Dawn of the Dead (2004) Much?

edited November 2012 in The Walking Dead
I've absolutely loved this story so far, and I have no doubt that it took a lot of original thinking and writing to come up with the final story. But I would be willing to bet that at least some of the main writers used the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead as a HUGE source of inspiration (besides the fast zombies). Here are a few things I've found they have in common so far.

In DotD, the main character, Ana, gets in a car crash after an escaping civilian tries to steal her car, breaking the highway-side barrier and crashing into a tree. In TWD, Lee is in a car crash that breaks the highway barrier and lands him in a forested area.

In DotD, finding a boat becomes the group's focus and answer for surviving. In TWD, that becomes the mission too after the motor inn falls.

In DotD, CJ is an impulsive redneck-ish guy with a handlebar mustache who, in the roof scene, makes it clear he'll kill anyone to survive. In TWD, Kenny is a Florida redneck who also has a handlebar mustache and is willing to smash Larry's head in to make sure his family survives.

In DotD, there is a foreign (Russian) woman named Luda married to one of the main characters (Andre). In TWD, there is a foreign (Belgian, according to the wiki) woman named Katjaa married to one of the main characters (Kenny).

A lot of people have already guessed episode 5 will end with Lee about to kill himself Michael style, watching the boat sail off with Clementine and the other survivors.

Can you think of any more similarities between the two series? Is there some other non-Walking Dead zombie film you've found significant game parallels to? Let me know.

Comments

  • edited November 2012
    its kind of a regular zombie story line. The boat was kenny's idea because he is a fisherman. Every thing else coincidence. Who said they'll get on the boat if kenny dies no one can fix the boat.
  • edited November 2012
    I agree with you King but I disagree with the boat....if the engine is intact, it should be childs play to get it running and in the water.

    Although I have said in other threads I do NOT like this boat they found...and open top with limited space? It is basically the train all over, getting us from one place to the other and as far as I can tell, Kenny's premise was to get us on his fishing boat (which I thought to be at least 26' at the minimum) to survive, this boat is a floating deathtrap. Ever been on the water in the colder months with no tops? It really sucks...
  • edited November 2012
    Yeah, and lets not forget the part in DOTD where they went to a dairy and the farmers turned out to be cannibals... Oh wait, that didn't happen.. There are slight similarities, otherwise I think what you are seeing is coincidence
  • edited November 2012
    The CJ thing is pretty much 100% accurate.

    1750147.png
  • edited November 2012
    It would make sense for Kenny, a fisherman who knows a lot about boats, to suggest getting on a boat to survive. He probably knows a lot about the southern waterways, as stated by Lee in Episode 4. So as long as he's alive, and he doesn't actually intend for us to live on the boat, it seems like as good a plan as any by this point. Him being inspired by CJ I could deinately see. They're both rednecks, who put survival above almost everything else, with handlebar mustaches who wear hats.
  • edited November 2012
    Kenny!!!
  • edited November 2012
    Panzer89 wrote: »
    The CJ thing is pretty much 100% accurate.

    1750147.png

    kenny written all over
  • edited November 2012
    i didn't like CJ (in a like him as a person way) but i like kenny, maybe it's just the family man factor, but i think they are different enough for them not to be the same character
  • edited November 2012
    i didn't like CJ (in a like him as a person way) but i like kenny, maybe it's just the family man factor, but i think they are different enough for them not to be the same character

    Why didn't you like CJ? Sure at the start he seemed really cold hearted but he turned all right at the end. He even went on that stupid mission to go save the girl and her dumbass dog. Did the survivors in dawn of the dead seem stupid to anyone else? They left a safe and secure place because they would rather die horribly outside? And WHY DIDN'T THEY SHOOT THAT DOG?! (End rant)

    On topic, CJ is awesome and i agree some elements in the game may have been taken from the movie.
  • edited November 2012
    Wrighty wrote: »
    Why didn't you like CJ? Sure at the start he seemed really cold hearted but he turned all right at the end. He even went on that stupid mission to go save the girl and her dumbass dog. Did the survivors in dawn of the dead seem stupid to anyone else? They left a safe and secure place because they would rather die horribly outside? And WHY DIDN'T THEY SHOOT THAT DOG?! (End rant)

    On topic, CJ is awesome and i agree some elements in the game may have been taken from the movie.

    I loved his joke about drawing straws, where the loser has to run across the parking lot holding a ham sandwich.
  • edited November 2012
    Wrighty wrote: »
    Why didn't you like CJ? Sure at the start he seemed really cold hearted but he turned all right at the end. He even went on that stupid mission to go save the girl and her dumbass dog. Did the survivors in dawn of the dead seem stupid to anyone else? They left a safe and secure place because they would rather die horribly outside? And WHY DIDN'T THEY SHOOT THAT DOG?! (End rant)

    On topic, CJ is awesome and i agree some elements in the game may have been taken from the movie.

    i liked him as a character in the film, he kicks ass but he was an jerk, and he didn't go to save the girl and the dog, he went for the guns and ammo, why would they shoot the dog?
  • edited November 2012
    i liked him as a character in the film, he kicks ass but he was an jerk, and he didn't go to save the girl and the dog, he went for the guns and ammo, why would they shoot the dog?

    I dunno about being a jerk, at the end of the day he let them in, even if he kept them locked up. Also he didn't want to risk the whole safe house for a bunch of dumbs in a truck blaring their horn and attracting zombies. With slow zombies it would be a risk to let them in, more so with running zombies.
    You're probably right about the guns and bullets thing though, sorry.

    They should of shot the dog because it barks and attracts zombies. That fucking dog was the reason they all died when they reached the island. They landed, dog started barking, they got swamped. Should have killed it/left it behind.
  • edited November 2012
    Wrighty wrote: »
    I dunno about being a jerk, at the end of the day he let them in, even if he kept them locked up. Also he didn't want to risk the whole safe house for a bunch of dumbs in a truck blaring their horn and attracting zombies. With slow zombies it would be a risk to let them in, more so with running zombies.
    You're probably right about the guns and bullets thing though, sorry.

    They should of shot the dog because it barks and attracts zombies. That fucking dog was the reason they all died when they reached the island. They landed, dog started barking, they got swamped. Should have killed it/left it behind.

    I agree CJ was a jerk in the beginning but he changed and showed he cared in the end for more than just himself, he redeemed his first impression later in the movie.

    As far as the dog being the main reason they died in the end I put half the blame on the dog, the other half on the idiot who thought docking the boat on an unfenced pier was a good idea, are you kidding? Those zombies are runners, no way you will unhitch and have the boat far enough away before they get to you. They should have anchored off shore aways and swam in without the dog. That's what I would have done.
  • edited November 2012
    Cj was a jerk that when it came down to the end he was a hero, but Kenny is a family man who has been been tested as to how far he will go to protect them and what he would do without them
  • edited November 2012
    Nothing is original anymore guys. Practically everything has been done, and Zombie films etc have been done a million times over so options are pretty limited. I have been trying to find DotD for awhile, but they have sold out practically everywhere, so I am going to base what I say on everything you have said.

    The boat thing is plan, and their only way of getting out of Savannah, they have no idea on how they are going to survive in a house with a guy who keeps fucking with them, and plus, Kenny is a fisherman and came up with the idea, it seems pretty dumb not to take this opportunity, I know that it sounds like DotD but they have no other alternative.

    CJ does look like Kenny, so maybe they did take some elements from him, but like someone else said, I have seen clips of DotD and I have to say, I find CJ a big dick at the beginning and I like Kenny more, so I do think its a big enough change for him to be of TTG own imagining.

    Good points though I can see where you're coming from with all this :)
  • edited November 2012
    Aside from having a mustache CJ doesn't remind me of Kenny at all.
  • edited November 2012
    trd84 wrote: »
    Aside from having a mustache CJ doesn't remind me of Kenny at all.

    Yeah, apparently the definition of 100% accurate has been changed to mean slightly similar.
  • edited November 2012
    Nice comparison of TWD and DoTD'84.

    Zombie movies are designed to make an idiot feel like a genius and vice verse. TWD Game is by no means an original plot. But, it is an interesting idea that we get to shape the life and death of certain characters. Having said that, Ana stumbled into a great group of survivors. Lee had the same fortune. However you chop up the plot, TWD and DoTD are moving to the same end result.

    Kenny is stronger in surviving than CJ but weaker in selflessness.I believe Kenny will sacrifice himself and never see the open seas. This is what CJ did in DoTD. Yeah, he was a jerk, but when it came down to the wire. He had plenty of wit and courage.

    Omid will die too. He is the gangster with the pregnant wife in DOTD. His personality is exact opposite, but you better believe he will sacrifice himself for his unborn child.

    Clem is a very young version of Ana from DoTD. She is slowly getting a grasp on surviving. She will live and ride the boat to Cuba where she and the others will find Fidel Castro on the beach shooting infected pigeons. 0.0

    Lee is the exact match for the leader in DoTD who was bitten near the docks.

    AS we know, other characters nearly made it to the docks but died in the armored vehicles (Similar to the train in TWD)

    Perhaps Molly will resurface and lead the group after both Kenny and Lee find their demise in Savannah.

    Molly is the single 'ace in the hole' character who can take things to the next level. Without her, the boat will probably somehow land on the Catalina Islands O.O

    good topic.
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