Movies about the end of the world have programmed us to never get attached to anybody, especially when the undead are involved. Assemble a group of survivors, give each of them a recognizable personality, and then gradually kill them off until only a lucky few remain. Even a zombie comedy like Shaun of the Dead decimates the cast, leaving just Shaun and Liz as the last two standing. So when the guy fulfilling the archetype of the battle-hardened warrior deliberately draws the attention of a zombie horde during the movie's climax, every instinct tells us to expect a heroic death.