Dawn of the Dead

Name: Dawn of the Dead
Director: George A. Romero
Released: 1978
Cast: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, Gaylen Ross

Transcript

1034 segments · machine-generated, may contain errors

Show full transcript

UnknownGood evening and welcome to horror. I'm Lee.

ChrisI'm Chris.

AdamI'm Adam.

UnknownUh and we are here at the behest of Adam to cover a film that I know he's a big fan of. Um, I got a feeling Chris is gonna like it, but we'll see.

UnknownUh He can hear the pain in your voice already.

UnknownEh?

UnknownI can hear the pain in your voice already.

UnknownJust trying to stay awake. I've just watched it and it's you know.

UnknownI haven't got enough caffeine.

UnknownIt is a bit you did well to come out of, I would say, yeah.

UnknownIf you don't like it, that is a a bit of a slog.

UnknownIt's a long old time. Um but yeah, so 1978's Dawn of the Dead. I know it's a classic. I know everybody likes it. I know I'm in the minority, but I'm not gonna lie, just to keep you pricks happy. So, um

UnknownSo before we get into it, um Chris, have you had the opportunity to watch anything else in the last two weeks?

ChrisUh well, so it's been a bit of a busy I was gonna say week because I was counting the previous week as Star Wars watching, but so yeah, been a bit busy with work this week and building a a cross trainer and Shelley wanted to watch Lupin. I don't know if any of you have been watching that?

AdamIs this what as in Edgar Allan Poe is that?

ChrisNo, it's um it's a uh gentleman thief, uh French mystery thriller.

AdamOh, all right, nice.

ChrisIt's it's pretty good. It's it's a bit odd though, I think it's like it's dubbed, so it's it seems really strange sometimes the the speaking doesn't exactly seem to fit.

ChrisUm but overall it's it's been quite entertaining, only seen the first two episodes.

ChrisUm but yeah, it sort of unfolds, um, so how it appears at first.

ChrisHe he creates sort of a heist and he's got people involved, but then it just carries on turning out that he's got deeper plans throughout, so yeah, it's quite good the way the story unfolds.

ChrisUm, I think it's only a short series, I think it might be five episodes possibly.

UnknownIs that the one that's just come on Netflix? Is that the Netflix original thing?

ChrisYeah, that's it.

ChrisUm

AdamI've not even heard it, heard of it so.

UnknownI only spotted it because it looks like it's spelt like Lupin. I just remember thinking, oh my God, it's the Lupin Express.

UnknownAnd then from there I just went and moved on.

ChrisYeah.

UnknownBring you Lupin. Oh bloody hell.

UnknownI thought it was I got confused there. I thought it was um, you know, Edgar Allan Poe has that detective, is it Dupin or something, who's like the

ChrisOh, Du Pan.

UnknownHe's like before Sherlock Holmes.

UnknownYes.

UnknownYeah. Uh, or Du Pan or something like that. Yeah. I thought it might have been that.

AdamUh, which I still think there would be a good series from.

ChrisC. Auguste Dupin.

UnknownWell, random.

UnknownThat's the fella.

UnknownThat's right, because isn't he the first I think his that story by Edgar Allan Poe is the first time that the word detective was used. Is that correct?

AdamI think it's something along those lines.

AdamBecause it's it's definitely because it's Murders in because he's

AdamI can't remember if Murders in the Rue Morgue is the first one that's with him.

AdamBecause there's a couple of other ones as well.

AdamUm but Murders in the Rue Morgue I think it is that's the first one and it's basically like the first detective story, you know, in or modern detective story as we would understand it.

UnknownYeah.

ChrisThat sounds like a quiz question I'm gonna come across at some point, so thank you for letting me know that.

AdamWell, we can't I was gonna say this is that is essentially what this show does.

UnknownWe we give people that, oh fuck yeah, you remember they said something about that Chris.

UnknownUh,

UnknownI the only reason I know that useless piece of information, um and Adam will back me up because he was with me. Uh they when Sherlock, the the newest season came out, the Mark Gatiss one, um

UnknownUh at the was it the Royal?

UnknownBut one of the

AdamIt was the Museum of London, wasn't it?

UnknownThat's right.

UnknownThey did an exhibition on him and they had the original handwritten manuscript by Edgar Allan Poe where he used the word detective in it, and I'm sure it's the first time it was written in a story.

UnknownUm yeah, and it was a fantastic exhibit, but I just remember standing for like 15 minutes staring at a page handwritten by Edgar Allan Poe and I was just like, I don't care how many people behind me, I'm not moving. It was just magnificent.

UnknownAnd it obviously because paper and everything was so expensive then, his handwriting is so tiny, it's almost illegible.

UnknownIt was hard to see.

AdamOh yeah.

ChrisVery efficient.

UnknownYeah.

AdamIt's very efficient, but also it's one of those things where it's like, fuck, no wonder everyone had piss poor eyesight.

AdamRight, so by candlelight and you're scratching out like beautiful prose and text.

AdamYou're mixing the cat's blood with the ink to make it go further.

UnknownUm right, sorry, I dragged us off topic.

UnknownUm Adam, have you watched anything in the last fortnight?

AdamWell, I've um I mean, one was entirely inspired by the good people at not for everyone podcast, so go and listen to not for everyone podcast.

AdamAnd uh that was uh Bad Taste, just because

AdamThey talked about it, and it's that thing that you always get.

AdamIs if you're a fan of Bad Taste, that just makes you excited and you watch Bad Taste.

AdamSo, yeah.

AdamUm again, it's it's a film that it's a film I'd love to do.

AdamI mean, obviously, they've just done it, so it wouldn't be any time soon.

AdamBut yeah.

AdamBecause it's just mental.

AdamI think that's the only way to describe it.

AdamIt's just mental.

ChrisI seem to remember you mentioning it before and saying we should cover it at some point.

AdamIt's well, I mean, Peter Jackson actually has a pretty good.

AdamBecause it's Peter Jackson's first film.

ChrisHis first Okay, that's interesting.

AdamIt's his first film and seriously, you watch it and it's and the thing was is I think in my head, I only ever think of that and that's the Peter Jackson film in my head.

AdamI always forget that he did like The Frighteners and Brain Dead.

UnknownYeah.

ChrisDid he? I didn't realize he did that.

AdamSo he did those films.

AdamBut I always forget about them. I always just like, right Bad Taste, because it was that also it was the thing of the front cover of the video was an alien given the finger.

UnknownYeah, yeah.

ChrisI remember that in the uh in the video shot. Exactly.

AdamExactly.

AdamThat's where that's where it's borrowed in my head is from that was the cover that.

AdamWhat's um our good friend Wez from Mos Eisley Happy Hour, he always says that it's it's the cover of Bad Taste and the drawing of a punk with a mohican between two sets of breasts.

UnknownNever found out what that film was, it was in the video shop every time. It was the one that stood out to an eight-year-old boy. I've no idea what that film was.

AdamYeah, still no idea.

AdamMaybe listeners would like to help us with that one, you know.

AdamUm answer, Welcome to Horror.

AdamThere you go.

AdamWe've thrown a new spin on a moribund section of the show.

AdamUm but

ChrisSo Peter Jackson really ramped up then, didn't he?

ChrisBecause I've just looked up his list directing and yeah, he went pretty quickly into Lord of the Rings after not having done.

AdamThat's the thing.

AdamThat's the thing, is in my head, it was like there's they're doing a film of Lord of the Rings.

AdamOh right, okay.

AdamHe's doing it.

AdamPeter Jackson, what the fuck you doing? Just bad taste.

AdamIt was like suddenly he's like involved with living trees and dwarves and elfen folk and stuff like that.

AdamAnd I'm still thinking.

ChrisYou're imagining.

AdamYeah, I'm just thinking of Bad Taste where it's like, you know, pig guts thrown around on a beach and lots of and people vomiting up dinner.

AdamAnd it's

Adamit's not the first Basically, if someone said to me, okay, go and make Lord of the Rings, go and pick your director, he wouldn't have been.

ChrisNo. No.

AdamI wouldn't have even come to mind, I don't think, because in my head I'm just thinking bad taste.

AdamBut obviously, yeah, I mean, we should cover The Frighteners as well.

UnknownYeah.

ChrisYeah, you've definitely mentioned that as well.

ChrisBut yeah, I think I really need to watch these now.

ChrisBecause the first I heard of him was when he'd done Lord of the Rings. I was like, okay, yeah, he's done a great job with these.

ChrisBut yeah, I had no idea what he did previously.

AdamI suppose actually it would be it'd be the equivalent now of it's always directors like you get these really good directors who are doing more sort of independent or left field sort of stuff.

AdamBut nowadays you get given a Marvel movie.

UnknownYeah.

AdamYou know, it's like Taika, what's he doing Thor Ragnarok and stuff like that.

AdamAnd yeah, or like the guy who did the um Godzilla from a few years back.

AdamThey're all people who'd sort of like done these maybe one weird little hit.

AdamAnd or like in Taika Waititi's case quite, you know, a long stream of just really good product.

ChrisGreat stuff, but I guess still sort of niche.

UnknownYeah.

AdamYeah.

AdamBut I mean, I think yeah, so I think that's probably why Peter Jackson ended up doing Lord of the Rings.

AdamUh but yeah, no, if seriously, if you watch Bad Taste, you you will not Now I've told you, well, actually there's two things.

AdamNow I've told you it's Peter Jackson, plus the fact Peter Jackson is about three of the main characters in the fucking film.

AdamBecause there was only like 18 people making this film in the in New Zealand.

AdamAnd so like it's him and like a few other mates, but at one point he he's he's fighting himself on a rock, like on a cliff face.

AdamAnd it's just you know, it is bizarre.

AdamAnd uh yeah, then he goes and does the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

AdamAnd as they said on not for everyone podcast, unfortunately The Hobbit trilogy as well.

AdamSo,

UnknownI didn't

ChrisSo

UnknownI've been saving that episode. I'll listen to the opening until they started to cover Bad Taste.

UnknownAnd then I suddenly realized I don't remember anything about it.

UnknownI've I've definitely seen it and I it.

UnknownUm but yeah, I was the opposite to you. I always went to Brain Dead.

AdamAh, yeah, yeah.

UnknownUm yeah, so I always brought Brain Dead which is a great film, yeah, and again is to think that he went from that to Lord of the Rings seems insane.

UnknownUm.

UnknownUh yeah, so I'm gonna go back and rewatch uh Bad Taste at some point.

UnknownSorry, Chris.

ChrisUm.

ChrisThat's sorry.

ChrisUm, yeah, I didn't mind The Hobbit.

ChrisUm.

ChrisWhat why didn't they like it? I mean, we could sort of go off track.

ChrisBut I figure this may be a slightly shorter episode because I don't know if Lee can handle another two hours of us talking about Dawn of the Dead.

UnknownI've got some things to say that might take a while.

UnknownOh yeah, I'm I'm looking forward to that.

ChrisUm but yeah, no go on.

ChrisSo why didn't they not like The Hobbit?

AdamI think I think they just didn't think it was up to par.

AdamAnd which seems to be the general consensus.

AdamAnd I do have to

ChrisIt is, yeah.

AdamStretching a trilogy out of a book that's shorter than any of the.

ChrisBut that's I quite liked that he I quite liked that he did that.

ChrisI mean, I get it depends I did really like the book, um I I read it when I was very young.

ChrisBut I still thought it to me it seemed like if he bought out something that really was close to the book, then that would have seemed really odd after having brought Lord of the Rings, so he should have done it the other way around.

ChrisSo I kind of thought that's fair enough that he's tried to make it similar in in style and yeah, and length.

UnknownYeah.

AdamI mean, one thing they said on the episode is apparently he was just meant to be producing it and ended up directing it.

ChrisOkay.

AdamSo maybe maybe there's that element to it or something.

AdamYou know, maybe it just doesn't come across because I've not seen.

AdamI've not seen them properly.

AdamI've basically tuned in and gone, I know Sylvester McCoy's in this, I'll wait until Sylvester McCoy's in this and then I switch over.

AdamSo after he's been on.

AdamSo yeah, that's that's about the level of my experience, but what I've seen have just been a bit sort of like oh, okay.

AdamI think that's probably what it is, is it's just that he did, you know, people were really into his version of Lord of the Rings and it's almost it's almost the Star Wars prequels effect.

ChrisOh, is it? Yeah, I suppose that might there's definitely something to that.

ChrisI think similar to that any Star Wars that comes out I'll happily watch whether it's, you know, very good or not.

ChrisUm and it's probably a bit like that. I was just quite happy that someone was making The Hobbit.

ChrisSo yeah.

AdamYou'd rather they were making it than not, I suppose.

AdamIs.

ChrisYeah.

AdamAlways the.

ChrisYeah, unless it's so bad that, you know, that you.

AdamYeah.

ChrisReally puts you off, but.

AdamUh.

AdamUm, I've also continued Claire's uh Claire wanted to watch an anthology film.

AdamSo we watched uh.

AdamDoctor Terrible's House of Horrible, because it turns out Claire hadn't seen it.

UnknownYeah.

AdamFor some reason in my head I had watched it with Claire, but we have been doing this show on Zoom for so long now.

AdamThat the reason I was like, I remember watching that and joking along with it.

AdamAnd everything else.

AdamYeah, because I watched it with YouTube.

UnknownAnd I forgot it was almost like we've been doing this on Zoom so long.

UnknownI forgot that we the the idea is we'd meet up, watch the film, record the episode.

UnknownAnd you're like.

UnknownOh yeah, that's why I think I've watched this in company, because I did.

UnknownYou know.

AdamUm but yeah, so um yeah, we we watched I mean, obviously we've there was a whole episode on it way back when.

AdamUm but uh.

AdamYeah, I mean, that's still great and has continued Claire's love of um the uh anthology movie.

AdamUm, I watched I've finished watching Tales of the Uncanny, the documentary about anthology movies.

AdamOh, yeah.

AdamUm that was really good and at the end of it they um.

AdamSaid it was um sorry, they got everyone involved to vote.

AdamAnd they'd also because this was like Seven Films own documentary, they'd also put like a poll up on Twitter and stuff.

AdamAnd it and so it was like the votes for best anthology movies and everything.

AdamUm.

AdamThe only thing I think was is that they they sort of skirted over Vault of Horror.

AdamUh but they obviously did mention Creepshow, didn't they?

AdamCan't you?

AdamBecause it is the standout, it is.

AdamYeah.

AdamUm but it's it's sort of um but yeah, no, it's a really really good documentary worth tracking down.

AdamUm and again, it's just been really weird to sort of.

AdamBecause it's been either everyone's saying, that film's great.

AdamAnd I've agreed with them.

AdamOr I've never heard of this film and all these people are saying it's great.

AdamI've just said that all the films I really like are good as well.

AdamSo, yeah.

AdamIt'll probably end up um opening up like a whole new whole new avenues, new sort of anthology films to watch which would be good.

AdamExcellent.

AdamAnd because because we watched Doctor Terrible's House of Horrible, we actually watched uh slightly off topic, but it is an Amicus film technically.

AdamWe watched Doctor Who and the Daleks, the Peter Cushing Dalek movie.

AdamUm.

AdamWhich is him and Roy Castle together again and from exactly the same year as Doctor Terrible's House of Horrible.

AdamSo, yeah.

AdamAnd because that was the thing is we was what Claire was half watching it, admittedly.

AdamUm.

AdamAnd uh she suddenly went, hang on, it was the in Doctor Terrible.

AdamSo I was like, yes, Roy Castle again.

AdamAnd I was like,

UnknownOh, yeah.

AdamAnd I said, that's why he's doing prat falls everywhere.

AdamBecause it's very much it's a very similar performance.

AdamSo.

AdamAnd it's also one of those lovely moments where you watch something, you think, yeah, this is a kid's film, this is a kid's film. We're all dying of radiation poisoning. This is a kid's film, this is a kid's film. This is.

AdamYeah.

AdamAnd you're like, kids were made of sterner stuff then, I fear.

AdamYou know.

AdamI think kids today would could take it, but I don't think their parents could.

UnknownWell,

UnknownI think I

UnknownI think it's true. I think I'm thinking about this in the week.

UnknownAgain, I know it's going slightly off topic.

UnknownBut I know it's something we've discussed quite a lot.

UnknownI was thinking about it in the week, you know, about um, you know, people saying, oh well, you know, I know my kids are 12 and 10 and 12 or whatever, but there's still stuff that's PG that won't let them watch.

UnknownYeah, and I'm just like, I remember being six years old and watching Raiders of the Lost Ark.

UnknownAnd just like, you know, all the melting zombies and the ghosts and stuff.

ChrisYeah, the melting face scene was.

UnknownLike it did I was just like, oh that was cool. Like I never came away like fucked for the rest of my life.

UnknownNone of us were none of us were scarred by anything we ever saw.

UnknownI think this whole like, oh you got to be super, you know, cushiony cuddly about it.

UnknownI'm like.

UnknownAnd the worst thing is, I think if you keep kids away from stuff.

UnknownThis is the thing, if you don't gently ease them into it, all of a sudden, they're just gonna watch Cannibal Holocaust unexpectedly and what the fuck's gonna happen then?

AdamIt's it's the thing of you fetishize it almost.

AdamBecause you forbid it.

UnknownYeah, exactly, yeah.

AdamYeah.

AdamBecause I I mean I I knew a kid at school who's um parents used to record movies, but they would cut out any sex.

AdamAnd it's like, well, if you're not comfortable with don't show him the film.

UnknownYeah.

AdamDo you know what I mean? It's always seemed like a weird sort of thing to sort of do.

AdamUm.

AdamBut also, I think there's it's weird because you go back I think more than anything is you just prove that kids are very resilient and pretty pretty much unaffected by stuff, because a lot of the time you do watch things that you watch as a kid.

AdamYou go, I was watching this when I was a kid, this is fucking gruesome, you know what I mean?

AdamOr something but it obviously doesn't phase you as a kid. You don't sort of Maybe it's the same way that you don't you don't register the trading of Phantom Menace.

ChrisBut but doesn't a lot of this but it did have a cool guy with a double-headed lightsaber and a funny frog, you know, so.

ChrisDo do you not think a lot of this comes from the media though?

ChrisUm, the people, you know, the amount of um terrorist acts and they say, oh, he was listening to this music and he was watching this and so makes everyone think, oh, you know, shouldn't do that.

AdamThe weird thing is, is it's.

AdamThere's it's systematic as you go through that every time frame or generation has a panic.

AdamAnd it was like when we were talking about when we did Tales From the Crypt and we were talking about the EC horror comics.

AdamAnd that was like there was books written about how this was warping the youth and that's why they went to coffee bars and slashed seats in cinemas.

AdamAnd all and it's like no one goes to the fundamental fact that fucking teenagers are mental and that's why this shit happens, because you're fucking mad essentially.

AdamYou know, you've got too much energy and not enough age and brains.

UnknownAnd brains.

AdamYeah, it's like.

ChrisWell, does this tell us what what sort of things did you get up to as a teenager?

AdamUm second drawer mainly.

AdamBut but again, but then you get so you'd have like the horror comics, then it was violent films, then it was um, uh Dungeons and Dragons.

AdamAnd the Satanic Panic.

UnknownYeah.

AdamThen it was rock, obviously rock music or whatever music was out of the time was dangerous.

AdamWhen I was at primary school, my head mistress, and Claire knows this story because I told her and she found it hilarious.

AdamMy head mistress banned us from saying acid.

UnknownReally?

AdamYeah.

AdamBecause this was like, what I don't know, this would have been 85 or something like that, eight, yeah.

AdamUm, so there's a bunch of us and we're all like six or seven or something like that.

AdamAnd she was like, right, and there's a thing going around and we don't want it when I don't want to hear people saying acid.

AdamIn and it was like, so she boiled down the panic of illegal raves, clubbing and ecstasy down to to one word, which is if you heard someone say acid.

AdamAnd but here's the thing.

AdamShe was quite religious, we used to have a vicar come in every so often and we had a cool and funky vicar, you know, sort of like, hey, you can call me Joe.

AdamUm, that sort of a vicar.

AdamHe was all right bloke.

AdamBut he was yeah, he was he was definitely like a young and hip and happening vicar.

AdamAnd he's like

Adamhe was doing this thing where it was like, right, okay, we're gonna do this story.

AdamBut I want you to help me, so this group here.

AdamYou're gonna be the police and whenever the police are mentioned, you go, hello, hello, hello.

AdamOr something like that.

AdamAnd then it was like.

AdamAnd you lot.

AdamYou and this included me.

AdamYou lot, you're the you're the street punks or the street gang or something like that.

AdamAnd whenever you're mentioned, you've got to go acid.

AdamAnd she nearly like had a fucking aneurysm over in the corner.

AdamAnd then we're all sat there going, but Miss, the vicar told us. He said we've got to do it.

AdamNot even that we're allowed to.

AdamWe've got to a vicar told us.

AdamOh, we were fucking loving that.

AdamAnd yeah.

UnknownI wonder if it was just more of a personal thing. It'd be like me, if I was a headmaster, I'd be like.

UnknownWhat?

UnknownThey're a kids dancing in the.

UnknownNo, no dancing in the playground.

UnknownI'm outlawing that, why, because I don't like it and it's bullshit.

UnknownYou're not allowed it.

UnknownIt's nonsense.

UnknownDancing serves no purpose for anybody.

UnknownJust stop it.

ChrisIt'll turn you into a crazy teenager.

AdamExactly. I've seen all them John Waters films. I know how it goes.

AdamFirst you dance in the next thing.

UnknownYeah.

AdamUh, or you suddenly you're just dusting off a seven inch and uh and the world goes rockabilly crazy.

UnknownUm, so I've only seen one thing, I've been pretty pants, but I have been reading a lot, so that's my excuse.

UnknownUm.

UnknownSo, uh, following I think I mentioned last week uh that I'd watched um once upon a time in Hollywood again.

ChrisOh, yes.

UnknownYes.

UnknownUh which then led me to show Jennifer The Fearless Vampire Killers because she'd never seen it.

UnknownUm.

AdamOh, the um.

UnknownRoman Polanski.

AdamYeah.

UnknownUh starring and directed film with Sharon Tate.

UnknownUm.

UnknownYeah.

UnknownIt's it's weirder than I remember.

UnknownI remember it being weird, but it was even weirder than I remember.

UnknownUm.

AdamYeah, I always get that when I go back to it.

AdamI think, yeah.

UnknownBut it's such a fun film and it's such a beautiful looking film as well. Like I just I love the way it's shot and I know a lot of it, like a lot of the outdoor shot stuff was all shot in Italy and stuff in the snow.

UnknownUm and the rest of it was all in Elstree.

UnknownBut yeah, it's a really good looking film.

UnknownUm yeah, and I really enjoyed it.

UnknownSo if everyone's looking for a bit of a bit of a fun hour and a half vampire film with Roman Polanski, if your politics will allow you to continue to watch his films, uh then yeah, Fearless Vampire Killers.

UnknownYeah.

AdamHe he I mean, he got an Oscar for it.

AdamSorry.

UnknownDid he?

AdamSorry.

AdamHe got it for writing it.

AdamEither either that or I'm just about to be murdered in my bed by a group of Hollywood lawyers.

AdamDon't you tell the truth.

AdamThat's what he got the Oscar for.

UnknownRight.

UnknownSo.

UnknownYeah.

UnknownExcellent.

UnknownRight, so to get into it.

UnknownHang on.

UnknownGet myself prepped.

UnknownOkay.

UnknownI think I'm in the right headspace now.

UnknownSo we have just watched all of us have just watched the full two hour and 20 minutes.

UnknownLet me repeat that, two hours and 20 my notes literally say two hours and 20. Fuck off.

UnknownUm.

UnknownUh two hours and 20 minutes of Dawn of the Dead. So Chris.

UnknownWhat did you make of Dawn of the Dead?

ChrisI enjoyed it.

ChrisUm.

ChrisIt was a bit longer than I was expecting, but I kind I thought they got away with that by making it change quite noticeably throughout.

ChrisSo, you know, the aim of the film seemed to be a bit different where they went from um, you know, lots of fighting to then figuring out how they're gonna survive in the mall.

ChrisUm, a bit of comedy thrown in, which perhaps a little bit odd at times.

ChrisUm.

ChrisUm, you know, a serious amount of effects, I guess Tom Savini had his work cut out for him on this one.

ChrisUm.

ChrisAnd and of course, he was in it as well, which was kind of good, so I think this is the first time we've seen him acting, I think.

UnknownNo, it was we saw him on It's My Party and I'll Die If I Want To.

UnknownThat's right, yeah.

AdamYeah, he was the uncle in that, wasn't he?

ChrisUm, but yeah, he had a couple of lines in this.

ChrisYou know.

ChrisSo still fairly short, the only other film I've seen him in is From Dusk Till Dawn where he had a larger.

ChrisRoll.

ChrisBut yeah, so.

AdamThe larger part.

AdamWith two barrels either side of it.

ChrisHe did.

ChrisUm.

AdamThat's also something we need to cover, I think.

AdamBecause that's that's a that's a genuinely great just straight up vampire film.

AdamIt's, yeah.

UnknownI think I saw it once when it came out and not again since, so I probably should watch it again.

ChrisUm.

ChrisSurprising, yeah.

ChrisThat was definitely one that worked for me when I first saw it.

ChrisYeah.

ChrisUm.

ChrisSo no, like.

ChrisOverall, I thought it was good.

ChrisI I wouldn't rush to watch it again.

ChrisI can definitely understand if one if you're not that keen on zombies, you you know, you'd struggle with this.

ChrisUm.

ChrisBut I thought there was a lot in there. Um I I was trying I suppose in some ways I was trying to compare it to the first one.

ChrisAnd then I was also trying not to.

ChrisUm, I think the first one had some other kind of charm about it that worked.

ChrisAnd it could have been because it was black and white.

ChrisUm.

ChrisAnd it was so focused on the human difficulties.

ChrisWhereas this one in a way because it had so much changing, you know, the focus was sort of different throughout.

ChrisUm.

ChrisBut so I I think they did a good job.

ChrisUm, definitely a lot of effort went into it.

ChrisUm.

ChrisAnd yeah, and it expanded on on the idea of zombies.

ChrisSo yeah, for me it was it was definitely good.

AdamI think I mean what just watching it and it's

AdamIt's a weird one when it's like, I know I really like this movie and then I watched it and it's like, fucking hell, that is cracking though.

AdamAnd I got through.

AdamI was it was it's almost like sort of taken aback.

AdamIt, however.

AdamI am totally with both of you on the length of the film.

AdamI think the film needs to be that length, but equally that's because I love the film.

AdamSo I'm happy in.

AdamBut I do think there are certain parts that could have been truncated and essentially.

AdamBecause I mean.

AdamObviously you've got the remake version, which because

AdamAnd again, this was the reason that I wanted to show you this, Chris, is because it was the really rare.

AdamThere's a really the George A. Romero zombie films certainly initially, it's a really rare thing where you get sequels that are.

AdamYou don't have to have seen the ones before.

AdamBut what it does do is it gradually gives you the timeline of the.

AdamSort of outbreak, so Night of the Living Dead.

AdamIs meant to be the day that it all kicks off when they.

AdamYeah.

AdamAnd then this is.

AdamI think they say something like three weeks or something like that.

AdamUh into into what's going on.

AdamAnd it's a weird thing to watch in a pandemic.

UnknownBecause.

AdamYou know, you're sort of like thinking, well, there's people dying everywhere.

AdamBut TV is still going on.

AdamAnd.

AdamAnd I actually quite like, although I think it's totally.

AdamIt's it's oddly mishandled in the the opening bit is I don't think it's that clear why there's a drug raid going on.

AdamOr that they're the police are involved in a drug raid.

AdamAnd the zombies are kind of separate.

AdamThey're it's having to deal with that whilst also continuing to do your job.

UnknownSee now I've got a note about that.

UnknownBecause I didn't entirely get what that was like, it's never made specific that they're in there on a drug raid.

UnknownThey just all pile in and they go, yeah, let's get these Puerto Ricans.

UnknownAnd I'm like.

UnknownWhat are they like are they a cult, are they all just hold up and they're refusing to go so I don't get what what what was going it wasn't made clear and I was like, they've just gone into a tower block and they're killing loads of people.

UnknownI was like, are they just refusing to leave and go to Safe Haven, I couldn't quite work out what was happening.

AdamYeah, because they.

ChrisIt's it's America, cops blasting in and shootings.

ChrisDoesn't matter really, does it, you know, any reason.

AdamIt's a give it's a given certainly, yeah.

AdamBut I think no, something definitely gets lost in that, because the whole thing is meant to be, it's basically meant to be, oh, it's a drugs raid and it's like a siege situation where this guy's held up and he's basically taken the housing like he's taken the tenement block hostage as part of like the final confrontation with the police.

AdamBut what's.

AdamWhat's causing what's exacerbated the problem is that there's also the zombie outbreak so they're all in the um.

AdamThey're all sitting in the.

AdamLike in the basement where they've just been disposing the bodies because they no one in there knows what to do or can get help or can get out and so on and so forth.

AdamAnd it's but it does come over.

AdamI think it doesn't they don't make it that plain, but when you know that.

AdamLike I say, and it's the similar thing to.

AdamLike where it's you know, they want um, uh, what's his name, Stephen wants to go off on the helicopter.

AdamAnd she's like, well, no, we've got to keep this running because people need information.

AdamAnd then that cameraman just goes, look, we're moving over to emergency broadcast, it's not your responsibility anymore.

AdamAnd again.

AdamIt's that thing of everyone trying to continue.

AdamSpite what's going on.

AdamAnd okay, there is no way on Earth that the mortality rate or the the sort of danger rate is as great as the dead coming back to feast upon the living within Coronavirus.

AdamBut you do have the it's like when there's that there's that excellent fucking guy with the eye patch who basically is Tom Savini.

AdamUm.

AdamBut but he he is just fantastic where it's because again, it's debates we are seeing on telly or online and stuff like that.

AdamWhere it's like, no, you've got to do this.

AdamThis is the thing.

AdamAnd there's.

ChrisLike he's he's a crazy scientist.

ChrisLike, but yeah.

ChrisHe's he's talking some sense, and but yeah, who do you trust?

ChrisLike if he's saying one thing, someone else is saying something else, you know, how do you know who's right?

UnknownAnd this is the thing I that I made a note of as well. So if we if they listen to the first crazy scientist at the very beginning, who's saying, look, let's not go mental, but if somebody is dead, you need to cut their head off.

UnknownAnd everyone is just like snowflake, no, no, you nobheads.

UnknownAnd because they don't do that, it gets to the point where it's like, we're just gonna have to nuke whole countries because you wouldn't contain it when you should have contained it.

UnknownYou've let it get out of hand.

UnknownIt's your own fault that everybody's dead now.

UnknownAnd it.

UnknownYeah, so you do kind of end up.

UnknownYou can see the escalation as you said, Adam, which is.

AdamIt feels very real.

AdamYou know.

AdamBut actually Claire said something that just I thought like put the whole COVID situation in a nutshell.

AdamIt was if this was because.

AdamObviously we're sort of talking about it.

AdamAs we're watching Dawn of the Dead.

AdamAnd she she just went.

AdamYeah, but if the pandemic was a movie, you'd be watching it going, oh, for fuck's sake, just stay in for six months.

AdamOh.

AdamYeah.

AdamWhy can you not fucking do this? All you've got to do is stay in and don't fucking breathe on people.

AdamAnd yet it's like.

AdamSo the thing the other day where it was like, um yeah, a wedding a wedding party of 400.

AdamYeah.

AdamUh was broken up the other day.

AdamAnd you're like.

AdamThat's that's a lot, isn't it really, when you sort of.

AdamYou know.

AdamAnd and you know.

UnknownAnd it's insane.

UnknownBut.

UnknownBut as you say, it's it's funny the so so, being at home all day every day.

UnknownI've noticed this.

UnknownSo I like you say, I've been one of those, even when the first lockdown started, I've pretty much stayed in unless it's absolutely essential for me to leave the house, I haven't left the house, I haven't been shopping once, I've filled the car up a couple of times cuz I've needed to use the car to do short journeys.

UnknownI've literally left the house as little as possible.

UnknownSomebody in my street, which is an elderly couple and their 50-year-old son.

UnknownUm every single day go out.

UnknownAll day.

UnknownThey have no reason to leave the house, none of them work, they're both retired.

UnknownAnd they're in the habit of because they're so bored of being at home every day, they get in the car and they'll drive 30 miles to a different supermarket chain just to do something with their day.

UnknownAnd now we're in this pandemic.

UnknownThey're still doing that.

UnknownAnd I watch him do it every single day.

UnknownAnd it's like, what are you doing? Why are you doing this?

AdamIt's it is a very frustrating it's it's I think that's the thing.

AdamIt's a very frustrating thing and you end up, sometimes you're watching the telly, you end up like the the scientist with the eye patch.

AdamWhere you're like sort of like, logical.

AdamIt is logical, you just have to fucking shut down almost and just repeat it to yourself.

AdamNo, I am talking fucking sense here, why can you not see this?

ChrisIs is laugh trial go mad.

UnknownYeah.

AdamYeah, and I mean like the bikers.

AdamAgain, it's that sort of thing of it's an ideal place.

AdamYou know, in terms of zombie outbreaks.

AdamI mean, it's the one that everyone's gonna do because it's famously in the film.

AdamBut it is yeah, there's a a lot of um so many pros to it as a a space to occupy.

AdamUm.

AdamAnd obviously the shopping things are fun.

AdamI I'd grab that wheel of Yarborough.

UnknownYeah.

UnknownFuck it.

UnknownYeah.

UnknownIt's funny, Jennifer said that, she said, you can tell this film was written by a man.

UnknownThey're like, right, step one, gun store, step two, power tools, DIY.

UnknownAnd I was like, yeah, you've kind of got.

UnknownBut yeah, and then and then cheese.

UnknownYeah.

UnknownPretty much. We're gonna get JD and we're gonna get some power tools and fuck everything else, it's fine.

AdamAnd it's but it's such a brilliant idea because it is essentially you're in the one stop place.

AdamOh, we need some we need some hard board and some fucking.

Adamand nails.

AdamWell, you go down the fucking hardware store.

AdamYeah, exactly.

AdamYou know, it's such a fucking great sort of idea.

AdamAnd also there's an.

AdamThere's an infectiousness of.

AdamThey filmed it they genuinely filmed it in a mall after dark.

AdamUm.

AdamThey had a break over Christmas because and this will tell you something about the changing in uh how sort of things work.

AdamUh, yeah, they had a three week break because the mall because it was over Christmas and the mall had put their decorations up.

AdamAnd it would have caused continuity.

AdamJust fucking nightmares.

AdamBut three weeks of their Christmas decorations.

AdamNot a fucking month and a half.

AdamYeah.

AdamYou know, not fucking since September for fuck's sake.

AdamThree weeks, they had their Christmas decorations up.

AdamAnd there was like, right, now business as normal.

AdamAnd actually what they they filmed between ten and six in the morning and apparently that was because the mall didn't actually open till half past ten, but the mall's tannoy came on at six in the morning and no one knew how to switch it off.

AdamSo at that point they were like, oh, we're gonna have to fucking give up now, because it was just detention came out of choppers.

AdamSo.

AdamAnd also um according to uh according to Tom Savini.

AdamUh the bit, you know, where he um oh, bloody.

AdamMy brain's not working.

AdamWhen Roger slides down the escalator.

AdamYeah.

AdamUm, yeah.

AdamApparently people kept trying to go into the mall and doing that, so they had to put like one of those box barrier things at the bottom of it.

AdamBecause.

AdamThat was just that was what everyone wanted to do after they'd seen Dawn of the Dead, they go down the Monroeville mall and skid down the escalator.

AdamSo.

UnknownYeah, and it's just.

UnknownI think the problem one of the problems for me is.

UnknownAnd it's funny because Jennifer highlighted it as well.

UnknownLike we were we'd watch half an hour of this film and she went, oh, I thought this was the one in the mall.

UnknownI was like.

UnknownThis is the one in the mall.

UnknownThey just still haven't got there yet.

UnknownAnd this is the problem.

UnknownSo you've got Night of the Living Dead. You've already set up the zombies, you've set up everything that needs.

UnknownSo you don't need any of that.

UnknownLet's get the ball rolling, let's get the story going, you just need there's some people, they've got in a helicopter, they're trying to escape.

UnknownIt takes 35 minutes for him to get to that mall.

UnknownYeah.

UnknownIt.

UnknownIt is I think you're quite right. I think it is that they've made it a little bit too real and not enough like a I mean, I was thinking about it earlier.

UnknownIt is.

UnknownIt's like like not to play down what's happening now, I know a lot of people have you know, we've lost a lot of people and it's a big thing.

UnknownBut for the majority of us, it's just been the lockdown element, you know, for the majority of us.

UnknownSo it's gonna be one of those things, people are going to be talking about this for hundreds of years, but you know, your grandkids will say, did you live through the pandemic, oh my God, you know, although it's terrifying, it must have been exciting, it must and you'll be like, it's the most boring year of my life.

UnknownI literally sat indoors and did nothing.

UnknownFor a full year plus.

UnknownLike.

UnknownAnd and so that so that is an exciting thing for people in the future to look back at as an important part of history, but to have lived through it, it's just super boring.

UnknownAnd that's what this portrays, and it portrays it very well, but that doesn't mean you should make a film about it.

UnknownYou should say, do you know what, this would be really, really, really boring, let's make a film that shows just how boring this would really be.

AdamSo you think it's like when they get to the mall, so you think it's like lockdown the movie.

AdamI kind of I I kind of go with you on that one.

AdamI think definitely there's that element.

AdamBecause it's.

AdamI suppose actually is that the point as well where it's like, so once they lock down the mall and obviously Roger goes off his fucking head and starts acting like a dick and ends up getting killed.

AdamBecause that's that's the thing I love about the zombie movies is there is the element of keep your head.

AdamYeah.

AdamAnd you can make it.

AdamAnd okay, there's there's the element of there's certain things like.

AdamYou have to sleep, you have to eat and things like that. But in essence, as long as you're not.

AdamLike, as long as you're not using a fucking test your pulse meter in the middle of a zombie fucking crowded mall whilst guns are going off.

AdamYou're probably gonna be all right.

AdamAnd not get ripped in half.

AdamSo, and I think but yeah, and but is that the sort of thing where they get to.

AdamOnce they've locked everyone out with with once they've locked them all out with the lorries.

AdamUh.

AdamSorry, trucks.

AdamThere we go.

AdamUh for our American cousins, um but once they've locked all the zombies out effectively.

AdamThis is locked down.

AdamThen it becomes just lockdown.

AdamBecause it's like, right.

AdamSo we sit in, we've got everything we could have.

AdamBecause that's that's the essential thing about lockdown is that it's and again.

AdamIt's one of those things where you I've seen.

AdamYou know, the memes became style before lockdown finished.

AdamBut it would all be things like, you know, your grandparents like waited through mud to fucking.

AdamYou know, all your great grandparents waited through mud to fight fascism to prevent the end of civilizations, you know it. Someone's told you to sit in and watch fucking Netflix, deal with it.

AdamAnd it's.

AdamYou know, it's not it's not a hardship.

AdamAnd that's the thing.

AdamIs they get to that point where they're like they've got everything at their fingertips, but can't actually go out, can we?

AdamAnd this isn't actually life anymore.

AdamThis is.

AdamWaiting.

AdamYeah, okay, you're waiting with.

AdamI'll make you're waiting with like especially especially if you're a biker, you know, they're sitting in like the bikers.

ChrisThat is just a perception really, in a way, if if you absolutely have got everything you ever need.

ChrisIt's that idea that, well, I've got nothing to strive for, I'll just sit here and relax and enjoy it, but actually you sort of want some difficulties and and changes that you've got to deal with and.

ChrisAnd sort of work towards something.

AdamAdmittedly, the one thing that always annoys me and it's because I think it's the thing that comes out a lot.

AdamCertainly in terms of like modern thoughts within the workplace of.

AdamHey, but you know, if you step outside your comfort zone, you know, that's really good. And it's like, yeah.

AdamBut say for example, what what would you describe as the comfort zone for a plant?

AdamBeing in soil and watered.

AdamBut we could take it out of its comfort zone, and you know what happens, it fucking dies.

AdamSo, you know, there's something to be said for comfort zones, you can't, but equally, yeah, when you have no challenge or no.

AdamSort of.

AdamAnd I think actually it'd be an interesting thing is if because not being funny, imagine if if you'd have got like say the pit ponies escaped the the zombie apocalypse and hold up at PMT and just had all the fucking musical instruments they could have.

AdamThey would have recorded like six brilliant albums.

AdamYeah.

AdamBut but equally, you know, but they wouldn't have got bored and and also there's very little likelihood of a gang of bikers breaking into PMT.

AdamJust.

AdamTo steal to steal their guitars.

AdamSo.

AdamBut I think yeah, it's got to be.

AdamIt does just become and not only that, but also there's the whole.

AdamWhich I'm glad isn't made too much of a deal of, but it is an important fact that Fran is pregnant.

AdamYeah.

AdamSo and and it has to be said, Peter, steady on there, old champ.

AdamWhen it's just sort of like, well, you know, I have, you know.

AdamI do know how to do an abortion, just saying.

AdamIt's like.

AdamHow do you know.

AdamWhat what is going on there, Peter, that's precisely what I said.

AdamI was like, how do you know what equipment have you like, don't get me wrong, I know you're in a mall, but what medical equipment are you going or, you know.

AdamI mean, I just wondered if he's just gonna fire a couple of rounds up there and, you know.

AdamI've come up with my version.

AdamI didn't say.

AdamI've come up with my version, I didn't say I've come up with my version.

AdamI've come up with my version, I didn't say, I've come up with my version.

AdamI've come up with my version, I didn't say.

Dawn of the Dead

About

Cast

Transcript

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Dawn of the Dead

About

Cast

Transcript

Ep 249 Dead Snow

Ep 246 Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde

Ep 241 We have been watching

Listen anywhere you get podcasts