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The Major Flaw I Can't Ignore In This Movie

posted 5 years ago by Chloe (127)
9 replies | jump to latest

As much as I love this and the original, every time I watch I can't help but get frustrated by the fact that the group don't seek refuge on the second floor- they don't even discuss it as an option at any point! I don't understand this oversight at all, and it hurts the movie for me as I can't take their decisions seriously when they overlook what is clearly the best survival option. I guess I'm ragging on the remake for this more than the original because the remake shows the characters up on the second floor more so it's harder to ignore. Unlike the ground floor which has dozens of access points- windows and doors, the second floor literally has one access point to defend- the stairway. All they'd have to do is block it with furniture or dismantle it if possible (there are three fully gown men on hand after all so it's feasible). Then there are numerous escape routes via the windows down to the ground and there is always the last resort of going up into the attic as Cooper eventually does at the climax. I still enjoy both movies, but I can't help yelling at the screen every time for how dumb the characters are in ignoring this obvious option.

[–] McQualude (4231) 5 years ago

IIRC the 2nd floor vs basement was a big argument in the original so maybe they just wanted to be different, idk, it's been a long time since I've watched this all the way through. I tried watching it at Halloween but for whatever reason only made it for about a little past when Barbara shows up at the farmhouse. Back in the 90's, early 2000s, these Romero and Romero inspired movies were my thing but now it's hard for me to watch them, which I hate, but it is what it is.

[–] Chloe (127) 5 years ago

The argument in the original was between the basement and 'upstairs', meaning the first floor and I guess by extension the second floor as well. Though not one character ever references the second floor as a viable option.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

A single access point is easier to defend, but it also means nowhere to run. If the bottom floor fills up with zombies you're screwed. The basement is a better option - at least for the time being. The door was too heavy for them to break through. Of course if no help comes you'll eventually have to leave, and if the dead people haven't moved on by then you're equally screwed. Still the better choice though.

[–] Chloe (127) 5 years ago

Your fist point perfectly describes the basement, but the second floor has numerous windows which can be used as an emergency exit (like most two-tier buildings today have at least one emergency fire exit window upstairs). Fair enough it's a drop to the ground but hardly unreasonable. They could either throw down furniture to break the fall (mattresses, chairs etc), or the first person to drop down could move the truck below a window to lessen the distance by using the roof of the truck to land on. As well as this, visibility is massively increased so the zombies could be monitored more easily, and the characters would know immediately if help comes and would be able to signal to them.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 5 years ago

You have to hope the outside isn't too crowded with zombies and you can drop down to the ground safely. A 2nd floor window with a ledge that gives you roof access would be better. Still, being stuck on the roof - while it does let you signal for help - means you're exposed to the elements. You don't have food, or water, or bathroom access. If you're up there longer than a day or it turns stormy this could be a real problem.

Fortifying the bottom floor, cliche as that is, is the best choice of all. You don't want to be driven outside at an unknown point in time to face unknown conditions. Don't want to be trapped in the basement or upstairs with no exit either. Those people should've focused more on their work and less on arguing with each other. And someone needed to shoot that Cooper guy a whole lot sooner!

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 5 years ago

I have to go w/ chrisjdel on this one.

Fortifying the ground floor gives you access to the basement AND the upstairs (and the attic where Cooper eventually holed up)

It's about having options available.

If the ground floor has to be abandoned, the basement door is easier to defend than the open stairway.

Then again, the attic is effectively impenetrable once you pull up the ladder. So Chloe's initial point in this thread is still a good one.

[–] Chloe (127) 5 years ago

Well at least we can agree that it's a great point of debate!

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 5 years ago

Safe to say we wouldn't be shooting each other at least, if it were this thread's posters hiding in that house.

And I just remembered: Chloe's point is addressed in a short story from Skipp & Spector's "Book of the Dead," a collection of shorts all set in Romero's zombie-world. Glenn Vasey's story, "Choices," was about one guy making his way through the countryside.

Vasey would agree with Chloe, apparently, because the main character does get into the habit of sleeping on the second floors of homes where he rests, precisely because he can barricade the stairways and escape through the windows.

[–] cyguration (3951) 3 years ago

Chrisjdel made all the points I would have made, but I think there is one other point I would like to bring out after discussion of the attic came into play:

If you go up into the attic you're effectively stuck there with no access to anything, and no way out unless there is a window, but then you'd have to jump all the way to the ground, amongst the zombies. I haven't seen this film in quite some time but I don't remember what the window situation was like with the attic and if they could even jump out if they had to.

Chrisjdel addressed the access point situation with the second floor, and while I agree with you that a second floor retreat is a nice option, it's usually only best if it's like one or two people. When you have to try to survive with multiple people the second floor option escape logistics get more complicated, because as multiple people are panicking and trying to get out of the house as it gets flooded, escape routes are more limited, crowding, noise, and the zombie situation on the ground is a lot more difficult to manage.

If it's just one or two people you can quietly escape, maybe even use stealth and attempt to sneak past the zombies. But it's harder once you add more people to the equation.

As for the basement... there was only one entryway in and out, and single access points are the worst places to hole up because the zombies could keep coming, but eventually the survivors would have run out of resources trapped in the basement.

I think the commenters pointing out that the first/main floor being the best place to fortify due to the options makes the most sense. If it gets flooded then they could retreat to the second floor. And if the second floor no longer seems viable, you go for the attic, like Cooper.