Its safe to say David wasnt well liked by audiences he was whats generally known as an arse, seemingly the voice of reason but really out for his own gain. He threatened to shoot the adorable Penelope Wilton, constantly doubted Shaun at every turn and even came onto Liz at inappropriate moments. So when he died it was a real moment of catharsis, and Wright made it as bloody as possible. Yet was it an original death? No it wasnt, its a homage. David dies an almost identical death to that of Captain Rhodes in Day Of The Dead.
Granted, Rhodes gets dragged through a door rather than a window, but he still gets pulled backward and disembowelled by a crowd of hands before having his bottom half unceremoniously ripped from him. The only thing thats missing is a desperate girlfriend whos prepared to beat the horde to death with his amputated leg.