MovieChat Forums > The Dead Outside (2009) Discussion > characters acting nonsensically didn't h...

characters acting nonsensically didn't help win me over

posted 13 years ago by yojimboy
3 replies | jump to latest

April first arrives in the film and points a gun at Daniel. She acts furious that he's there and frightened for her life. But instead of forcing him out of the house and locking the door so she can feel safer she lets him sleep in the house. The next morning, she's out in the yard doing chores without her rifle to defend herself and acts completely unafraid of him. She eventually gives him some gas to leave but he immediately comes back because of seeing one person on the road and she accepts it nonchalantly without protest.

She demands to know if he's infected and he lies to her. She tells him that the vaccine is incredibly dangerous and causes people to get "it" (whatever the disease is) much faster. Then she discovers he has the disease and has been taking the vaccine and seems irritated by it, but doesn't ask him to leave or seemingly even confiscate the vaccine to make sure he doesn't take any more. She just tells him to stop, but he can still stay in the house with her.

The actions of the characters through much of the film are not understandable. The flow of the story seems unstructured and vague. Can't recommend this film, despite finding the landscape and the lead actress visually appealing.

[–] cinemajunky 12 years ago

I also don't get the weird back story about people rounding up orphans and testing on them - is this why Kate, who says she used to be a nurse, tries to kidnap Amy? I don't get it... I mean, if everything's gone to hell,why would she even care about trying to get an antidote when Amy said that the people who were doing all the experiments had a break in.... I would assume that survival is a bit more important than trying (and failing) to kidnap a teenager... I just don't understand why they put so much unnecessary back story into a zombie film - it felt like I was watching 3 or 4 movies all squished together with a shaky premise.

__________________________________
I ain't your friend, palooka.

[–] cozmogrl1-1 12 years ago

Well, not that all this deserves a huge indepth discussion, but April (upon seeing Daniel) was of course afraid, and leary and had a gun to him, but she obviously didnt sense any danger so she allowed him to stay. This is a girl who had been thru a LOT and had been alone for a long time. She WANTED company but she didnt know how to handle it at the same time. Thats why she continued to let him stay and let things slide like finding the vaccine in his stuff, etc. this wasnt a mean evil girl, she was just broken down and fried. But she was lonely as well. I dont think the way she acted was nonsensical. I mean, how would YOU react to an infected outbreak, killing your granparents, surviving alone for six months, having crazies trying to break in every night. She was strung out and a little unstable to being with but she was just a scared person. This might not be the best movie ever made, but i have to defend her behavior. I think too many people are used to the unrealistic and sterile handling of emotion in Hollywood movies.

[–] yojimboy 12 years ago

Those contradictions of desires (fear vs. loneliness) are very human and believable, but the way they were presented in the film didn't convince me as the character swings between them so quickly and with no process of transition in-between them. If she had gradually decided she could trust him over a couple of days and then left him inside with the rifle while she was defenseless outside, then it would have made sense to me. If she forced him out of the house with the petrol and then bitterly argued when he tried to come back and had to be convinced, I would have accepted it. But what was happening was that she instantly pivoted from telling him he had to leave and threatening his life to completely trusting him to the point of leaving her gun where he could use it on her in less than 24 hours. We need to be shown the character's emotional journey from one state (yelling death threats) to another (being chill with the guy in the house and leaving the rifle where he can grab it).