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TommyBoy84
Boot
Joined: 21 Oct 2007 Posts: 30
[SPEC/QUESTION] Why were the horses left unharmed? For the record, I did a quick search and didn't see this mentioned before.....
In the scene with the white horses and the rider-less carraige, do you think there's any significance to the fact that the horses were still alive and apparently unharmed? I'm guessing the people that were in the carraige wound up running, but if they were for some reason still in the carraige, it would seem odd if they were killed or taken, and the horses were virtually unscathed.
Is this monster specifically seeking out humans, and ignoring other species? Were the horses just overlooked in the destruction? Is there some significance to these white horses that they were left unharmed? Or do you think it's just as simple as the riders in the carraige jumped out and ran after all the chaos started?
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:12 am
tiny420
Decorated
Joined: 11 Jul 2007 Posts: 170 Location: Lexington, Ky.
I believe simplicity is the best policy here. Couple were getting grab ass with each other. Giant Monster RAWRS, they run away. Prolly get killed. Horse possibly was not even around the area and when the surronding areas where exvacted they left the horse behind and he just wondered into the city. Cause the shot looks like things have settled down when we see the horse.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:15 am
detranova
Veteran
Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 74 Location: North Billerica, MA/Yidu, Hubei, China
But just to add random speculation, isn't it odd that the horses aren't frightened? It doesn't take much to startle a horse, and since they're so sensitive, it shouldn't be that hard for them to notice a giant monster lurking around. Maybe the monster's gone at that point (possibly underground or underwater)? Or maybe it gives off no foreign odors/has not odor (artificial)? May just be inadequate animal wrangling or they weren't thinking so hard about it and they just wanted it to look cool.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:44 am
fleabit
Veteran
Joined: 16 Nov 2007 Posts: 125
No, they imo died due to whatever "infection" people have. There is a subplot other than the monster, what with the slusho, exploding (expanding / transforming) people, people becoming whales (via hints), etc.
I believe being in close proximity of the critter causes whatever effect within someone's body who has ingested "seabed's nectar" to cause them to die. They died of this. I doubt a giant monster did a precision strike to the carraige with a giant flipper or whatever, and only killed them.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 2:30 am
rose
...and then Magic happens
Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Posts: 4117
Those horse drawn carraiges remain a tourist attraction outside of Central Park where they take people on rides in the park. They also take people to weddings and special occasions outside of the city. If Rob was in the Park then he could have taken that shot of the horse.
I think the people in the carriage ran away, but I have no idea why the horse is fine.
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 10:22 am
Kingpin
Unfettered
Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 381 Location: England
rose wrote:
Those horse drawn carraiges remain a tourist attraction outside of Central Park where they take people on rides in the park. They also take people to weddings and special occasions outside of the city. If Rob was in the Park then he could have taken that shot of the horse.
I think the people in the carriage ran away, but I have no idea why the horse is fine.
Building on that, the location itself appears to be a crossstreet, however given that the group wind up at Time Warner Center which is on the South-Western corner of Central Park, I bet they encounter it a few blocks from the park.
As for why it's abandoned, presumably the driver and any tourists fled the scene as soon as either they heard the roar, saw an explosion and left the horse with the carriage. It may not be because they were infected.
As for it not being spooked, it may have already done some bolting around... but considering it's in New York, a huge,loud city with odd noises and the fact it has those guards over it's eyes may be why it hasn't been spooked.
_________________"We have the tools, we have the talent." - Winston Zeddemore
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 10:47 am
rose
...and then Magic happens
Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Posts: 4117
Oh I should have said, the location with the horse looked like Central Park South to me, but I need to look at it again.
_________________I love this site for being free, in every sense of the word~Spacebass
Mankind was my business, the common good was my business.~ Dickens
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 11:01 am
Rogers
Boot
Joined: 13 Oct 2007 Posts: 21
Horses are funny Horses are peculiar -
By simply putting blinders on them, they remain oblivious to anything that isn't directly in front of them. The carriage doesn't appear to be damaged in any way, suggesting that any 'bolting around' wasn't for long.
The note about their indifference to loud noises b/c of NYC is a good one -but horses are a bit odd. If there's a barn fire, they have to be pulled out of the barn and tied up, else they'd just run back in the damned thing and burn themselves down, too. So their reaction to dangerous situations would be illogical to us. Perhaps it's just a habitual routine to trot around that they've resorted to.
Cinematically, juxtaposing an unmanned dainty carriage (white at that) with the dark and smoking rubble was a powerful image. An excellent inclusion for the trailer. It really sorta pits civilization against an absense of civilization - sorta like in a zombie flick.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 11:09 am
cloverfreaky
Veteran
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 109
Perhaps the horse is in fact one of the small monsters? Hiding in plain sight, you see.
Or, maybe it's just an ironically serene sight that makes for a neat shot after an hour's worth of chaos and monster-driven destruction.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 11:18 am
pegassissy
Unfettered
Joined: 14 Aug 2007 Posts: 552
Rose and KP, I think you guys are right about the area they are in being the southern portion of central park.
As for the horse spooking, Rodgers two posts above mine said it almost 100% perfect.
Horses are
stupid
fairly odd when it comes to spooking. My family owned horses, and my sister still does, and so even though i have a slight fear of horses(they are just so big and goofy) i know that you can "de-spook" a horse so that it does not spook at all. Because i wasnt really around the horses that often, i dont know the process, but my sister does know how its done, so ill call her today.
Believe me though, yes it may seems odd that the horse isnt going completly nuts, it seems to me to be fairly believable. And remember, we are in the great city of NYC, so you have cars backfiring, people fighting, and even the occasional discharge.
_________________And then the nurse comes round and everyone will lift their heads
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 12:30 pm
konamouse
Official uF Dietitian
Joined: 02 Dec 2002 Posts: 8010 Location: My own alternate reality
Perhaps the scene with the horse drawn carriage is hours/days after the attack. He's been spooked, he's been waundering around the park or running. Now he's tired. It's quiet, finally. He is now in search of food and water. But still attached to the carriage. Left by himself on an island devoid of humans, he waunders around the park.... alone
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:36 pm
Chump Force 1
Decorated
Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Posts: 286 Location: Next in line after 'Client 9'
I think it's just for dramatic effect, to convey sort of a surreal moment in the film. I'm pretty sure the monster is an equal opportunity destroyer of anything living.
Oh, its just one horse right? Not sure why the topic is horses (plural).
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:46 pm
motrbotr
Boot
Joined: 08 Aug 2007 Posts: 52
It reminds me of the scene in Blackhawk Down in the middle of the battle when the lost guy is trying to get back to his unit, the lone donkey comes down the empty and quiet street pulling a little cart. I think its just for dramatic affect.
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 1:59 pm
Last edited by motrbotr on Wed Nov 21, 2007 2:04 pm; edited 1 time in total
Chrizzy
Unfettered
Joined: 20 Nov 2007 Posts: 611 Location: Halifax, NS
And a dramatic effect is exactly what it provides. I think it's a very chilling and wonderfully done scene.
I also like its placement in the trailer. Guy says, "People are gonna wanna know...how it all went down ", and then there's the shot of the helicopter going down .
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 2:02 pm
Last edited by Chrizzy on Wed Nov 21, 2007 2:19 pm; edited 1 time in total
HerOdyssey
Decorated
Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 276 Location: Oregon
I said this in a prior thread; I have an ex-police horse, and a 747 could land next to her and she wouldn't budge an inch. So it's not 100% unbelievable. NYC is loud and obnoxious even on a normal day; I can't see that a 100 foot monster and military ordnance would really make it too much louder. ::smirk::
BUT....
This is a movie. And in movies realism is often preempted for effect. Is it realistic that a horse made it though the violence unharmed carriage and all? No. Reality is, horses are flight animals, and the second danger raises its ugly head, they're out of there. If the movie folks wanted realism, the carriage would be banged up, or the horse would just be alone in its harness, or the horse would be well into New Jersey at full speed. But it's more dramatic to have a horse clippety clop by dragging an empty, pristine carriage.
We need to keep in mind that this is fiction; and reality is going to be stretched a bit as we examine every milisecond of this trailer. There is a gigantic monster attacking New York guys... C'mon.
_________________Imagination is more important than knowledge. -Albert Einstein
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 2:18 pm
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