dock. The vehicle to survive to the dock is the vehicle with the plow on the front. As I mentioned earlier, the vehicle actually crashes into the dock, destroying a good amount of the surface planks and possible sub-structures as the plow digs in and rips apart the wood until it comes to a stop. When the vehicle comes to a rest, the front tires and back to about the driver/passenger doors are actually over the dock with the front end lower than the back as it has fallen down through the dock structure so that the wheels are below the dock and the vehicle is resting on the frame in the front. Once everyone is out and JT is left, zombies are visible moving down the side of the van on the dock and they could have inevitably moved on to the boat still tied up. When JT blows the whole thing up, the remaining pieces of dock sub-structure and the surface structure both under and immediately in front of the van blow to hell and back. When we are shown the van again after the smoke has cleared you can tell: 1.) The front of the van is now into the water, there are not any bits of the dock visible shown supporting the van, and the back end is very high. Looks like the dock blew out from under the van, leaving it to fall into the water in alignment with the steepness of the bank. 2.) The dock structures beside and immediately in front of the van is gone leaving a considerable gap from the van to the remaining dock in front of it with no access from the sides. 3.) When looking at the front of the van, on the left side of the bank there are three zombies tentatively trying to find a way to step off the bank and through the water/wreckage to get to the survivors. You see them step down and then pull their foot back quickly as they realize what they stepped on is not stable and then try another spot. This shot is from the boat, looking back at Michael(?) drawing his gun as the boat pulls away. The implication of this being that they were indeed trying to clear that gap, they just had not figured it out yet before the scene cut. Michael clearly knew they’d get there as he said “He wanted to enjoy the dawn” and then well… _bang_ ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/125 "2004-03-25T16:03:00Z")
> [@MeanJoe](#): > > Roger (Scott Reiniger) was also in the movie as the solider (fatigues, black beret) shown on the television at Fort Polk before it was over-run. > > Just saw it the 2nd time and one other little “tribute” to the first DotD I had not noticed before: The truck that the old lady brings the other survivors to the mall in is a tribute to the original. The company name (BP) on the side of the truck is the same as the trucks used in the original DotD to block the mall entrances. The logos are _slightly_ different but close enough that it had to be intentional. The traffic copter used to escape to the mall in the original is also featured in the new one. Well, same call letters anyway. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/126 "2004-03-25T18:13:14Z")
> [@MeanJoe](#): > > 3.) When looking at the front of the van, on the left side of the bank there are three zombies tentatively trying to find a way to step off the bank and through the water/wreckage to get to the survivors. You see them step down and then pull their foot back quickly as they realize what they stepped on is not stable and then try another spot. See, this is where I saw the problem. I watched that happen, too, and was thinking “Zombies don’t feel pain and aren’t supposed to be afraid of anything except maybe fire…why are they hesitating?” For super zombies, these guys were really wussy if they were scared to get their feet wet. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/127 "2004-03-25T23:18:54Z")
Well, if the mall had a good hardare store and a hobby/toy store, they might have been able to find some of those toy rocket kits, aim on more-or-less in Andy’s direction and let it carry a long nylon fishing line to him, which they could use to pull gradually heavier lines and form a transport system… Alternately, if you shoot a can of WD-40 or similar flammable, does it explode like an incendiary grenade? If Andy was that good a shot, the mall people could’ve tossed cans down among the zombies and Andy could have detonated them, torching five or six zombies with each shot. That should’ve cleared that parking lot in a reasonable amount of time. Heck, if Andy was seriously into guns, he might have been able to tell the mall people how to mix improvised napalm out of common household items, such as one might find in any mall supermarket. They could’ve tossed Molotov cocktails into the throng and decimated them easily, letting Andy pick off the survivors (and I use the term loosely, blearrrgh). Meh. This movie doesn’t lend itself to a lot of analysis. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/128 "2004-03-26T00:04:42Z")
Another sort of Cameo, The Fashion store’s name Gaylon Ross… That was the name of the actress who played Francine. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/129 "2004-03-26T00:10:58Z")
> [@Max Torque](#): > > What bugged me was the “chainsaw accident” on the bus. I haven’t bought one in a while, but don’t chainsaws have safety mechanisms on them that brake the chain unless you’re using it two-handed? The chain shouldn’t have been moving anyway unless the guy was giving it power at that precise moment. You can still run most chainsaws by holding down the throttle trigger even if your other hand isn’t on the other handle. Kickback protection might not come into play with the kind of accident they had in the vehicle. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/130 "2004-03-26T00:30:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Meh. This movie doesn’t lend itself to a lot of analysis. Which is one of its weaknesses, if you ask me. Fun shootemup, but it’ll be forgotten quick enough. Which is a shame. Yeah, the mall was the whole point behind the first movie. Here, it was entirely incidental. And if that pathetically few people could eat all the food in a whole mall in, what, one week?, well, they ain’t makin’ malls like they used to… ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/131 "2004-03-26T03:13:26Z")
Fruitbat, we seem to have the same psychosis. I recall looking at something on the movie’s web site (internet only teaser?) that put the population at 750,000. Not that that really changes the outcome, just the amount of time it would take. Elvis, recall that the zombies couldn’t climb up the truck that was stuck at the loading dock to get to the roof either. Probably a matter of convienence on the screenwriter more than anything else. Chastain: It wasn’t their hubris, it was the fact that the raiders came. The crew was prepared to stay in the mall as long as they could. I got into some arguments over whether it was the chick’s fault for want to learn to play with the boys and flying the helicopter that really got the raider’s attention. I wondered if that was a jab at '70s-style feminism (or a more general jab at humanity trying to overstep its boundaries/what’s good for it). Of course, this presupposes that the raiders actually saw the helicopter, which I can’t recall if they did or not. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/132 "2004-03-26T04:14:28Z")
> [@Chairman Pow](#): > > Chastain: It wasn’t their hubris, it was the fact that the raiders came. The crew was prepared to stay in the mall as long as they could. I got into some arguments over whether it was the chick’s fault for want to learn to play with the boys and flying the helicopter that really got the raider’s attention. I wondered if that was a jab at '70s-style feminism (or a more general jab at humanity trying to overstep its boundaries/what’s good for it). Of course, this presupposes that the raiders actually saw the helicopter, which I can’t recall if they did or not. They did in fact spot the helicopter but that only slowed their attack on the mall. The radier would have hit the mall but their leader noticed something amiss and the helicopter was the finaly nail in the coffin (so to speak). The Trucks blocking the entrance were the giveaway the chopper only proved that whoever set this up was still there. Had the mall been wide open and infested these turkeys (gettin down with the 70s) would have still gone in. I would say their hubris came when steve decided to fight for the mall and opened fire on the raiders. Had he listened to Peter and held off the Raiders would have taken a few things and gone on. There was always the chance that the three could have cleared and refortified the mall. That being said it was more of a blessing that they did leave as their new shallow existence was slowly killing them anyway. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/133 "2004-03-26T10:46:14Z")
Actually, if I recall properly, in the original, they had decided to pack up and leave…or were at least preparing to. There was a scene taking place during the day after the couple’s fancy dinner where Steve proposed that you see them loading up the helicopter with food and supplies. They did realize what a bleak and useless life they had established for themselves and seemed to be ready to take a chance at getting out and trying to find others/something different. Unfortunately, the raiders attacked and everything fell apart. It’s been a few months since I watched the original, so I could be wrong…anyone else seen it more recently? And I agree that this movie really doesn’t seem to hold up well to scrutiny, but I still like it! ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/134 "2004-03-26T13:36:54Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s been a few months since I watched the original, so I could be wrong…anyone else seen it more recently? I watched it last night, and I had the same impression as you. Peter, in particular, seemed to be fed up with their life in the mall. What would I have done? Dunno; it would have been hard to leave a place of safety. I might have worked toward clearing the entire mall area, putting up some sort of barricade, and scouting around for resources. I watched the Divimax edition, listening to the commentary, which featured George Romero, Tom Savini and Christine Romero, George’s wife (they both appear briefly in the first scene of the movie, in the tv station). The commentary was recorded while the new movie was in production, but they only mention it in passing. Christine does go on a bit about how nice it would be if somebody would give George Romero $40 million to film the script he’s already got for the next Dead movie, and how many fans would love to see that happen – which I certainly agree with; maybe if each of those fans donated ten bucks… Watching the movie for the first time in a while, I couldn’t help noticing how clearly it’s a low-budget picture. Romero did a lot with $900,000, but you have to kind of ignore things like how you keep seeing the same group of zombies, even after they should have been wiped out in clearing the mall. Man, that music from the Goblins does stay in your head, though. I can’t remember the music from the new movie, except for the great Johnny Cash song they used with the opening credits. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/135 "2004-03-26T14:04:38Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > Man, that music from the Goblins does stay in your head, though. I can’t remember the music from the new movie, except for the great Johnny Cash song they used with the opening credits. Don’t forget that cool lounge-act version of “Down with the Sickness”, which would’ve been appropriate for the consumerism and shallowness themes of the first movie. One thing I just realized, how was that mall set up? We had elevators, and side stairwells. I never saw internal escalators or stairs. I’ve never seen a mall set up like that. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/136 "2004-03-26T14:19:34Z")
Hey zombie movie fans… [The Zombie Survival Guide has been optioned for a movie.](http://www.mediasharx.com/index.php/news/1463) If they do it as a documentary, I’m all for it. But as far as comedy zombies go, I’m eagerly awaiting [Shaun of the Dead](http://www.chud.com/news/mar04/mar25shaun.php3). ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/137 "2004-03-26T14:22:55Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > Actually, if I recall properly, in the original, they had decided to pack up and leave…or were at least preparing to. There was a scene taking place during the day after the couple’s fancy dinner where Steve proposed that you see them loading up the helicopter with food and supplies. They did realize what a bleak and useless life they had established for themselves and seemed to be ready to take a chance at getting out and trying to find others/something different. Unfortunately, the raiders attacked and everything fell apart. > > It’s been a few months since I watched the original, so I could be wrong…anyone else seen it more recently? > > And I agree that this movie really doesn’t seem to hold up well to scrutiny, but I still like it! I agree, on all counts. In the original (which the wife and I watched the day after we went to see the remake), they load up the helicopter with goodies, but they seem to do so without a plan. My first thought was that they were teaching Fran how to fly a heavily laden chopper. This does come in handy, though, as we know the chopper’s stocked with everything (except fuel) when she and Peter are forced to flee. The first hint we have of the biker raiders is when we see them watching Fran’s first flying lesson via binoculars. It’s hardly her fault that the raiders noticed the mall; based on their behavior, they’d have hit it anyway. And considering what happened to Steven, it’s a good thing she knew how to fly the thing… ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/138 "2004-03-27T05:56:21Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > maybe if each of those fans donated ten bucks… You mean, donated ten bucks and then bought a ticket? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/139 "2004-03-27T07:01:18Z")
Some here have said the scene where the gun store owner guy holds up the sign and it’s just smeared with blood was quite effective. I thought it was dumb, but maybe I’ve misunderstood something. What I was thinking at the time was, “why would he smear blood on a sign and then hold it up? He’s a zombie. Nowhere else in the movie do zombies show any recollection of their living past–in fact, I have the impression that the opposite is the case.” So, is there something I was missing while having such thoughts? Also, how do you suppose that little girl at the beginning ended up losing her lips? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788/140 "2004-03-27T07:27:10Z")
What happened during the credits? I wanted to stay and watch them, but my date didn’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dawn-of-the-dead-2004-no-spoilers-in-o-p/234788.md?page=8)