Dawn of the Dead, 2004: how do you interpret the last scene with Andy?

Question

The character Andy, who was trapped on top of the gun store, would always write messages on a large board to the survivors on top of the shopping mall. At the end of the movie, Andy is turning into a zombie. When the people on top of the shopping mall roof last see him, he writes one final message, which is just smeared lines.

This scene was absolutely chilling. I thought Andy was trying to lure them to the gun store. I thought it was a sign that the zombies had some remnant of human intellect left. He was trying to trick them into making a rescue attempt. He had some memory that writing on the board would make the people come, so he was trying it.

However, other people didn't agree that his last attempt at a message meant what I thought. They said he just turned into a zombie while writing the message. However, didn't it always take a few minutes after the person died for that to happen?

What do you think?

By the way, has anyone seen the movie in the theatre and then on video? In the theatre, my heart was racing, and afterwards, as I drove home, it was still racing like mad. After seeing it on video, even on large 50" plasma screen, it was not as good. It even seemed like some scenes flew past much more quickly, like the scene where they are in the retro-fitted bus, and there are thousands of zombies trying to overturn it. The scenes seem to actually last longer in the theatre.

Answer 1

it was something he did so much, and was his only means of communicating with the other survivors, that as a zombie it was still familiar with him, just like the zombies gathering around the mall

Answer 2

I don't know I always thought that he turned into a zombie while writing but what you said makes sense also seeing that in one part of the movie Ving Rhames or one of the characters said something along the lines that the zombies all came to the mall in the first place because it might have been from memory. There was no way that they knew people were there I don't believe. Hmmm I will have to think about that next time I watch.

Answer 3

This was not in the original 1978 film, which I think was better, but the part of the celebrity head shots was a good addition to the 2004 Dawn of the Dead. I do not think he was trying to lure them to the gun store, I think his character represented the strength of the human will to survive. Andy was hungry, and possibly sick, the bloody message only showed he was attacked and had not died/comeback to life again.

Answer 4

I agree with one person above. I think he was turning into a zombie as he wrote it. but it also strikes me odd it is deffinately a chilling scene, but i also think he was a zombie writing that.

Answer 5

When it comes to zombies I'm old school, so i don't think zombies have intellect.... sorry