Photo of protesters at Ohio statehouse compared to zombie movie

A photo of protesters outside the Ohio Statehouse from this week has draw comparisons to a scene from a zombie movie.

The photo taken by Joshua A. Bickel of The Columbus Dispatch on Monday shows protesters outside the Ohio Statehouse Atrium where reporters were listening to the state’s coronavirus response update. The people outside were protesting against the continued shutdown of businesses and daily life in the state, a movement that has been gaining with many conservatives in several states.

People took to social media to compare the photo to zombie movies like “Shaun of the Dead” and others.

I love #ShaunOfTheDead... but I don’t recognize the other zombie movie. ?‍♂️ ?‍♀️... ? pic.twitter.com/nnMMHNIQEp

— Iggy (@TheIgMan) April 15, 2020

Crazy scenes in USA at mo as Trump supporters protest against social distancing/lockdown measures taken to protect their own lives during a pandemic!? ?‍♀️ #Michigan #shaunofthedead #SaturdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/ejlsdcqwzm

— Emma Jean ????? (@EmsieJeaine) April 18, 2020

The Washington Post spoke with Pittsburgher Tom Savini, who did the makeup and prosthetics for George Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead.” Savini said he was struck by the people in the photo.

“The zombies were all sorts of types of people. There was a guy in a suit, like he had come directly from the funeral home. There were football players. Clowns. A woman in a wedding dress,” Savini told the Post. “It’s very, very similar to ‘Dawn of the Dead.’”

The Post also spoke with Michael Satrazemis, the director of photography for “The Walking Dead” and director of “Fear the Walking Dead,” who said the photo plays on the fear of claustrophobia, making the audience “feel the walls are closing in and the world is shrinking around you. And there’s no way out.”

Bickel, who took the photograph, said at first he wasn’t blown away by the photo. “‘That’s interesting, look, windows’ — because as a photographer you’re always thinking of ways you can compose an image,” has told Slate in an interview this week.

He said that he was surprised by the way the photo took off online and gained a life of its own. He also was uncomfortable about the way the people in the photo are compared to zombies.

“The zombie comparisons make me uncomfortable, because these people aren’t zombies. They’re people, and we don’t know what they’re dealing with,” he told Slate.

Nearly every U.S. state is under a stay-at-home order, but some people are starting to protest against the coronavirus restrictions. Demonstrations have already taken place across the country in recent days, including in California, Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey.

A rally against orders put in place in Pennsylvania is set for Monday at the statehouse in Harrisburg.