Why didn't they think of...


Every time I watch this movie, I think to myself, the best place to hold up, would have been the upstairs. There was a circular saw in the room with the tv. I would have grabbed all the stuff they needed (food, ammo etc)and then have everyone to go upstairs. Then use the saw on the stairs so the zombies couldn't simply climb up. Sooner or later there would be enough zombies to break through the boarded up windows etc. Dismantling the stairs would have been A) faster B) easier and C) the best bet. Zombies can't jump :P

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That's exactly what I thought the last time I watched this. They definitely should have got rid of the stairs and held up on the top floor.

Horror_Metal

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Thought crossed my mind too, though once they got in they would probably never leave, there would be a sea of moaning zombies all gathering below you. At least on the 1st floor they could continue to keep them out.

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The biggest threat with zombies is becoming trapped by a massive number of them. Cutting yourself off upstairs has the same risks as shutting yourself in the basement.

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Upstairs I wouldn't say is quite as bad as the basement, but in general I agree.

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Agree with Agent, Kris, and AT. Just like the cellar, there'd be no exit. True, going upstairs and removing the stairs would keep them safe for awhile, but eventually they'd have to come down again, which wouldn't be possible with the house crowded with zombies below. At least on the ground/main floor, they could continue to keep them at bay. And they had the best view from the main/ground floor. And assuming rescue came, they might assume the zombies had overrun the house, and not know about the survivors there, and thus shoot a rocket at it or something, or set it ablaze. And unlike what most say, Ben did not contradict himself, when he went into the cellar himself, despite opting against it. He indicated they would go when there was no other choice. He didn't completely rule it out.

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True its not the best but at least on the second floor you can have somebody bang some pots and pans and draw them all to one side, they scurry down a rope and run for it.

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Nah... Trapping themselves on the upper floor would be suicide IMHO, it would be just a matter of time before zombies agglomerate, and once the supplies end with lots of hungry zombies downstairs, they would be totally screwed.

The zombies wouldn't be able to climb up upstairs, but the survivors wouldn't be able to get down either. I wouldn't do that unless as last restort when you're sure a rescue (like the military) is under way and you're gaining some time.

I'd rather be downstairs and use the circular saw to push off breaking and entering zombies, and if the zombies manage to invade the house, at least being downstairs grants you a chance of getting the hell out there lol

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I think they could make it down safely with the stairs taken out. Remember, they could easily get to the roof covering the front deck and just wait for the right moment to shimmy down.

She melts in your mouth, she melts in your hands.

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As people who have seen many zombie movies we have the benefit of knowing that the dead rot very very slowly in these type of movies, but we really have to look at how the characters in the movie would/should think.

The people in the movie really have no frame of reference, so logically they should.
First,
1. Accept that the dead have come back to life and are feeding on the living.
2. The only way to put them down permanently is to destroy the brain.
3. The dead are attracted to sound and smell.
4. There is no scaring them off/negotiating with them.

Once you come to accept those 4 things (Which the characters in the movie seem to figure out eventually), then simple logic should kick in, get to an area that they can't, an upstairs that has only one way to get to would be logical, destroying the only access to the up stairs would also be logical.

We know that zombies last a very very long time (but there is no reason for the characters in the movie to believe this) a basic understanding of human anatomy tells us that once the heart stops pumping blood, no oxygen is getting to the muscles or tissue and so it begins to die and decompose, since meat decomposes rather quickly by all logic 2-3 days (especially during the summer months) the dead should rot to the point to where they wouldn't be able to stand/chase
(again we know in zombie movies it doesn't work that way but the characters in the movie don't) so simple logic should have told them to get upstairs and barricade yourself upstairs and remove the stairwell.
We can't use our accumulated knowledge of having watched many zombie movies to judge how movie characters should act, we have to base the characters actions on what info they have at hand and how they should act using that knowledge.
We know that going upstairs wouldn't work in the long run unless help arrives to kill the hoard of zombies, but since they don't know that the dead will not rot after a few days, the smart thing for them to have done was to go upstairs and remove the stairwell.



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Don't forget what World War Z proved...that zombies can form living dead ladders to scale any heights.

They were walker feed the moment Savini ordered an unreasonable number of recently dead homing in on an isolated farm house.

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They could climb on the roof like people do in a flood. The zombies could not get up and they could be seen by rescue parties coming along.

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