I remember this phenomenon was also called out in Roger Ebert’s review of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. In the middle of a huge graveyard, Tuco doesn’t see Blondie until he walks up and casts a shadow right where Tuco is digging. Then both of them are surprised by the arrival of Angel Eyes. I always thought that wasn’t entirely fair. The characters who get surprised are so engrossed in what they’re doing that I could imagine someone approaching from behind and not being noticed until they’re a few feet away.
The Murderhorn!
At 1:25, Cal blocks the machine so they can talk in private, and he doesn’t say first thing: “what the fuck is Exeter???”
What can I say? My namesake may be tall, dark, and handsome, with deep voice, but he can also be a bit sense.
In the book by Raymond F. Jones, by the way, “Exeter” is “Jorgasnovara”. I guess they changed it because it sounded like a Swedish-Indian hybrid, and they thought English place names sounded cooler.
This is my favorite thing to hate about the Walking Dead. No way a zombie (a multiple zombies) could sneak up/surprise anyone…unless they’re off camera, of course. Then they are in complete stealth mode until our heroes need to see/hear them.
Sorry – that should read “dense”, not “sense”.
Accidentaly hit the “s” next to the “d”.