Zombies? Why?


Hi!

I'm a huge fan of zombie flicks and the expectations for this movie were huge... but I finished watching the movie and didn't understand why so much hype.
Yes, it was well directed and there was some badass zombies...

But... (may contain spoilers)

1) What is the origin of the zombies?
2) How does the guy who was shot dead become a zombie? It would have been bitten before?
3) Why are the zombies surrounding that particular building?

This was essential for me to enjoy the movie!

Maybe I missed something and would like someone to explain to me.
Sorry for my english :)

Thanks!

reply

This was the best zombie movie I've ever seen. Was it a good "movie"? I think so. I've noticed that alot of zombie movies don't tend to explain why the zombies exist. Yes, that's frustrating. I like to know it all. But this movie was really good, so I'm willing to let it slide this time.

I don't think the zombies were surrounding that particular area. They seemed to be roaming and I'm guessing they were everywhere. Once I saw that scene, it seemed everyone was on borrowed time.

Becoming a zombie also seems to be different in different movies. I'm assuming it was an airborne virus in this case because people turned right after death, with no bites?

Eriq Ebouaney's performance is what made this movie go. He was excellent and is has alot of talent.

SIde note: It really bothers me to see the people on these boards who degrade others. Look up the definition of the word "opinion". Maybe that will give you a better understanding as to why others don't think like you and it's okay when they do.

reply

I'm ok with movies not explaining every single thing, in this case explanations for zombie outbreaks are either going to deal with a virus or something supernatural. I felt the movie has it's shortcomings, but it has some very fun moments for sure.

reply

LAME: I thought this would be a thread discussing, Why does it HAVE to be zombies. And why not, aliens, vampires, pod-people, or something completely new.

Mind you these aren't classic slow/brain eaters, but rather the rage induced runners like in 28 Days Later, or the Resident Evil movie for that matter.


You notice how both types sort of have major character flaws?

FAST: Obsessed with taking a bite out of the neck of one of the living and then lunging at someone else in the room. Call it securing it's food cache. But when it's done, it usually runs off to bite someone else.
Mind you, when you do see them feasting they tend to eat all of the corpse, but they never eat each other out of hunger, they'd rather starve, like us I guess.
You never see them run away, but then again, if the had that much use of their brain...

SLOW: Obsessed with eating brains, but then again with their own brains eaten still have basic motor function and can speak, namely the word "BRAINS!!!"

Whatever, I always over think things.

Reading into how different sides of the brain are responsible for different forms of thinking and different tasks, I would like to see how a zombie split in two halves down the middle-center would interact with it's opposing half. Open doors or speak or *beep* like that. (Considering their halves of their brain were able to learn the motor functions for their half of their body, as the left side normally controls the right side of the body and vice versa.

reply

Djblack got it, I think.

Romero's zombies were not transmitted through infection. If you died, you returned to life as a ghoul whether you were in contact with the undead or not. Romero also never explains where the outbreak comes from either.

I don't think they were surrounding that particular buildin, more the movie featured that specific building. It's safe to assume the whole city is turning to *beep* not just that area.

I was more concerned about how Ade seemed to have encountered them before:

"Didn't you see what they did in OUR country?" He asks his brother.

Yet he was dumbstruck at first and seemed to know as much about them as anyone else. This was also never explained/elaborated, to my knowledge. Maybe it was a nod to African "voodoo" zombies or even Max Brooks' "African Rabies".

reply

I'm pretty sure the zombies in this movie are supernatural. They talk of a virus when they watch the newscast, but you can tell it is an apocalypse type scenario.

The tagline states in a battle at the end of the world, cops vs gangsters vs zombies

Then there is the fact that it all happens overnight, all over the place.


reply

The Zombie Genre is big and has many different takes. The origin of the Zombies wasn't important because if you really think about it...if you were in the initial outbreak of zombies, you wouldn't know where they came from either. Perhaps it was supposed to make you feel you were apart of the situation instead of watching it from the outside. There are different ways to create your zombie. The most popular way is that there's a virus that gets spread (like someone mentioned in Dawn of the Dead, or 28 days later). But just like in Night of the Living dead where radiation turned the dead into the walking dead as well as certain zombie novels, a zombie bite is not needed to make more zombies. I don't think the zombies are surrounding that building. More that it's a building in the middle of a city with thousands of people. Being in any building within a city infested with zombies will feel like they are surrounding you, when really it's just an infestation. Plus the gunshots within the building didn't help.

reply

1) What is the origin of the zombies?
2) How does the guy who was shot dead become a zombie? It would have been bitten before?
3) Why are the zombies surrounding that particular building?


Answers:

1. Figured the "virus" was triggered by a mutated nerve gas.

2. Virus could have been transmitted by air. I guess when the nervous system and brain ceases to function, the virus then reanimates dead cells.

3. Not sure. Maybe the gunshots alerted them to activity in the building. Who knows? They sure came running when Aurora shot Ade after their epic escape.

reply

My theory on question 3:

There were bombs going off in the city and this film takes place in a abandoned ghetto outside the city. The explosions possibly frightened the zombies away from the city, and into the outskirts, where the abandoned buildings are. Considering most zombies would follow light or the smell of fresh meat, they pick out the building that has lights on and yummy smelling food inside.

But that all depends on whether you can buy that the city was able to scare zombies off. The idea of scaring zombies at all is not common in zombie films, so maybe I'm wrong. But all those bright lights from explosions appeared to be what caused the zombies to flow to their building in the first place. I don't agree with the person who said that they came after the old guy blew up the stairwell, because I believe they showed them making their way to the building before that. Of course all gun shots and small explosions and screams can bring hordes of zombies, I think that they would have still come due to what was going on in the city.

Now I don't see how they could have gotten out of the building and not have been met with more zombies, cuz the film shots of the ground outside before always showed zombies everywhere, but when they got outside, they were temporarily safe. That just doesn't make sense to me. Even if many got into the garage or into the first floor, there should still be tons still walking down the road towards the building as shown before.

reply

1) What is the origin of the zombies?


What is the origin of life?

This was essential for me to enjoy the movie!

|Statistics show that 100% of people bitten by a snake were close to it.|

reply

1) What is the origin of the zombies?
2) How does the guy who was shot dead become a zombie? It would have been bitten before?
3) Why are the zombies surrounding that particular building?


1) Unknown see 2 for possible explanation.
2) Seemed to be that all the dead were returning as zombies "When there is no more room in hell the dead shall walk the earth" pretty standard explanation.
3) Some zombies knew they were there ie the ones that killed the dog in the dark. Once they gather and make noise it attracts more and more attracts even more.

reply


1) The origin of the zombies is biblical,
2) When there is no more room in hell the dead will walk the Earth.
3) The call of blood! In the rooftop scene we see that its happening to many places at the same time.

I love the cinematography and the personality of this film. It have punch, tension, badassness all the way! It would have been great to not know about the zombie like I got surprised in From Dusk Until Dawn! That putted a WTF smile on my face! Miss this feeling!

reply

It's just about become de rigueur in zombie films to give no explanation as to why the outbreak occurs. I know it can be somewhat frustrating for someone seeking a rational explanation, but just put this down to another movie where it's held back.🐭

reply