History Headscratchers / DawnOfTheDead1978

*** For both of those questions the answer is, so they can get away quicker. Cover the helicopter or putting up fake walls would have hindered their ability to get away. Remember they weren't planning on fighting over the mall once the bikers turned up they just wanting to make their lives harder. As for the wall making it weak enough so you could just punch through it; if you're in a tight spot would have been handy if they couldn't get to the vents and it would have worked just fine if not for zombie-Stephen.

* The fact that the survivors just left the helicopter completely in sight bugs me slightly. While covering it in tarpaulin wouldn't totally disguise it, at least it'd prevent looters from immediately identifying it. They could've gone further, too; They managed to make a fake wall to conceal the location of the hideout door with the supplies in Penney's, and I'm sure they would've had enough time to construct a fake set of walls to encircle the chopper, hiding it from view. Granted, if they had to escape in a hurry, the walls wouldn't be practical: But once they were on the roof, with the ladder retracted, they could take the time to remove the walls.

** The Novel actually changes it so they stash all the corpses in the mall's ''vault'' instead, humoring about what future archaeologists might think when they discover the vault with all the bones of the corpses inside.

*** Would have been just as much of a gut punch ending as the originally planned version for the film (where everyone dies) as well. It would have made Fran's plea to keep going in the Director's Cut even more potent too, that if they discover that they had abandoned the idea of securing the mall and had just continued on like Fran suggested, and then discover that they were just in a hot zone, it would have brilliant.

*** And you're not actually addressing the comments I too issue with. I said nothing about Fran's reasonable request to not be left without a gun again. Nor did I complain about her idea that someone else be given training with the helicopter. Both of those issues she takes, have instant reasoning about them. It's clear why she would need a weapon, having just been attacked a zombie, and when she talks about other people being trained to fly, she explains that too. So what's her explanation for "Let's just take what we need and keep going?" Or "It's so bright and neatly wrapped that you can't see its a prison too." But let's go. Number one: Although I didn't say it, no, I don't think they would be able to live in the mall forever. But I do think they managed to live in there for close to a year with food, water, weapons, entertainment, and OH YEAH actual MEDICINE. How well do you think they would have done off in the Canadian wilderness? Remember, Fran says "I guess we forget about Canada huh?" So what's Fran's backup plan huh? Well, we don't see it, but I guess we assume she has one? Which brings us to Number two: Which just so happens to be the number one question in a zombie film. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO GO?" Fran wanted to keep moving....TO WHERE? Were the mall survivors complacent? Sure, they were living in actual COMFORT. False sense of security? Considering that it took a "regular" army of bikers armed with EXPLOSIVES to blow the mall open, I question how false that sense really was. But okay, let's say they take what they need and keep going. Then what? How long till they run out of fuel? Let's say they get to the Wilds of Canada...now what? Oh yeah, they DIE. They freeze to death, they starve to death, and so on. Because how many supplies can that helicopter carry? How much did the find while traveling? How much have they already consumed? Now that they are in the wilderness that Fran wanted...why should Peter and Roger hang around? With no fuel for the Helicopter, Stephen is useless, and Fran? Pregnant Fran? So yes, while having a plan of what they should do when they exhaust the Mall is wise. But Fran doesn't have one beyond "Keep moving" and "Canada" apparently. So back to the original point. What is her problem with them holding up in the mall for as long as they can? BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO OTHER OPTIONS. They have no other intel. Furthermore, getting "Complacent" wasn't their undoing. The bikers, and Stephen picking a fight were. Beyond that, Peter did have a plan for the bikers. Hide, and wait them out. Afterwards, survey the damage and go from there. They probably would have been forced to leave yes, as they couldn't have secured the mall again. It's not Peter, nor Fran's, fault that Stephen was...well Stephen. Even at the very end, Fran has no plan. She informs Peter that there isn't much fuel when asked, and that's about it. It's pretty clear the two are fairly screwed, Pregnant Fran even more. So I ask one last time, why is this Pregnant Woman bitching about them staying in the ONE PLACE they have found that she can be Pregnant, not starve to death, and not get eaten by zombies?

** You're not giving her the credit she deserves, nor are you taking in other factors that would have eventually undone the entire paradise they had. You ''really'' think that they would have been able to survive there forever? At some point they'd run out of supplies or suffered from cabin fever, and fact that there was a ''helicopter'' on the roof and trucks blocking the entrance would have eventually given away their position even without the flying lessons. Not to mention, they all became so complacent with the false sense of security that the mall gave them, that there was no backup plan made incase they had to haul ass if zombies got in somehow; everyone sans Francine was ''that'' sure nothing could go wrong, Stephen especially. If Francine didn't "bitch", as you so gently put it, then valid concerns would never have been made and they would have ended up doomed by the time the bikers came. Its because of her "bitching" that she brought up something that should have been evident and ended up doing herself and Peter a major favor; had she remained silent, they both would have been screwed over because of their blind optimism. Bottom line? Getting complacent in a zombie apocalypse is the ''worst'' thing you can do, and Francine knew that from the beginning.

*** I personally would of found it pretty funny/sad, that after everything they had been through, turns out they were in a "hot zone" and if they had flown a few miles further they would seen everything was going well.

*** Honestly, that would have been a great downer ending in the same vein as the original film.