The Lost Tape: Andy's Terrifying Last Days Revealed
Encyclopedia
The Lost Tape: Andy's Terrifying Last Days Revealed is an original short film based around the events of the 2004 remake version of Dawn of the Dead
and included on the DVD of the latter. It is structured as an amateur home video
documentary.
The character Andy (played by Bruce Bohne) owned the gun shop
across the street from the mall in the film, and in this bonus feature Andy records a video diary of his ordeal for future reference. He begins recording on May 7, 2004, the day after he first encountered the flesh eaters, and continues to record until his death on June 6. Throughout the diary he talks to his goldfish named Ariel for company.
He tells of how he first encountered the zombies while driving his truck and, after running over several, makes it back to his home in the gun store. Andy reinforces all windows and doors and prepares to stock up on water and drinks, not having any food.
Later, he relays the results of experimenting with killing the zombies saying he shot one in the heart, lungs, legs, without stopping it. He announces that the power is still on, as is the Internet, which shows red spots on a map of the globe, which obviously represent infected areas. He then tries to simply kill all of the zombies surrounding his store (having a said 10,000 rounds of ammunition and uses around 300 to kill zombies around the gun shop) but soon realizes it is a futile effort.
With his mental state beginning to deteriorate, he begins to rant, blaming the government as the cause of the zombies. After the survivors in the mall make contact with him, he joyfully describes playing the survivors version of Hollywood Squares
with Ken. Later on May 21, he is so weakened by hunger that he is forced to regretfully eat Ariel.
The final entry starts immediately after he has been bitten by the creatures that managed to get in after Chips the dog. In an alternate view of the scene from the film, he communicates with the mall residents on the walkie-talkie. He knows the wound is worse than he has told the others in the mall (not knowing about the bite's effects). He tries to rest to relieve the pain and the video then actually shows him having transformed into a zombie and presumably going up to the roof for the movie scene.
Between entries on the tape, it can be seen that the video is recorded over footage shot almost a year prior of Andy's ex-wife Susan and his unnamed daughter (about six or seven years old) playing outdoors. In the journal, Andy mentions how his wife got everything from him in the apparent divorce; including his beloved daughter (though he claims that Susan did not share as much love of her as Andy did). He expresses constant worry and grief at the thought of whether or not his daughter managed to survive and promised himself to get her as soon as he got out.
The end of the recording shows Andy's daughter giving him Ariel as a birthday present on August 23, 2003.
During Andy's talks of worry for his daughter, he mentioned "going up to the lake to get her", indicating she may be in the vicinity of Lake Michigan
.
Dawn of the Dead (2004 film)
Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 horror film directed by Zack Snyder in his directorial debut. It is a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name and stars Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, and Jake Weber. The film depict a handful of human survivors living in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin shopping mall...
and included on the DVD of the latter. It is structured as an amateur home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
documentary.
Plot
Andy, the gun store owner, created a video journal of his last days inside by himself. The prologue says that survivors found the tape in the store while traveling through Everett, Wisconsin and then shows the unedited footage.The character Andy (played by Bruce Bohne) owned the gun shop
Federal Firearms License
A Federal Firearms License is a license that enables an individual or a company to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture of firearms and ammunition or the interstate and intrastate sale of firearms...
across the street from the mall in the film, and in this bonus feature Andy records a video diary of his ordeal for future reference. He begins recording on May 7, 2004, the day after he first encountered the flesh eaters, and continues to record until his death on June 6. Throughout the diary he talks to his goldfish named Ariel for company.
He tells of how he first encountered the zombies while driving his truck and, after running over several, makes it back to his home in the gun store. Andy reinforces all windows and doors and prepares to stock up on water and drinks, not having any food.
Later, he relays the results of experimenting with killing the zombies saying he shot one in the heart, lungs, legs, without stopping it. He announces that the power is still on, as is the Internet, which shows red spots on a map of the globe, which obviously represent infected areas. He then tries to simply kill all of the zombies surrounding his store (having a said 10,000 rounds of ammunition and uses around 300 to kill zombies around the gun shop) but soon realizes it is a futile effort.
With his mental state beginning to deteriorate, he begins to rant, blaming the government as the cause of the zombies. After the survivors in the mall make contact with him, he joyfully describes playing the survivors version of Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
with Ken. Later on May 21, he is so weakened by hunger that he is forced to regretfully eat Ariel.
The final entry starts immediately after he has been bitten by the creatures that managed to get in after Chips the dog. In an alternate view of the scene from the film, he communicates with the mall residents on the walkie-talkie. He knows the wound is worse than he has told the others in the mall (not knowing about the bite's effects). He tries to rest to relieve the pain and the video then actually shows him having transformed into a zombie and presumably going up to the roof for the movie scene.
Between entries on the tape, it can be seen that the video is recorded over footage shot almost a year prior of Andy's ex-wife Susan and his unnamed daughter (about six or seven years old) playing outdoors. In the journal, Andy mentions how his wife got everything from him in the apparent divorce; including his beloved daughter (though he claims that Susan did not share as much love of her as Andy did). He expresses constant worry and grief at the thought of whether or not his daughter managed to survive and promised himself to get her as soon as he got out.
The end of the recording shows Andy's daughter giving him Ariel as a birthday present on August 23, 2003.
During Andy's talks of worry for his daughter, he mentioned "going up to the lake to get her", indicating she may be in the vicinity of Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
.