movie review of all of us are dead

Netflix’s All of Us Are Dead takes zombie shows to new places

Undead horror mixed with high school drama

By Sara Merican

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Early on in All of Us Are Dead, student Lee Cheong-san exclaims to his peers as they fend off a wave of zombies swarming their suburban Hyosan High School, “It’s Train to Busan !” Another replies, “Why are they at school? They should be in movies.” With this tongue-in-cheek meta-reference to its notable film predecessor, it is a sign that the Korean zombie subgenre has well and truly sunk its grisly teeth into the popular cultural imagination.

First rising to global acclaim with the commercial and critical hit Train to Busan in 2016, the Korean zombie lineage also includes Netflix’s groundbreaking historical series Kingdom (2019), as well as films like Peninsula ( Train to Busan sequel) and #Alive (2020). Through the grotesque figure of the zombie and its transitions between the human and the monstrous, these Korean shows have launched a terrifying critique of society in all of its moral wastes and systemic ills.

The high school setting in All of Us Are Dead marks a unique departure from previous locations used in Korean zombie shows. In the midst of the dread and destruction, the youthful setting opens up opportunities for adolescent banter and burgeoning love. We meet the loyal Lee Cheong-san, along with the buoyant Nam On-jo, who puts her survival knowledge learned from her firefighter father to good use. Class president and top student Choi Nam-ra is initially aloof and distant, though we later learn she is just fighting her own demons, like so many other students. Lee Su-hyeok and Yang Dae-su also make up the main group of students meandering through science labs, broadcasting rooms, music studios, the cafeteria, and teachers’ offices in their bid to survive and find a safe haven. What then is so wrong with the world here?

The immense pressure of the Korean high school setting — one which ends with the dreaded be-all-end-all university entrance exams, also known as Suneung — breaks and bends each student into despair differently. Some, like Choi Nam-ra, withdraw into isolation, earphones plugged in and eyes glued to her notes. Others, like Park Mi-jin and captain of the school archery team Jang Ha-ri, are overwhelmed by a defeated hopelessness about their future. A few more take out their anger on others and become school bullies — like the notorious Yoon Gwi-nam, who does not think twice about inflicting harm on others. The dehumanizing effects of fear become magnified by adolescent insecurities, reducing each young, vibrant soul into quivering shells of their former selves. In other words, the high school becomes a perfect setting for the mass production of a zombie population.

In the origin story of the zombie infection, a male student is frequently and violently bullied. His father, Mr. Lee, holds a PhD in cell biology and works as a science teacher in the same high school that his son is studying in. At wits’ end, he researches and creates the “Jonas Virus,” which preys on fear in humans and turns it into rage in a bid to make his son stronger and cope with the bullying. However, as these things usually go, the experiment turns out all wrong, and an infected hamster in Mr. Lee’s school science lab ends up biting a student, which unleashes the zombie virus upon the school and city.

The premise of the Jonas Virus — leeching onto human fear and transforming it into zombie rage — is a fascinating one but disappointingly underdeveloped in the series. One can imagine the various creative paths and adventures this premise could have taken the show, like using the absence of fear in certain characters to explain their resistance towards the virus or exploring possible “cures” to combat the Jonas Virus. Yet, All of Us Are Dead ultimately resorts to a constant stream of narration through grainy videos taken by Mr. Lee in his science lab and barely lit home. In these videos, we listen to him wax lyrical about the ideals of humanity, the monstrosity of evil that the Jonas Virus represents and the inescapable “system of violence” he was not able to save his son from. This turns All of Us Are Dead into a desperate survival show, and somewhere toward the second half of its breathless chase around the school, the 12-episode series begins to lose some of its pace.

All of Us Are Dead possesses the appeal of high school dramas like Riverdale and Euphoria . It captures in great detail the grotesque violence of high school social dynamics: the relentless gossiping and backstabbing, the unkind politicking and posturing of powerful in-groups and “cool kids,’’ and the festering churn of misery, which falls most heavily on the outcasts. While a few adults do their best to rein in the violence and protect their innocence, the students are largely left to fend for themselves.

The drama also sketches a wider portrait of society, depicting the chaos of government quarantine facilities and valiant attempts by authorities to cobble together an infection control plan. The implementation of martial law and life-and-death leadership decisions recall South Korea’s fight for democracy in the 1980s. All of Us Are Dead also captures the complex, moral struggle on the streets, where survival demands selfishness, even when the little bit of humanity in everyone implores them to limit harm. The series seems to make a damning pronunciation: enabled by adults, society’s systems of violence have seeped into schools and poisoned what should have been a bastion for moral goodness and innocence.

The power of zombies in fiction resides in their ability to compel our gaze inwards. In All of Us Are Dead , the zombies are teachers, classmates, archery teammates, and even best friends. Yet, in presenting these cruel circumstances, director Lee Jae-kyu’s take on the Korean zombie subgenre has chosen a most hopeful expression. While his predecessors have largely treated the transformation from human to zombie as a quick, crude one to register horror and revulsion, All of Us Are Dead lingers and dawdles on each transition, even for its minor characters. In director Lee’s world, there is something holy and sacred in this intervening space, in between the human and the monstrous, between sentience and savagery, between friend and fiend.

Many characters, after realizing they have been bitten and are about to turn into a zombie, offer acts of immense self-sacrifice in those precious few seconds before the last of their humanity blinks out into the barbaric darkness. One student throws himself at an onrushing group of zombies to protect his friends. An infected mother desperately ties herself to a door so that she will not cause harm to her baby after she turns. Another offers himself as a distraction to the zombie horde to buy survivors time to run away. Others wave tearful goodbyes as they distance themselves from their peers.

By repeatedly and earnestly holding space for both major and minor characters to demonstrate their humanity, All of Us Are Dead distinguishes its focus. This, combined with the drama-filled high school setting, helps the show carve out its own space in the crowded zombie pantheon. At the same time, it recalls the hallowed battle song that all great tales and stories possess: that we all inhabit both light and dark, good and bad, and that even in the direst of circumstances, we have the ability — and responsibility — to act in the interests of others.

All of Us Are Dead starts streaming on Netflix on January 28th.

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‘All of Us Are Dead,’ Netflix’s Inventive New Korean Drama, Strands Zombies in High-School Nightmare: TV Review

By Caroline Framke

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All of us are Dead Yoon Chan-young as Lee Cheong-san in All of us are Dead Cr. Yang Hae-sung/Netflix © 2021

SPOILER ALERT : This review includes some spoilers for Netflix ’s “ All of Us Are Dead ,” which premiered Friday, January 28.

As the last, desperate teen survivors in “All of Us Are Dead” do their best to stay alive through a zombie apocalypse, hoping beyond hope that adults are coming to rescue them, it takes a full day of horrors to make them realize that they’re on their own. With their high school labeled Ground Zero for the escalating outbreak, the students are left for dead (or, as is the case with zombies, something in between). Their ensuing all-out battle for survival makes up the meat of “All of Us Are Dead,” Netflix’s elaborate new adaptation of the popular webtoon, in ways both banal and epic. With the high school survivors stuck inside their school for most of the season, writer Chun Sun-il and director Lee JQ have to keep finding inventive ways to make each classroom and confrontation a terrible new challenge — and they do. Like “ Squid Game ” before it — the only comparison I’ll be making between this show and Netflix’s recent smash Korean hit, I promise — “All of Us Are Dead,” makes the most out of its nightmarish central location to otherworldly, dizzying effect.

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The show’s weakness, then, lies beyond the labyrinthine school itself as it tries to view the outbreak from the outside in. Watching yet another military take on zombies, no matter how bone-crunchingly sickening the ones in “All of Us Are Dead” are, just isn’t that interesting after seeing so many other TV shows and movies do the same. If the drama is to continue beyond this season, digging in to the “why” and “how” of this reality having zombies in it is probably advisable. But few scenes involving the adult characters are especially compelling or different from what we’ve seen before in the zombie genre, whether they be a helpless assembly member (Bae Hae-sun), a detective (Lee Kyu-hyung), or even the miserable scientist (Kim Byung-chul) who accidentally started it all.

What this particular zombie series can instead offer unlike any other is that core group of teens running into danger, mourning constant deaths, figuring out how the virus is evolving, and forcing their way to safety through the familiar halls of their school with one ingenious scheme after another. Sequences like Cheong-san and Gwi-nam facing off on top of the library stacks, a tense tip-toeing mission down a hallway, and a mad dash across the auditorium to safety are impressively staged to bring the extraordinary and the ordinary together to thrilling effect. And when the teens do get a moment to breathe in between all the gory panic, the show lets them still be teens. They continue to nurse crushes and grudges, still crave acceptance and intimacy, still find darkness and hope in the least likely places.

Most of them might be dead. But while some of them are alive, it’s undeniably moving to see them embrace the full experience of being human despite everything trying to stop them from doing exactly that.

“All of Us Are Dead” is now available to stream on Netflix.

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All of Us Are Dead Review: A Story of High School, Zombies, and Survival

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South Korean entertainment has hit a global renaissance in the past couple of years. From 2015 to 2022, the streaming giant Netflix spent up to $700 million on content from Korea, and in 2022 alone it’s expected to spend $500 million on producing more shows and movies. There’s a good reason for this: audiences have been loving Korean television and cinema, which recently shows with the success of the smash-hit Squid Game . But if there’s a hidden gem that’s come out of this interest, it’s the zombie content.

From Train to Busan to Kingdom , which star The Silent Sea’s Gong Yoo and Bae Doona, zombies are having a comeback. Netflix’s newest venture is All of Us Are Dead , a twelve-episode show where a group of high school students finds themselves at the center of a zombie outbreak at their school. The show is adapted from a webtoon, a Korean comic intended to be read online, on Naver called Now at Our School , which was very popular during its online runtime. While the webtoon ended in 2011, Netflix ordered the show to be created in 2020 .

Spoilers Ahead All of Us Are Dead tracks a group of high school students who live normal lives as Korean teenagers. They meet at Lee Chung-san’s (Yoon Chan-young) mother’s chicken restaurant after school to eat, complain about exams and have crushes. Chung-san has a big crush on classmate On-jo (Park Ji-hoo), who does not seem to return his affection. There is also a staple character in Korean dramas about school life: the masochistic bully with a penchant for violence. This bully’s name is Yoon Gwi-nam, and he kind of the reason the zombie outbreak happens .

Related: 18 Best Zombie Movies of All Time

These students’ science teacher’s son opens up the show. His son is mercilessly bullied by Gwi-nam and his followers, leading to mental health issues and other problems. One tragic night, he is thrown off of a building and dies. When his father visits him at the hospital, he discovers his son has turned into a zombie, and he takes him home. The science teacher’s experiments are left in his classroom at the school, so when a nosy student gets bitten by a hamster, Hyosan High School becomes ground zero, and the infection spreads outside the school's walls.

It’s up to one group of students, including Chang-san and On-jo, to figure out how to survive and get out of high school. During the initial onslaught, a handheld camera shakily joins in on the chaos as the school descends into a state of chaos. Teachers try to discipline students who they do not realize are zombies, people are running away screaming, and the viewers are placed in the middle of it all. Referencing Train to Busan , a student realizes these are zombies and not their classmates anymore, and it becomes a show about violence, survival, betrayal, and faith in each other.

Typical zombie show tropes are also both defied and reinforced in All of Us Are Dead . These zombies become infected through the regular means seen on many other shows and movies: through a bite or blood transfusion. There are also sprinkles of romance throughout the show between the high schoolers, even after one of the girls, Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun), is bitten. Her love interest, Lee Soo-hyuk (Park Solomon), vows to stay with her and get bitten himself if it comes to it. There is also the classic evil governmental army involved in this show, as they are set up to be the antagonistic thorns to the protagonists.

Influences Within All of Us Are Dead

Guy and girl in school uniforms stand next to each other.

And perhaps that influence from Train to Busan is there in All of Us Are Dead . Train to Busan’s zombies' jerk with erratic movements , gutturally moaning and hissing as they hunt for their next victim. All of Us Are Dead ’s zombies follow a similar pattern when it comes to their movements and actions, although they rely on their enhanced sense of hearing to track down their next meal. What makes All of Us Are Dead special, though, is the unique factor reveals itself about halfway through the show, creating something that may not have been seen before in a zombie show.

The show does shift its focus away from the high school at times for a much-needed breather, although the world outside has also been ravaged by the zombie outbreak. On-jo’s father, a local firefighter, launches a rescue operation after escaping from the quarantine facility he brought an assemblywoman to quarantine. A police officer and his subordinate try to find the science teacher’s laptop in the high school, as he managed to record his research findings. A YouTuber goes into Hyosan, which has been shut down and isolated from the rest of the country, thinking it is a zombie-themed amusement park and discovers it is the exact opposite of live entertainment.

There’s also the school’s archery team, which has just come back from competition to discover that all their classmates are dead. Archery has been a staple in Korean culture for over five thousand years, so it seems fitting that a classic bow and arrow becomes a useful tool for clearing out any zombies trying to attack them. At the same time, another classmate named Eun-ji, who is also a victim of Gwi-nam’s bullying and sexual assault, begins her path of revenge and redemption after wishing that everyone should die.

Related: The Best Korean Dramas You Can Stream Right Now

The Snowball Effect

The show begins with a snowball effect. For about seven episodes the show is full of action, gore, violence, and daring acts of trying to get a cellphone or rescuing a friend. But as the students get weary with their situation and become a bit more complacent, the show starts to slow down, shifting its focus a bit more to the other situations going on outside the school. It begins to drag its feet, feeling repetitive around episode eight. The stakes can only go so high in a zombie show, and when there is a failure to introduce new conflict, the viewer feels just as weary as the students who are tired of running.

Revenge, teamwork, and faith in each other are the core themes of the show, and they are well exemplified by the students. The human antagonistic forces are driven by a sense of vengeance and circumstance, thus imposing a sense of violence that stems from internal desperation. But without each other and working as a singular unit, the students would be unable to survive in these circumstances. It is heartfelt and tender how these students care for each other and wish for simple pleasures they once had, like their mother’s salty chicken or a pack of instant ramen, and it offers a sense of hope for humanity when they stick together even as everything seems doomed.

It was a unique decision to frame this story from the perspective of high schoolers. While adults may supposedly make more levelheaded decisions and take authority, these students are supposed to be the future of their country. When faced with the thought that there may not be a future for them anymore if they are killed, they adapt. Even without an authority figure to lead them, they find their path and survive in a world even the adults struggle to live. Perhaps that is what it means to be human: finding glimmers of beauty and making bonds with others even in the most difficult situations. It is this upcoming generation that has to deal with a wide range of issues unlike anything seen before, so it seems fitting that they continue to survive due to their tenacity.

And, regardless of their age, they have faced a myriad of issues that are unique to their generation. These issues include black pornography, teenage pregnancy, and college entrance exams. The show’s failure, however, is when it pivots away from the students to the outside world. Their thread is the strongest one, something that ends up tethering the show to its soul. With the limited time given in twelve episodes, the weakest aspects tend to be when the camera turns to the government and military, who are trying to figure out how this even happened.

If there’s one thing certain: like Netflix’s other recent release, The Silent Sea , there are so many questions left unanswered with All of Us Are Dead. The original webtoon ran for two years, so there might be a lot of source material that can be made into a second season. The main cast of the show are all young emerging actors with a lot of talent to spare, and it would be a welcome sight to see them return. Until then, all twelve episodes of All of Us Are Dead can now be streamed on Netflix.

Movie and TV Reviews
All Of Us Are Dead (2022)

All of Us Are Dead: Season 1 Review

Hyosan high school zombies rule.

This is a spoiler-free review for all 12 episodes of All of Us Are Dead, premiering Friday, Jan. 28 on Netflix.

All of Us Are Dead is South Korea's latest entry into its excellent, escalating body of undead mayhem (Train to Busan, #Alive). A zombie outbreak series (mostly) set within the carnage-filled classrooms, hallways, and stairwells of a multi-storied high school, All of Us Are Dead pulls no punches and unleashes a savage and seemingly never-ending assault of fast-running zombies on an unfortunate squad of students who've managed to survive the first wave of a zompocalypse. It's clever, thrilling, and also... a bit exhausting.

Unfolding over 12 solidly packed hour-long episodes, All of Us Are Dead is, not to put too fine a point on it, a lot of zombie horror. Whether this production, from South Korea's JTBC Studios and Film Monster, is at all a victim of typical Netflix bloat is unknown, but it's definitely best absorbed a few episodes at a time and not in a full binge swoop. After three or four episodes, you might be like "Hell yeah, this rules!" but then around Episodes 8 and 9, there's a chance you'll feel a bit snowblind amongst all the thrashing limbs and gnashing teeth.

All of Us Are Dead Gallery

All of Us Are Dead debuts January 28, 2022 on Netflix

One of the show's inherent strengths -- which is that it takes its time moving our lead characters from one area to another (sometimes a whole episode will involve them trying to move just 50 feet) -- also leads to repetitive beats later down the road, mid-season. A ton could be trimmed from this tale, especially some of the adjunct stories that focus on other outbreak survivors outside of the school, but overall, the upsides outweigh the sluggishness.

The most exciting part of most zombie stories is the initial crushing downfall of civilization and fortunately, that's the entire focus here. Likewise, every crisis these teens face throughout this ordeal feels real, immediate, and grounded. In turn, every solution they arrive at, to get themselves out of their in-the-moment conundrum, makes sense. It all feels like these are solutions relatively smart humans could come up with, whether they're trying to escape a gymnasium equipment closet, move from room to room in the school, or simply create a small enough window to book it fast and get a running chance.

The best zombie TV series is...

All of Us Are Dead's zombie action is never not impressive. Whether it's giant chaotic crowd shots, massive ensemble brawls, or tricky "oners," this is massively kinetic storytelling that will drain you as emotionally as it drains our heroes physically. Likewise, there are dozens of instances involving astounding body acting, with the zombies contorting in fiendish and inhuman ways reminiscent of Jennifer Carpenter's performance in The Exorcism of Emily Rose .

Yoon Chan-young and Park Ji-hoo anchor this gory and dense horror-coaster, as neighbors and best friends since kindergarten Chung-san and On-jo. Chung-san like -likes On-jo, but On-jo like -likes Park Solomon's former bully Soo-hyuk (while Soo-hyuk crushes on Cho Yi-hyun's morose class president, Nam-ra). It feels silly to write it all out, since it might make the overarching stakes feel trite, but the relationships are more complex than one might assume and provide the actual lifeblood of the story, which is absolutely necessary during some of the middle chapters when bloodletting becomes a bit of a blur.

Some of the other students in the ragtag regimen of survivors may feel tacked on or short-sheeted at first, character-wise, but the series does a good job of making them all feel vital by the end. They wind up as a found family of sorts, who've seen ample atrocities, experienced enormous loss, and now feel abandoned by the world. All of Us Are Dead flounders the most when it strays away from the school, and many of the threads we follow elsewhere lead to rather flat finishes, but the high school heart of the show rarely stumbles. The series also has a rather malicious time with herd thinning, as hardly anyone is exempt from a nasty demise no matter how important you feel they are to the story.

Our perpetually cornered, trapped, and besieged heroes move from classrooms to rooftops to mountains to city streets in an attempt to find any sort of suitable sanctuary while the government decides what to do with the lost city of Hyosan. The series juggles quite a bit between the students, parents, soldiers, and cops while also threading in a bit of social commentary about the trauma created by bullying.

One of the school's bullies, a towering thug named Gwi-nam (Yoo In-soo), incessantly stalks our main characters in one of the more fatiguing elements of the series, but All of Us Are Dead still has a bit of fun playing around with the idea of half-zombies, meaning those whose natural immunity to the virus causes them to transform into something in between the living and dead. If you pace your viewing just right, and break up any potential tedium, the series becomes a unique, effective, and hyper-violent gem.

All of Us Are Dead may not offer up anything exactly new in the realm of zombie carnage other than its somewhat cruel and unrelenting nature, but sometimes that's enough to pull off some damn effective survival horror. You're meant to feel every ounce and inch of these high schoolers' strain and struggle to incrementally make it out this crucible, and the action sequences and stunts are always dialed up to 11. The story itself is overlong, and some of the outside-of-school arcs never pay off, but the emotional core at work here creates enough inspiring humanity to make us care, and the thrills themselves rarely let up.

Where to Watch

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All of Us Are Dead is the show I wish The Walking Dead was

Just because the zombies are dead doesn’t mean they can’t have feelings

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A girl crouching down while a zombie leans into her face

The last decade has been absolutely incredible for zombie representation. The undead community — largely voiceless thanks to decomposed vocal chords — has been the unrelenting focus of one of the most expansive television franchises in recent memory, The Walking Dead . To date, 274 Walking Dead episodes have aired across the main series and two spin-offs, with new series on the way and plenty of episodes to come. It is an incredible achievement and also a suffocating one: any new zombie-themed show must work hard to step out of The Walking Dead ’s long shadow. Fortunately, All of Us Are Dead , Netflix’s popular K-Drama import about a zombie outbreak in a Korean high school, pulls it off with a simple trick: It’s not so damn mean .

This doesn’t mean All of Us Are Dead is toothless. It’s a violent, brutal story where the classmates of Hyosan High School’s Class 2-5 slowly watch their friends and teachers turn monstrous and do horrible things to one another. Its large cast (which eventually sprawls to include people from all of Hyosan) allows it to focus on what, specifically, is lost in such a disaster, and what is worth preserving. Through character-focused writing and a strong focus on how its cast relates to each other, All of Us Are Dead never loses its focus on people — even after they turn to zombies.

Focused on the very start of the outbreak, All of Us Are Dead kicks off its zombie apocalypse in a fairly typical fashion. Student Kim Hyeon-ju (Jung Yi-seo) discovers a mouse in the science lab that was experimented on by mysterious and standoffish science teacher Lee Byeong-chan (Kim Byung-chul). When it bites her, the clock starts ticking on the high school around her — and Hyosan as a whole.

Students barricading themselves against zombies with a pile of desks

Much of what follows is rather formulaic, but what zombie story isn’t? Students and teachers are rapidly infected. Some are cowardly and unwilling to help. Students who realize what’s happening (this is — thank God — a show where people know what zombies are, and even name-drop Train to Busan ) begin to suspect their friends who may have been bitten. Emergency personnel succumb to the horde. The plague spreads.

All of Us Are Dead commits to making all these familiar aspects exciting: There’s a physicality to the camerawork and choreography that provides plenty of holy-shit moments, both thanks to fight scenes (the more athletic students of Hyosan High School are very happy to beat the hell out of some zombies) and gory horror, and while it’s wide scope does get a little too wide at times, sprawling outward into Hyosan proper let’s the series loosen up and introduce some variety.

All of this is ancillary, though. What All of Us Are Dead spends most of its time on is relationships. How Na-yeon (Lee Yoo-mi), in the privilege and arrogance that comes from wealth, is more likely to tear others down than help them survive. Or how Su-hyeok (Lomon), a former delinquent without much academic prospects, secretly crushes on Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun), the class president.

The series layers in these relationships, flashing back to moments they were bullied, petty cruelties and small kindnesses, acts that reverberate into the present, making this apocalypse a very specific one for these characters.

A group of students in All of Us Are Dead looking shocked

This focus on character gives All of Us Are Dead a different moral texture than shows in The Walking Dead mold. The former illustrates the fundamental human desire to cooperate in times of crisis, and how unkindness and a lack of empathy in everyday life can rot and make that necessary cooperation difficult. The Walking Dead ’s moral universe — with its endless parade of groups that turn to depravity in order to survive, and its constant redrawing of ethical lines — is a fundamentally mean one, where might frequently makes right. It’s a prepper fantasy uninterested in society or culture, and while there have been exceptions (the fifth season of spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead is specifically built around characters trying to help others) the franchise never overcomes the bleakness of its season 1 revelation that the eponymous Walking Dead is everyone. Its zombie plague is in all of us, waiting for death to turn humans into something else.

All of Us Are Dead takes its time revealing the specifics of how its zombie virus works, but it makes its take on the metaphor clear early on: It’s what happens when the will to survive isn’t tempered by humanity, and the natural endpoint of casual cruelty on every level — from school bullies to uncaring bureaucrats in government. It’s a show that argues that we should root for the living, because maybe we’ve forgotten how.

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User reviews

All of Us Are Dead

A high school becomes ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak. Trapped students must fight their way out or turn into one of the rabid infected. A high school becomes ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak. Trapped students must fight their way out or turn into one of the rabid infected. A high school becomes ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak. Trapped students must fight their way out or turn into one of the rabid infected.

Yoon Chan-young
Cho Yi-hyun
857 User reviews
36 Critic reviews

Episodes 13

The Quintessential K-Drama List: Most Popular Korean Shows on IMDb

Top cast 94

Lee Cheong-san

Choi Nam-ra

Lee Su-hyeok
Seo Hyo-ryung

Yang Dae-su

Oh Joon-yeong
Jang Woo-jin

Song Jae-ik

Chief of Staff Seon-Moo

Lee Su-Hyeok

Yoon Gwi-nam
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

Trivia In the show they refer to a popular Korean Zombie movie: Train to Busan.
Goofs There is an English misspelling on the Firemen jacket, it is embroidered "EMS RESOUE " instead of Rescue.
Connections Featured in The Critical Drinker: All Of Us Are Dead - Zombie Survival At Its Best (2022)

User reviews 857

Jan 31, 2023
How many seasons does All of Us Are Dead have? Powered by Alexa
January 28, 2022 (United States)
South Korea
Netflix Site
Estamos muertos
Seoul, South Korea
Film Monster Co.
Kimjonghak Production Co.
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

Runtime 1 hour
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‘All of Us Are Dead’ Review: Everything You Expect from a High School Zombie Story, Just More of It

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There are few on-screen situations more dread-inducing than watching a zombie outbreak in real time. Tracking a single infection as it grows exponentially and tears through an unwitting populace is an anxiety-riddled experience that’s rarely easy to watch. “All of Us are Dead,” the latest Netflix drama to take a stab at a widespread cataclysmic event, announces itself in its opening episode by meticulously showing the transformation of a school. In a single afternoon, the massive Hyosan High School complex is plunged into chaos after one errant bite from a science lab test animal starts an irreversible chain reaction.

The scope of that explosion in zombie numbers is the primary achievement of “All of Us Are Dead.” Director Lee JQ does an effective job at setting up the geography of the school, swooping through hallways and around rooms spanning the various floors. The sheer number of students in any given rehearsal room, cafeteria, or lobby — all succumbing to a mind-numbing plague in mere seconds — makes the opening moments of the series as terrifying as any potential viewer’s expectations.

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Though, as the Hyosan population gets winnowed down in record time, “expectations” is the key word hanging over much of what’s left of the 12-episode season. Despite the elaborate setup and execution of a disintegrating society, “All of Us are Dead” picks up that opening and follows a pretty established zombie story playbook. It’s delivered in an oddly-paced season that fights against an intuitive structure as much as these students try to beat back chomps from throngs of kids in uniforms.

The makeup of the small group fighting the undead changes over the course of the series, but it’s built around childhood friends Cheong-san (Yoon Chan-young) and On-jo (Park Ji-hoo). They’re in high school, so naturally a throng of mutants trying to rip at their flesh is only slightly more at the forefront of their minds than the crushes they’ve been nursing on their fellow survivors. Barely keeping their feelings and their previous social standings at bay, they go through the standard trial-and-error process of figuring out how to create distractions, alert outside rescue forces, and weigh the merits of hunkering down vs. escaping.

All of us are Dead Cho Yi-hyun as Choi Nam-ra in All of us are Dead Cr. Yang Hae-sung/Netflix © 2021

Given that the zombies of “All of Us are Dead” are the relentless, feed-at-all-cost variety, it leaves the students with few options. Much like Dae-su (Im Jae-hyuk) and Su-hyeok (Lomon) and Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun) are trapped in a cycle of darting from room to room when their makeshift barriers give way, “All of Us are Dead” has a wheel-spinning feel to it. What begins as a real-time tracker of a crisis becomes a jumble of thematic hammer-blows, unnecessary flashbacks, and conversations that stick to familiar ground. Each new time the series cuts to archival video of the virus’ architect rattling off vague platitudes about human nature, it underlines the idea that the show has few concrete ideas beyond executing a specific subgenre of story in a particular location.

There’s no better example of “All of Us are Dead’s” stagnation than Gwi-nam (Yoo In-soo), one of the more maddening bullies ever put on screen, and only partly by design. In a sea of zombies bent on their destruction, no single figure presents more of a frustration for the group of survivors than this cold-hearted antagonist driven solely by revenge. Gwi-nam is the requisite “are humans the real monster?” addition to the story, but aside from showing the brutality of one high school villain writ large, “All of Us are Dead” treats him like so many other elements of this story: a way to add more manufactured drama on top of what’s already a life-or-death situation.

It points to the idea that, even after fashioning this giant, high school-sized canvas to work with, “All of Us are Dead” is really only using a few of the storytelling tools at its disposal. The group of survivors hop from room to room in a series of elaborate escape plans. Yet, the creativity of these patchwork life-saving inventions is never really reflected in the students themselves. Saddling them with simple, unrequited feelings and tiny, surface-level distinctions, “All of Us are Dead” doesn’t have nearly as much to offer about these kids, given the extensive time the show spends with them. Torn between showing them trying to figure out how these zombies are functioning, how to take care of daily necessities, and how to deal with potential dangers inside their own group, there’s a lot in this show that functions simply to move this group between narrative checkpoints.

It would be one thing if “All of Us are Dead” was really trying to dial into the monotony of outlasting a hoard of brainless former classmates lurking around every corner. When the show’s attention shifts away from that main group, though, it always seems like a more effective use of time. A splinter group of Hyosan survivors, mainly made up of the lasting members of the archery team (cross “bow-and-arrow weapons” off the zombie story checklist!) has a more distinct spread of personalities and ambitions. One cold open tells more in a few minutes about a single solider than we learn about most of the Hyosan crew. By the time the show zooms out to bigger administrative forces beyond the principal and English teacher, there’s almost a tacit acknowledgment that the students were never going to be enough to sustain an entire show on their own.

Still, for as repetitive as “All of Us are Dead” becomes, it’s at least built on an effective foundation. The stunt work and sheer amount of logistical choreography needed to make this a believable hellscape is impressive. Though some of the inconsistencies in zombie behavior sometimes feel a little lazy from a story perspective, the overall balance between hivemind movement and randomness makes every peek out the window at the school’s swarmed front lawn both sad and eerie. The contortion of crunched limbs and mouthfuls of hunks of flesh (this has to be a contender for the series with the most closed captioning uses of the word “squelching”) makes this a physical, visceral experience, even when the show’s plot seems content to idle.

The story at the outbreak’s epicenter takes up the most energy of “All of Us are Dead,” which doesn’t leave much room for the eventual glimpses into how those adults in charge are responding. Whenever the attention turns away from the high school, it reinforces the idea that scale is what this show does best. As it becomes clearer that the students are far from the only ones having to deal with this overwhelming problem, it’s hard not to imagine what a version of this show would look like if it weren’t so tethered to a single location.

There are faint glimmers of a leaner, more confident show that peek through. At one point, the Hyosan students record goodbye messages for their families, a reminder that the kids whose parents don’t get their own separate storylines have something to live for, too. There’s not much room for non-gloominess here, yet the occasional light-hearted distraction and banter makes for something other than the living hell unfolding just beyond the walls of each occupied room. These moments are welcome when they pop up. For a show with nearly a 12-hour running time, though, there aren’t nearly enough to break a familiar story’s repetitive cycle.

“All of Us are Dead” is now available to stream on Netflix.

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All Of Us Are Dead review – a brutal k-drama sends zombies to school

All Of Us Are Dead might not have the instant meme-ability of Squid Game , but it’s another exciting k-drama with mainstream appeal that is sure to accumulate a sizeable audience on Netflix.

This review of All Of Us Are Dead is spoiler-free.

There are plenty of go-to settings for zombie apocalypses, from shopping malls and graveyards to – thanks to shows like The Walking Dead – farms, hospitals, and prisons. But the suburban high school feels fresh. That’s where Netflix’s new 12-part k-drama All of Us Are Dead chooses to unleash its undead plague, and it yields ripe results, from the predictable gore and carnage to a surprising amount of emotional heft and thematic punch. Some of these kids might deserve a grisly fate, and some might not, but they’re united by the fact that they all realize immediately that they’re in a zombie show.

That isn’t to say that there’s an obnoxious fourth-wall-breaking meta element at play here, just that there’s enough self-awareness to breathe some life into the living dead. The students at Hyosan High School reference Train to Busan as early as the second episode and make most of their decisions as if they’re in it – which, for all intents and purposes, they are. Since the unparalleled popularity of Squid Game let the wider world in on the secret that Korea a) exists and b) it has its own stellar film and TV output, more than usual will gravitate to this effort, perhaps without realizing that between the aforementioned Train to Busan , its sequel Peninsula , shows like Kingdom and films like #Alive (both also on Netflix), the nation has had the zombie-horror subgenre sewn up pretty tight for quite a while now.

Where All of Us Are Dead distinguishes itself is in its school setting, drawing direct parallels between a feral menace and ordinary high-school politics. The formation of its zombie-creating substance is inextricably linked to bullying, motivated by a desire to protect a loved one who can’t protect himself, but all of the drama that follows has some roots in the famously oppressive pressure-cooker environment of the Korean school and sporting systems. Adolescent anxieties are as much of a threat to life here as the so-called Jonas Virus, the brainchild of the school’s science teacher Mr. Lee, a noted genius who created the stuff to help his tortured son cope with his tormentors. It turns fear into rage and violence, and alive students into dead ones. If nothing else, this is a show that lives up to its title.

But there’s no complex overarching plot here. The virus is created, and Mr. Lee’s research vlogs are used as a narrative device to explain why and how it works, but the drama is rooted in survival. The first couple of episodes quickly assemble a ragtag team of students who hunker down and try to survive the outbreak, and then the show just relentlessly imperils them in one nail-biting set-piece after another. In the meantime, we get to know the key players, such as firefighter’s daughter On-jo, her loyal admirer Cheong-san, former bully and mean martial artist Su-hyeok, class president Nam-ra, and hulking Dae-su. As we go, more potential survivors are introduced, such as the well-intentioned English teacher Ms. Park and the archery team crack shot Jang Ha-ri. It’s an intriguing bunch, especially since the personal demons of each tend to become as dangerous as anything else. Even the inherent physicality or skillset of each student is smartly deployed in the frequent set-pieces.

But more crucially these feel like high school students. They continue to gossip, bitch, and backstab even in their most frantic moments, and the social hierarchy attempts to sustain itself even amongst complete societal collapse. The implication is clear – that even as the virus spreads beyond the boundaries of the school and into the wider world, it’s the result of festering ills and systemic injustices that have seeped from the top down. The rot is everywhere.

This strong thematic backbone gives All of Us Are Dead some real staying power, though whether or not its actual on-screen drama is able to sustain twelve long episodes is another matter entirely. Even the aforementioned Squid Game , which asked real questions about economic inequality, managed to tell a more or less complete story in fewer than ten. But All of Us Are Dead doesn’t linger on the points it’s making so much as the emotions that inform them; for many, the time it takes to emphasize the scraps of humanity that are able to sustain the dwindling survivors will be well worth the investment, especially since they lend a note of hopelessness to what is otherwise a bleak thesis. Even amongst all the carnage, death, and misery, this is a series that remains heartfelt and champions compassion and humanity above all. If it takes one or two too many episodes to get that point across, I don’t think we can complain.

Article by Jonathon Wilson

Jonathon is one of the co-founders of Ready Steady Cut and has been an instrumental part of the team since its inception in 2017. Jonathon has remained involved in all aspects of the site’s operation, mainly dedicated to its content output, remaining one of its primary Entertainment writers while also functioning as our dedicated Commissioning Editor, publishing over 6,500 articles.

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All of Us Are Dead review: Is the zombie show on Netflix any good?

By gabii rayner | feb 22, 2022.

All of Us Are Dead. Courtesy of Netflix.

Since its Netflix release on Jan. 28, the South Korean zombie drama All of Us Are Dead has remained in the streaming platform’s Top 10 list in both the UK and the US, rising to the number one spot in both.

Haven’t watched and wondering if the 12-episode zombie apocalypse is worth watching? Here’s a spoiler-free review and more details about the series to help you decide!

What is All of Us Are Dead about?

Following in the wake of the global smash hit K-drama Squid Game, and the record-breaking 2016 zombie thriller movie Train to Busan , All of Us Are Dead is a large-scale dystopian story set in the high school of Hyosan, South Korea and based on the webtoon by Joo Dong-geun. When a rot-inducing, frenzy-causing virus begins to spread throughout the school and the surrounding area after a science experiment goes wrong, a group of students are left isolated and forced to do what it takes to protect themselves and their friends from the flesh-eating monsters breaking down their classroom doors. Friendships and morals are tested, limbs are lost, and zombies are pummelled, all in the refreshing context of a school through the eyes of the teenagers involved.

All of Us Are Dead cast

The cast of All of Us Are Dead is, surprisingly, somewhat unknown. Whilst boasting the larger name of Kim Byung-chul ( Sky Castle & Descendants of the Sun ) as science teacher Lee Byeong-chan, the majority of the main cast is portrayed by young actors relatively under the radar. Although fans of Squid Game may recognise Lee Yoo-mi as Lee Na-yeon after her memorable performance as Ji-yeong (the newfound friend of Sae-byeok during the competition), the rest of the cast is comprised of fairly new faces. Director Lee Jae-gyu explained his reasoning for this in an interview with EDaily :

"“I think that if actors who can act well, although they are still unfamiliar to the public, participate in this work, it will help [the audience] to be more immersed,”"

This is certainly successful in the K-drama, as each of the students’ characters feels fleshed out (pardon the pun) and relatable, as opposed to feeling like actors simply portraying assigned roles. This can often be the case (particularly in Western media) when celebrities become such big names that it is hard to look past their star status.

Some of the most stellar performances come from Cho Yi-hyun as Choi Nam-ra, the initially reserved and cold class president who really comes into her own past the halfway mark of the show, and Yoo In-soo as Yoon Gwi-nam, the school bully who truly embodies the idea of ‘love to hate them’ characters. The rest of the outstanding All of Us Are Dead student cast also includes up-and-coming actor Park Solomon ( Sweet Revenge ) , Park Ji-hu ( House of Hummingbird ) and Yoon Chan-young.

How long is All of Us Are Dead?

The zombie thrill ride is definitely not the easiest binge-watch and is best consumed in smaller doses. Initially, All of Us are Dead is fast in its pace and showcases some astounding camerawork and choreography which really hold your attention; pay particular attention to the extensive one-take shots during the canteen scenes of Episodes One and Two, part of which is shown below. However, 12 episodes of around one hour runtime each can easily mean that the viewer becomes desensitised to all the brutality and gruesome moments, so are enjoyed more when spread over a longer period as opposed to a one-sitting watch.

The show, unfortunately, dulls slightly in the very middle of the season, with little action happening and too much jumping from the high school setting to the outside world, bogged down by subplots and vague military/scientific content. But once the action returns to Hyosan High School and the eclectic mix of students with their individual issues is when the show gets back on the road, inducing gasps, screams, tears, and laughter.

High school is quite literally hell when the halls are overrun with blood-thirsty zombies that used to be your best friends. All of Us Are Dead is now on Netflix pic.twitter.com/ie1jVxq1BJ — Netflix (@netflix) January 28, 2022

Is All of Us Are Dead worth watching?

Overall, All of Us Are Dead is absolutely worth watching. Whether you are a horror fan or not, the K-drama balances gore and emotion in a great way and you cannot help but admire the young acting cast and appreciate the incredible work of the zombies’ makeup artists and SFX team.

Whilst it is easy to wish for a stronger focus on the students in their high school battleground and less on the external responses to the virus, the coronavirus parallels allow these extra plotlines to make sense in a story ultimately about a raging pandemic on an extreme level. Somehow covering everything from mental health, politics, teenage pregnancy, bullying, military action, class divides, and the strength of love and friendship within a zombie thriller, All of Us Are Dead is simply a great piece of television. It acts as yet another jewel in South Korea’s television drama crown, proving just why the international media industry continues to grow.

Watch all 12 episodes of All of Us Are Dead on Netflix.

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘All Of Us Are Dead’ on Netflix, Where Zombies Overrun A Korean High School

Where to stream:.

All of Us Are Dead

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Sweet Home’ Season 3 on Netflix, The Final Season For This Gory Korean Horror Drama

Stream it or skip it: ‘sweet home’ season 2 on netflix, where the monster apocalypse continues to plague humanity (but is it really all bad), stream it or skip it: 'zombieverse' on netflix, a korean reality series where a group of contestants try to survive a "real" zombie apocalypse, 7 shows like 'the midnight club'.

In All Of Us Are Dead (Netflix), it’s fight or flight for a group of students when their high school becomes ground zero for a zombie outbreak. The series is adapted from Now At Our School , a Korean online digital comic that ran from 2009-11, and it features at least one cast member from Netflix’s runaway hit Squid Game in Lee Yoo-mi (Player #240), who is one of the set-upon students here.

ALL OF US ARE DEAD : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: In a swirling long take, we see two male students taunting and bullying a third boy as two more students look on. Pushes become shoves and kicks to the chest, and the violence escalates until the victim is thrown from the roof on which all of this is occurring. He crashes to the alley three stories below.

The Gist: Right before he flew off that roof, bullied student Jin-su seemed to fight back against his tormentors with a mixture of rabid determination and bone-snapping urgency, and when we meet him again in the emergency room, it’s clear that bullies and bruises are the least of this kid’s problems. He’s got zombie fever, and his father Lee Byung-chan (Kim Byung-chul) knows it. Lee attempts to beat his son to death with a Bible, and soon returns to Hyosan High School, where he’s the science teacher. For the moment, all is calm at Hyosan, where students Cheong-san (Yoon Chan-young), On-jo (Park Ji-hoo), and Su-Hyeok (Park Solomon) are attempting to navigate a love triangle: Cheon-san pines for On-jo, but he’s stuck in the friend zone, while On-jo is crushing on Su-Hyeok, who seems to have eyes for someone else. Class bully Yoon Gwi-nam (Yoo In-soo), meanwhile, pesters the shy and the weak.

Mr. Lee is hiding more than his outcast, zombie-sick son. A hamster in his lab is infected, too, and bites a mean girl named Hyeon-ju. Lee restrains her in his office and injects her with benzodiazepine. “It’s slowing down the infection,” he tells a video log, “but only by a few hours at most.” Whatever the motives of Hyosan’s most deranged science teacher, his attempts to study the zombie virus quickly spin wildly out of control, and it’s bedlam as the bitten transform into bloodthirsty undead freaks.

Who will survive the onslaught? In the first episode of All Of Us Are Dead , none of the students we’ve met are immediately among the bitten. But the zombies on this show move fast, have strength, and have already been shown to be pretty resilient. (Remember the kid who survived being thrown from a roof?) Cheong-san and On-jo better stick together, watch their backs, and maybe make a beeline for the high school archery range.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Obviously, zombies are everywhere, with the unkillable The Walking Dead having spawned a host of spinoffs. But Netflix also features the Korean period zombie drama Kingdom , plus five seasons of Z-Nation , its own spin-off Black Summer , and the Brazilian zombie series Reality Z .

Our Take: In Korean pop culture, zombies have legs. From the 2016 hit Train to Busan (a film so popular, it’s directly referenced by the characters in AOUAD ) to 2020’s #Alive , “K-Zombie” movies and dramas are all the rage in the country, where they often serve as a critique on issues of class, consumption, and competition in contemporary society. In All Of Us Are Dead , Hyosan High School is already serving as a microcosm of the country at large, with its class structures and hierarchies well in place. Rich kids like Lee Yoo-mi’s Na-yeon look down on their classmates, the class bullies pick on the weaker kids relentlessly, and gossip runs rampant in the halls. As those same places become full of zombies running amok, it will be interesting to see how the hierarchical structures mutate. As Mr. Lee says during a science lesson, “an organism doesn’t depend on its metabolism, but its will to survive.” The zombie virus he helped unleash will definitely get to the bottom of whether that’s true, and who it’s true for.

As for gore and zombifying special effects, All Of Us Are Dead in the early going features the typical gouts of blood and torn flesh and a few tremendous and startling moments of undead bodies flinging themselves forcefully into walls, off roofs, or crashing through schoolroom windows in slow-motion. As the school grounds become a warzone, there’s bound to be more opportunities for the death blows and kill shots that are standard issue for zombie content. But given the entrenched tribalism of the students, it’ll also be satisfying to see who among the living is targeted. There’s no question that the school bullies who manage to avoid being bitten will need to be taken down a peg by their fellow surviving classmates. Even as the zombies swarm, All Of Us Are Dead is sure to have its Battle Royale or Lord of the Flies moments.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: As the recently turned chase a throng of screaming students into the dining hall, Cheong-san and On-jo get their first terrifying glimpse of this horrible new reality. Suddenly, a zombie scrambles over the trampled bodies to confront On-jo head on, blood dripping from its shredded face.

Sleeper Star: Park Solomon is terrific as the handsome, self-assured Su-Hyeok, who’s put his past as a bully behind him in favor of trying to be a better person and classmate.

Most Pilot-y Line: It’s all Cheong-san can do to not admit his lifelong crush on On-jo. “If the world comes to an end,” he tells Su-Hyeok, “and only On-jo, me, and a zombie are left, I’d go out with the zombie.” Little does he know how soon his statement will be tested.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Beyond the visceral thrill of watching zombies chow down on their unfortunate victims, All Of Us Are Dead puts social hierarchies and human beings’ mechanisms for survival under a microscope.

Will you stream or skip the Korean zombie series #AllOfUsAreDead on @netflix ? #SIOSI — Decider (@decider) January 30, 2022

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges

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All of Us Are Dead

Where to watch.

Watch All of Us Are Dead with a subscription on Netflix.

Cast & Crew

Yoon Chan-Young

Lee Cheongsan

Cho Yi-hyun

Lee Suhyeok

Yoon Gwinam

Lee Eun-saem

More Like This

Series info.

‘All of Us Are Dead’ is a glorious, gory thrill ride

A teenage girl recoils as a zombie hovers over her, ready to attack; a still from "All of Us Are Dead."

Mashable's entertainment team picks our Watch of the Week, TV shows and movies that you absolutely must add to your list.

I watched four episodes of All of Us Are Dead in a day, and then found myself in a mostly empty office building.

Given that I still live in a global pandemic, this was ideal. But given that I just binged a show in which vicious zombies frequently jump out from behind corners to infect and devour their prey, I was a little on edge.

Based on Joo Dong-geun’s Now at Our School webtoon, All of Us Are Dead begins with a zombie outbreak at a South Korean high school. While students bunker down in empty classrooms and try to outrun the mob, zombiism spreads with deadly speed and decimates the city. Chun Sung-Il wrote the series, directed by Lee Jae-kyoo and Kim Nam-su.

The only thing worse than being trapped at school during the zombie apocalypse is going through it with a crush who doesn’t want to kiss you — even on the brink of death.

That seems like a healthy enough premise to sustain a two-hour zombie movie, but All of Us Are Dead clocks in at a robust 12 hours and change. There are endless ways in which a zombie cataclysm can affect a small area and population, and the series allows time for thorough exploration with various factions of survivors. We spend time with first responders, student athletes who were away for a tournament, an influencer who insists on live streaming from the city, and many others. Whenever a storyline gets even close to growing stale, it intersects with another or twists into something new — keeping us on our toes right 'til the end as we wait to see who makes it out alive.

A teenage boy lays on top of a library bookshelf while zombies claw at him from below; a still from "All of Us Are Dead."

The most significant portion of the show is spent at Hyosan High School, where the outbreak began thanks to a science teacher’s experiment gone wrong. Childhood friends On-jo (Park Ji-hu) and Cheong-san (Yoon Chan-young) are at the center of a small (and dwindling) group moving around the school to stay alive and get rescued. To add to the stress, they’re stuck with On-jo’s crush Su-hyeok (Park Solomon), and his crush Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun). The only thing worse than being trapped at school during the zombie apocalypse is going through it with a crush who doesn’t want to kiss you — even on the brink of death.

The production cuts no corners in bringing Hyosan's bloody monsters to life (pun intended). If the sound of primal snarling and cracking bones is enough to make you squeamish, you'll have to sit this one out or get firmly acquainted with the mute button. If the sight of bloodshot eyeballs and spilling innards doesn't make you as hungry as the figures feasting on human flesh, you'll be closing your eyes a lot. Hopefully, either way you can appreciate the commitment to sheer, disgusting excellence from the sound team and makeup department.

Cinematographer Park Se-seung superbly captures every chase scene, every battle against getting bitten, keeping boredom at bay and tension at the forefront of this viewing experience. Tracking shots and handheld cameras are a staple of the horror genre, and Park's mastery shines through, especially during episode 2's cafeteria outbreak sequence.

A group of students and a teacher huddle together in their classroom, hiding from zombies in "All of Us Are Dead."

As with the best supernatural dramas — particularly South Korea’s — All of Us Are Dead makes keen observations on the state of its world both before and after zombies rise. A public official demands special treatment, but is no more or less appetizing to her undead assailants than anyone else is. When the government cuts off communication out of Hyosan, its citizens become either abandoned refugees or isolated to the point of dehydration, starvation, and death. In the walls of Hyosan High, the zombies don't distinguish between rich and poor, bully or victim, teacher or student, which leads to some of the show's most compelling interpersonal conflicts.

Amid all this, teen drama still reigns supreme. In the penultimate episode of Yellowjackets , a character marvels that she's about to starve to death in the woods yet can't stop thinking about a boy. Her drugged-out coach replies that love is everything. All of Us Are Dead echoes both these stakes and this sentiment (without the shrooms). The friendships, rivalries, and romance among Hyosan's survivors aren't the show's central focus, but they give these characters an urgent will to live and fight, plus reasons for us to root for them. Early episodes don't bog you down with names, relationships, and expositions. Instead, we peel back the layers bit by bit, giving breathing room to a betrayal by Na-yeon (Lee Yoo-mi), On-jo's friendship with I-sak (Kim Joo-ah), and a growing feeling that any of us would die to protect Dae-su (Im Jae-hyuk).

It's not the lightest weekend binge, but All of Us Are Dead is an immensely satisfying, blood-soaked rollercoaster. Just don't eat while you watch it.

All of Us Are Dead is now streaming on Netflix.

Topics Netflix

Proma Khosla is a Senior Entertainment Reporter writing about all things TV, from ranking Bridgerton crushes to composer interviews and leading Mashable's stateside coverage of Bollywood and South Asian representation. You might also catch her hosting video explainers or on Mashable's TikTok and Reels, or tweeting silly thoughts from @promawhatup .

all of us are dead review netflix k-drama

‘All Of Us Are Dead’ review: a grisly zombie apocalypse that bites off more than it can chew

An unassuming high school becomes ground zero for a zombie outbreak as disconcerting truths about being a student come to light

B lood, gore, carnage – Netflix’s new thriller K-drama All Of Us Are Dead has all of that and more. Based on the popular webtoon Now At Our School , the series presents an opening that’s easily one of the most grisly from a K-drama in recent memory, diving headfirst into the brutality of the show’s premise. It begins on a secluded rooftop in the afterhours of the fictional South Korean province of Hyosan, rain coming down as we come face-to-face with horrors brought about by a group of high school delinquents, who relentlessly torture a fellow schoolmate, Jin-su.

READ MORE: ‘Bad And Crazy’ first look review: solid cop drama with huge stars, humour and plenty of punches

The bullies pay no mind to Jin-su as their victim cowers and begs them to stop. Suddenly, Jin-su’s demeanour takes a 180-degree turn. He begins snarling, his movements animal-like with blood smeared on his white uniform as he charges towards his aggressors. We then fast forward to a new day at Hyosan High School and its familiar rowdiness, brought to life by its unsuspecting students and staff who go about their day as usual.

One curious student, Kim Hyeon-ju (Jung Yi-seo) comes across and gets bitten by a caged, rabid hamster in the science lab, unknowingly becoming patient zero for what would soon develop into a frenetic, province-wide outbreak of bloodthirsty zombies.

Unbeknownst to the school’s staff and student body, time is of the essence as they fight to understand the exact dangers that lie on the horizon. The frenzy continues to erupt as infections snowball and the remaining survivors are left to their own devices, unable to contact family or the authorities due to a school rule requiring students to hand in their personal cell phones during school hours.

The situation rapidly blows out of proportion, with the virus having already bypassed the gates of Hyosan High and entering the wider Hyosan province, causing its population, specifically first responders and medical personnel, to fall prey to the virus’ unrelenting nature. Hopes for impending rescue and safety diminish with each passing second, as the protagonists are trapped on campus.

The sizable amounts of slaughter and bloodshed are what define All Of Us Are Dead . We can’t help but to watch in horror as countless characters we were briefly acquainted with regress into senseless, brutish creatures, until we ultimately fail to keep in mind that at the very centre of this grotesque pandemic are children – the infected and survivors alike.

As these children are the first few to suffer from the virus and its consequences, there is a lack of care in All Of Us Are Dead ’s depiction of its characters, which ends up portraying and reducing the (un)dead and their significance to our protagonists – as fellow classmates, friends and family members – to nameless, bloody pawns in the show’s attempt to shock.

The emphasis on carnage is front and centre throughout the series’ entire duration, which takes away from any possible critical deep dives into the show’s extensive roster of main characters, or even any crucial worldbuilding – and let’s not forget the show has a comparatively long run of 12 episodes, each an hour long.

As a result, All Of Us Are Dead is both too ambitious and not ambitious enough at the same time. Its central plot, many subplots and protagonists eventually amalgamate as a lofty narrative that has effectively bitten off more than it can chew by the series’ middle, leaving little space or ability left to engage and enthral, or for its stakes to be taken as seriously as it should be.

We also witness the main cast of school teenagers – consisting of Chung-san (Yoon Chan-young), On-jo (Park Ji-hoo), Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun), Lee Soo-hyuk (Park Solomon), Yoo Gwi-nam (Yoo In-soo) and Lee Na-yeon (Lee Yoo-mi) – grapple with the life-changing and traumatising experience that a zombie apocalypse undoubtedly brings. All the while they struggle to retain some sort of normalcy as, well, kids, what with the series trying to shove in subplots of teenage shenanigans, for better or worse.

The main cast, specifically Lee Yoo-mi, Yoon Chan-young and Cho Yi-hyeon, do an impeccable job at illustrating what the reality of the situation is at its core – they’re just a bunch of disoriented, unworldly young adults, each now marked by significant losses and who now only have each other, trying their best to cope with the circumstances they were unjustly thrust into.

Sitting at the very heart of All Of Us Are Dead lies a resolute intention to unpack social issues, though that intent is largely buried under the show’s focus on gore. The series dabbles in social commentary aplenty – from the unspoken realities of the physical, verbal and even sexual abuse high school students inflict upon each other, to social class warfare, to cyberbullying and much more.

Bringing such topics to the small screen is important in representing such victims in real life. Sadly, the sheer array of topics touched on by the show’s creators, all of which happen behind the overarching premise of a zombie outbreak, cause them to blend into each other, before eventually falling through the cracks.

Zombie apocalypse tropes have grown to become pedestrian in recent years, thanks to overwhelming numbers of popular shows and films with similar premises ( The Walking Dead , World War Z , Kingdom , to name a few, but outside of ham-fisted attempts at social commentary, All Of Us Are Dead is no different. With some awkward high school romance here and a meta reference to Train To Busan there, All Of Us Are Dead is, in essence, an outlandish, if average, depiction of the high school experience, in all its glory and peril, presented through the radical lens of an unforgiving zombie epidemic.

All Of Us Are Dead premieres on Netflix January 28.

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All of Us Are Dead

Trust Us, 'All Of Us Are Dead' Is The Must-Watch Zombie K-Drama You Shouldn't Miss

An Honest Review Of The K-Drama All Of Us Are Dead

For someone who doesn ’ t really like horror or gore, I surprisingly find myself gravitating towards some of the zombie-themed content that comes from South Korea . I think it started in 2016, when my friends and I watched Train To Busan in the cinema. I remember enjoying the thrilling experience, jumping out of my seat and stomping my feet on the ground when the scenes got extra tense.

Over the years—and thanks to Netflix—I' ve also seen Kingdom (which I suuuuper like and impatiently looking forward to the next season), #Alive , and Peninsula . So naturally, I found myself drawn towards All Of Us Are Dead when I saw its teaser posters sometime late last year. And with Park Solomon in the cast, I was suddenly wondering why January 28, 2022 couldn' t come any sooner.

When it finally did, I told my family to stop whatever K-drama it was they were currently watching because we needed to start watching All Of Us Are Dead . I wasn ’ t expecting it to be 12 one-hour-long episodes, but I ’ ve waited long enough for this. " Let' s do this," I huffed before pressing the play button and hearing the familiar ~* tu dummmmm*~.

What is All Of Us Are Dead about?

All Of Us Are Dead is based on the webtoon, Now At Our School , written by Joo Dong Geu between 2009 and 2011. We' ve seen zombie stories happen in a public transportation setting, in apartments, and even in Joseon dynasty palaces. All Of Us Are Dead , however, takes place at a high school campus in a small town called Hyosan. A typical school day turns upside down when a student immediately turns into a zombie after getting bitten by a hamster infected with the man-made Jonas virus. The virus spreads, even outside of the school, turning Hyosan into a zombie land in less than 24 hours. The students—at least the lucky ones who manage to avoid infection—fend for themselves and try to survive the chaos. But this isn ’t only a struggle for survival: It' s also about how these kids struggle in learning who they are and what they are capable of as human beings.

Initially, I thought 12 episodes were long…ish. My point of comparison was Kingdom , which had six episodes for each of the two seasons already available. After watching all episodes over the weekend, however, I found myself both satisfied yet still wanting more. The show started off as a slow burn—at least for me. It introduced us to the people who we will be going on this zombie-laden journey. If you haven' t watched it yet, here' s a caveat: Do not get too attached . As each episode went on, the feelings I had were kinda reminiscent of when I was reading Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows . It' s the same in the sense that the characters who I ’ve grown to love and root for do not make it ' til the very end. ANG SAKIT, BES . It was painful to watch that happen, as if I had become a part of this group who just wants to get out of this school alive.

Speaking of the group, here ’s a quick rundown of the cast of All Of Us Are Dead :

Park ji hu as nam on jo.

The character: On Jo is the narrator of the story, so we see the plot unfold mostly through her lens. She isn ’t your straight A student but she led her friends to survival, thanks to her bravery and mad survival skills (which she learned from her firefighter dad).

The actress: Ji Hu is the only high school student at the time of filming! She may seem like a newcomer, but she ’s actually been in a couple of dramas already including Beautiful World and Sweet Revenge 2 .

Yoon Chan Young as Lee Cheong San

The character: If On Jo is the brains of the survival operation, I' d say Cheong San is the brawns of it. He is one brave character who isn ’t afraid to protect the ones dear to him. This includes On Jo, his childhood friend, neighbor, and secret crush.

The actor: Chan Young is also a new name for me, but he' s apparently been in about 20 dramas and films already! This 20-year old heartthrob (I' m calling it!) has a cat named " Silver" and won " Best Teen Actor" at the SBS Drama Awards for his roles in Doctor John and Everything And Nothing .

Cho Yi Hyun as Choi Nam Ra

The character: Nam Ra, for all her achievements as Hyosan High ’s top student and class president, would rather keep to herself than mingle with her classmates. Later we' ll learn that it' s because of her overbearing mother who wants her to excel at everything she does. Her cold demeanor eventually melts away in the face of difficulties. Nam Ra is also instrumental in helping their group survive.

The actress: If her baby face is familiar, it ’s because you ’ve probably seen her in both seasons of Hospital Playlist as one of the Jang twins. If you feel the need to see more of Yi Hyun , you can catch her in Sweet Revenge , Bad Papa , and How To Buy A Friend .

Park Solomon as Lee Su Hyeok

The character: Su Hyeok is the other brawn of the group, always willing to sacrifice himself or be the first one to test their plans of escape. He was once part of the bully gang, though thankfully he' s seen the light and would rather help the bullied. This explains why he' s probably not afraid to battle it out, even if the enemy is a flesh-eating zombie.

The actor: Solomon , or Lomon for short, once dreamt of becoming a b-boy dancer before becoming an actor. He has appeared in a couple of dramas since, including Doctors , Shopaholic Louis , and Sweet Revenge .

Yoo In Soo as Yoon Gwi Nam

The character: Gwi Nam is one evil character that you would love to hate. He is a notorious bully who would stop at nothing to get what he wants. In reality, though, he is just a lackey for the bigger bullies, biding his time until it ’s finally his turn to become the god of Hyosan High.

The actor: In Soo is just so good at playing the nuisance roles! I remember his mischievous yet endearing character in Moments At Eighteen that I am quite surprised at how vile his character portrayal is here in All Of Us Are Dead . Good thing it ’s just an act because he ’s actually neighbors and good friends with Chan Young. They ’re even noraebang buddies !

Lee Yoo Mi as Lee Na Yeon

The character: Now here ’s another character you ’d love to just squeeze to oblivion. Na Yeon is a rich kid who managed to survive thus far because she was lucky enough to be with On Jo and the gang. But her selfishness would always get in the way of their plans and her haughtiness would often cause more tension within the group. Grrr!

The actress: Yes, you ’ve seen her before! She is Ji Young from the other hit Netflix show, Squid Game ! In an interview with Cosmopolitan Korea , Yoo Mi shared that she was certain she bombed her audition for Na Yeon ’s role. But her roles in the movies Park Hwa Young and Young Adult Matters must have been memorable to the director, that' s why she thinks she was ultimately given the role.

(There ’s actually quite a number of characters in the story, and we ’ve listed all of them here in this article !)

Why you should watch All Of Us Are Dead

The whirlwind of emotions.

Like the other zombie K-movies and K-dramas I' ve watched, All Of Us Are Dead is just as thrilling, always pushing me to the edge of my seat. It has many good suspenseful moments that would have me and my family shouting in unison. Then, we' ll have a good laugh after thinking how silly we have been. There are funny moments here and there, too! But mostly, the series will have you rooting for the characters to survive. Like, there have been so many instances of us shouting instructions to the characters, as if they can hear us. That ’s how invested in the show my family and I are.

Then, there are also those tender moments where you' d realize that these are just high school kids who should be thinking about their crushes, their grades, their college admissions. It' s in these moments that I find myself tearing up a bit. If you look at the root cause of it all, it' s the man-made virus that shouldn' t have been created in the first place. If only society takes care of its people, especially the downtrodden ones; if only people treat each other with empathy and kindness, then a father wouldn' t have used his ingenuity to save his bullied son through a virus that has the potential to wipe out the entire planet.

The underlying messages

Director Lee Jae Gyu said that the main theme of the series is the struggle to keep alive and keep who they are. We saw the kids make decisions that could spell the difference between survival and infection. Some, like On Jo, would always choose the option that benefits them all. Others, especially a good chunk of the adults in the story, would only think of themselves. " To save the majority, just how heartless do you need to be?", asked one character in the story.

At times, it was frustrating to see the kids finally worming their way out of a situation only to find themselves stuck in yet another one. But through it all, I loved seeing them putting their heads together to find a way to survive without leaving anyone behind, as much as possible. They weren' t the best of friends before this catastrophe began, but now they find themselves looking forward to gathering around a bonfire again if and when the dust finally settles.

The title, All Of Us Are Dead , perfectly sums up the entire story. Everyone ends up dying anyway, regardless of whether they become zombies or not. People die because no one comes to save them, or they die trying to save themselves. People die because of the choices of others. And for those lucky enough to survive, they die every day, haunted by the tragic way they lost the people they love.

"The virus changes a person into a different being. The person I loved becomes a monster. You can forget someone who dies, but it ’s hard to forget someone who has changed. To think that' s the very last image of the people I loved the most," came the musing of the virus' perpetrator towards the end of the story.

Their world turned upside down in an instant. They lost loved ones and saw them become zombies right before their eyes. But On Jo, Cheong San, and the rest of the gang fought to stay alive. They tried their very best to not let the situation get the best of them, even if it' s hard, even if it' s deeply personal. And that is my greatest takeaway from A ll Of Us Are Dead : To not give up fighting, no matter what happens.

MORE K-DRAMA REVIEWS RIGHT HERE:

'Vincenzo' Is Probably The Best K-Drama I've Ever Seen, Here Are All My *Feelings*

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Yoo In Soo,
Lee Yoo Mi,
all of us are dead,
park solomon,
yoon chan young

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REVIEW: All of Us Are Dead

TV show reviews
April 4, 2022
11,316 views
By Aaron Jones

Last Updated on July 11, 2024

Korean zombie series All of Us Are Dead is yet another example of brilliant television from South Korea. The 12 episodes follow a group of high school students in Hyosan as they fight to survive in a city overwhelmed by zombies.

Watch the trailer on Youtube here

All of Us Are Dead is refreshing in that it links the effect of the virus to a person’s cruelty and will to survive. Bullies such as Gwi-nam survive death multiple times through their sheer will to be cruel whilst others keep a semblance of their humanity to save those they love. It’s an interesting spin on a genre that we all know so well and adds an extra layer to the series. The series shines a lot on the choices that humans make in times of great distress. There are difficult decisions being made throughout the series and it is tough to separate the show from the recent pandemic. Those in power are given options and know that whichever ones they choose, many people will die. Survivor’s guilt becomes a huge point in the series because of this and it is one that All of Us Are Dead handles better than many shows and it has you feeling sympathy for characters who perhaps made choices that you wouldn’t have agreed with.

All of Us Are Dead is a thrilling zombie series full of brutal and violent scenes involving characters who are all so human. Whilst not hitting the heights of the amazing Squid Game, the series is still an excellent piece of television that fans of the zombie genre will devour like the tastiest of brains. Here’s to hoping that there’s a second season!

Aaron Jones

Aaron S. Jones is the author of Memories of Blood and Shadow, and The Broken Gods trilogy. He is Head of School at a school in Kent, UK and when he is not tearing his hair out at students struggling with their, they're and there, he is tearing his hair out as he dies for the thousandth time on Elden Ring. You can find him on Twitter @HereticASjones where he is most likely procrastinating for hours at a time instead of focusing on his Orc murder mystery.

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All Of Us Are Dead | Movies To Watch If You Can't Get Enough

This content was paid for by Netflix and created by Looper.

"All of Us Are Dead" is a bloody good survival series, and it's bound to leave you hungry for more. The show, which is based on the hit Korean webtoon "Now at Our School," follows a group of teens at Hyosan High as their school becomes the epicenter of a vicious viral outbreak that turns their friends, teachers, and even family members into raging zombies .

The infected are fast, merciless, and nearly impossible to kill, so it doesn't take long for the disease to spread far outside the gates of the school. Meanwhile, those who do manage to make it through the initial scourge unbitten face a very tough road to stay alive once they realize that rescue from the outside is unlikely.

"All of Us Are Dead" is filled with heart-stopping action, but it's also anchored by the meaningful relationships that are being formed and tested in between all the gnashing. So in addition to tagging along for a thrilling survival story, audiences also get to see some emotional twists and turns that are sure to stick with you long after the final credits. If you have a hankering for more toothy storytelling after watching "All of Us Are Dead," here's a look at some films that might just satisfy that craving.

One of the story elements that makes "All of Us Are Dead" so compelling is how very modern the series is. While some shows pick up after zombie hordes have already leveled society as we know it, we get to watch the calamity happen in real time in the Korean series. And this means there are certain modes of modern technology that can still come into play in a big way — including internet access, social media, streaming, and even a drone.

The 2020 Korean thriller "#Alive" has a similarly novel atmosphere. The film follows a gaming-obsessed teen named Oh Joon-woo (Yoo Ah-in), who unwittingly manages to survive a sudden rash of zombie attacks by being glued to his computer and isolated in his family's Seoul apartment. As Joon-woo watches the world around him collapse into chaos, he uses his technological savvy to try and understand what's happening, and eventually, he also learns some more traditional survival skills, with the help of a friendly neighbor. In addition to bringing its zombie plague into the 21st century, "#Alive" also combines its intense action sequences with some real heart, so fans of "All of Us Are Dead" won't want to miss out on this thrilling zombie flick.

The world of social media and streaming is also a major part of the story in the 2021 Filipino thriller "Izla." The film, which has a comedic bend in addition to offering moments of true fright, follows a pair of brothers who link up with a group of six female vloggers and set out on a trek to the "Forbidden Island," located outside of the vacation town the women are visiting.

Unfortunately for them, there's a reason the place has been banned from travel, and our heroes soon find out the hard way that the place was the site of some experiments-gone-wrong that left the island overrun by zombies ... that have ninja skills. They might have gone onto the island with the intention of pulling a viral prank on their followers, but once the real danger emerges, the joke is definitely on these influencers. So if you're looking for a bit of light-hearted zombie fare after watching "All of Us Are Dead," "Izla" might be just the ticket.

Another part of "All of Us Are Dead" that resonates well with audiences is the way certain characters learn to grow, even in their most desperate hour, and become willing to sacrifice themselves for the people they care about. One character who really tugs on all of the heartstrings is Park Hee-su (Lee Chae-eun), a teenage girl who quietly gives birth to a newborn baby at a park and decides against abandoning it once she sees the world has descended into madness. Hee-su then desperately defends the infant against the swaths of infected until she finds a safe haven to hide in, and she even manages to protect the baby against herself after she winds up being bitten.

If Hee-su's plot hits home for you, chances are good that you're going to really love the 2017 horror drama "Cargo." This Australian pic takes us into an Outback that's been devastated by a viral infection, one that turns ordinary people into monsters within 48 hours of infection. At the center of the story is a man named Andy (Martin Freeman) who, after managing to protect his family from the initial outbreak for some time by sticking to his houseboat, has to venture onto the land to protect his baby daughter. His determination to shield her from the horrors of this new world is truly riveting and makes this movie a must-see.

Ravenous (Les Affamés)

Another movie that's bound to land with fans of "All of Us Are Dead" is the 2017 French-language film "Ravenous" ("Les Affamés"). Just as the series featured a select few infected who were much more than just hungry human-eaters, "Ravenous" offers a delicious new twist to the zombie world: These biters also engage in some very strange rituals that leave the survivors even more confused and afraid of what they're dealing with.

"Ravenous" takes place in a sleepy rural region of Quebec, Canada, where the few survivors of the outbreak spend their days scouring the woods and telling jokes. But once they realize that these curious infected people are actually operating on a system and they are in the direct path of this invasion, they have to band together and fight for their lives. Much like our heroes in "All of Us Are Dead," the characters here have only themselves to rely on, so be sure to add "Ravenous" to your zombie watch list.

Fear Street

One of the more terrifying aspects of "All of Us Are Dead" is just how fast the show's zombies can turn and move. They are wildly efficient at spreading the virus, and worse, they're incredibly brutal with their carnivorous attacks. From start to finish, the amount of bloodshed throughout the series is immense.

So if you're now in the mood to watch another group of undead killers who are just as mighty and merciless as the monsters in the series, 2021's "Fear Street" trilogy is definitely up your alley. The films, which adapt R.L. Stine's hit novels of the same name, take place throughout three generations of terror, as a centuries-old curse routinely turns ordinary folks into mindless slaughterers every few decades. Even worse, these serial killers occasionally come back to life and join forces to make the murderous mayhem even more brutal and hard to stop.

At the center of the horrifying action is a group of high school kids who decide to stand up and stop the cycle of violence once and for all — if they don't become the next victims of it, that is. With a clever combination of slasher horror, freaky fantasy, and undead action, there's a little something for everyone to love in "Fear Street."

Rim of the World

While you won't find any zombies in "Rim of the World," fans of "All of Us Are Dead" will still enjoy the apocalyptic survival story at the center of this 2019 action-adventure film. The pic follows a group of misfit teens at camp who get a crash course on some very real survival skill lessons once an alien invasion upends their plans to canoe and zipline around all summer.

Like the young cast of "All of Us Are Dead," the kids get a front row seat to a frightening site as society crumbles before their very eyes, and soon, it's up to them to save themselves — and possibly the world — even though the situation is very, very bleak. So if you enjoyed watching teens team up to find a way to make it out of an impossibly scary situation in "All of Us Are Dead," "Rim of the World" will give you an all-new destination to turn to next.

Blood Red Sky

If you're an "All of Us Are Dead" fan, but you're looking for something with a different sort of monster, then you should try "Blood Red Sky." The German-British film takes place on a very perilous flight, as a group of hijackers take control of an airplane, not knowing that there's some precarious cargo on board.

A woman named Nadja (Peri Baumeister) is accompanied by her young son, Elias (Carl Anton Koch), aboard the late-night flight, and they're en route to New York for her to receive some much-needed treatment. What no one knows, however, is that her secretive disease is actually vampirism, and she's only been controlling her violent urges by injecting herself with vials of suppressants. But once the terrorists take over the plane and threaten her son's life, Nadja finally lets her fangs loose to fight back.

The trouble is, even though she's tried to contain both herself and the spread of her venomous affliction, she risks turning everyone on board once she goes into beast mode. Just as half-zombies like Choi Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun) have to learn to control their urges to bite the people they love, Nadja has to suppress her own thirst for blood to protect her boy.

The 8th Night

Last, but certainly not least, "All of Us Are Dead" fans may enjoy the frightening action that unfolds in "The 8th Night." The 2021 Korean film centers on a two millennia-old myth about a demonic monster that tormented mankind until the Buddha was able to remove and bury its eyes after an intense fight.

In the present day, though, a professor decides to track down this monster's peepers, and he accidentally awakens one of the eyes. Needless to say, this is pretty bad news, as the eye plans on using a series of humans as stepping stones for the monster's return to Earth. To prevent the unleashing of such havoc, a group of monks have to work with a detective to stop this blight before it begins, creating an adventure that's both blood-curdling and deeply thoughtful.

With all of these great movie options available to stream right now, "All of Us Are Dead" fans should have plenty to chomp on next!

THE MOVIE CULTURE

All Of Us Are Dead Season 1 Review & Summary: A Survival Drama with Heart of a Human and Hunger of a Zombie

All Of Us Are Dead is a Korean Zombie Apocalypse Show, currently streaming on Netflix. It is based on the Naver webtoon, Now at Our School, by Joo Dong-geun, which was published between 2009 and 2011.

All Of Us Are Dead Season 1 Plot

Set in the South Korean city of Hyosan, things go berserk one day when a girl in the Hyosan High School is bitten by a rat infected by a deadly virus that turns happy humans into devastatingly ugly and ever-hungry human eating machines (zombies basically).

All Of Us Are Dead Season 1 Cast

Park Ji-hu as Nam On-jo
Yoon Chan-young as Lee Cheong-san
Cho Yi-hyun as Choi Nam-ra
Lomon as Lee Su-hyeok
Yoo In-soo as Yoon Gwi-nam

All Of Us Are Dead Season 1 Review

Zombies are the first love of filmmakers exploring the apocalypse horror genre and there’s little that can go wrong with a zombie movie. Some brain-eating hungry zombies, some scared guys running for their life, and a lot of biting and maiming makes up the perfect formula for a visually scaring and puke-inducing zombie thriller. With great fun, the zombie genre has also brought some largely mediocre stuff lately. One reason for the mediocrity is the lack of innovation in the genre due to it being done to dust by Hollywood.

Nevertheless, Netflix’s latest offering from South Korea is packaged with a little more than just the usual neck-biting and blood-gushing zombie violence. The South Korean zombie apocalypse horror streaming television series All of Us Are Dead is making some buzz for all the right reasons. With the raw violence and action, the Korean movies and series are known for, All of Us Are Dead is a beautiful and tough-to-witness exploration of the vulgarity hidden in the human character when the eventuality is a choice to be made between life and death (much like Squid Games ).

After the girl gets bitten, she is then kept in captivity in the school science lab by the science teacher who’s the mastermind behind the creation of this new zombie virus. On being discovered by the people at the school, the girl, almost on the verge of getting herself zombie-certified, decides to bite one of the people helping her while being taken to the hospital. And the cycle of biting goes on like that for some time until enough people are there to form a zombie self-help group. You get the idea. As the entire school and the whole city starts turning into a zombie-land, we are left with a bunch of school kids who must now survive this zombie outbreak. With the school as the main centre of attention, the focus shifts between multiple locations and characters across the city as they must now run ahead of some gut-hungry zombies to save their lives. (If you feel the description is too graphic, wait till you watch the series.)

The setting of the school as the main playground for all the zombie-driven high adrenaline action to take place with some fun, characteristically unique, and a highly endearing bunch of school kids driving the course of action, provides for a colourful canvas to create an emotional and heart-breaking apocalypse horror drama. The school kids with their ingenuity and genuinely delightful innocence at moments add multiple colours to the otherwise red landscape of a gory and violent zombie drama.

In All of Us Are Dead, the school kids make up the perfect match for a truly vulnerable protagonist at the centre of a massacre. The talented and young cast brings greater conviction to the struggle that ensues. Each character is different and provides greater depth to the story. The conflict that emerges out of a group, consisting of young kids who may not agree with each other on everything, adds to the other conflicts that arise in a zombie outbreak.

The Multitude of Conflicts in All Of Us Are Dead

Talking of conflicts, there are many through the course of this 12-episode long drama. The obvious one is the conflict between the humans and the undead. But what elevates the series in its stature in the zombie hall of fame is the multitude of conflicts it presents. Another is between the instinct to survive at all costs and the instinct to kill. The real cost of survival is written in red letters multiple times. The instinct to survive takes over often violently and often at the expense of another’s life. What follows is a total subjugation of human empathy. Throughout the tense drama which envelops the story, more binaries are presented.

When faced with a decision whether to go out to find a friend who’s possibly dead or stay inside and protect their own lives, the kids face a conflict between hope and logic. The hope of the friend being alive against the logic of protecting oneself fore mostly. Another important conflict is between the choices one is presented with when witnessing a loved one’s transformation into an unknown and deadly creature. To let go or to hold on is a choice the characters are forced to make more than once. The drama and the trauma connected with it are endless, but so is the crisis at hand. All of Us Are Dead in its most honest and heartfelt moments places the human character at the centre of dire situations where the innate humaneness of the characters is put to the test. A test, which at its best, raises vital questions about human helplessness.

The Gore doesn’t Come Without Emotional Stakes

The series is not a mind-numbing trip through gory, bloody, and wildly graphic scenes of flesh-ripping action all the time. Yes, it has the fine elements of a great zombie horror but not at the expense of providing a devastating story of personal loss and death. Throughout its nearly hour-long episodes, the story raises above the basic premise of a zombie outbreak and indulges in the pursuit of various goals. The primary one is the constant social commentary it presents. Along with divulging the flaws of the human characters, All of Us Are Dead quite courageously showcases the inherent systemic flaws- social as well as political.

In the face of crisis, the system falls as quickly on its knees as the humans who built the system do. The choice of life and death is often left to a system built on rules and procedures. In a very cyclic manner, a virus, that takes birth to tackle a systemic problem like bullying, travels a full circle when all it leads to is the total exposure of the hollow pillars on which the system stands upon, in the promise of protecting those who are the most vulnerable. On the outset, in the garb of a violent zombie adventure, this South Korean series turns the eye of inquiry inwards.

The little distraction in the otherwise engaging storyline appears when too much time and effort is invested in building arcs for characters who do not leave a significant impact on the storyline apart from serving an obvious purpose the characters were written for. The series does not suffer from a dearth of motivated characters. With the main bunch of school kids at the epicentre of the outbreak, the story travels a much larger distance across the city with many making their mark. The characters are interesting and remain somewhat important when they are on the screen, making it just more noticeable when they are easily removed from the scheme of things without a proper farewell by virtue of convenient writing.

The Movie Culture Synopsis

The series in its most brilliant moments presents some talented actors portraying some genuine and devastated characters in the middle of an inhuman crisis. Combined with the graphic monstrosity of the zombie genre, this latest drama achieves more than what most zombie movies and television series do .

All of Us Are Dead smartly employs the setting of a zombie apocalypse to create a moving human tale of loss and grief layered with jealousy, romance, suffering, hostility, and waves of drama engineered around quick bursts of comic relief.

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The historical k-drama from 2023 that every all of us are dead fan should watch.

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8 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching All Of Us Are Dead Ahead Of Season 2

"we're definitely going to do it": scrubs creator bill lawrence confirms the medical comedy will return, new k-drama spy series will reunite two cobra kai stars.

Check out this historical romance K-drama from 2023 after watching All of Us Are Dead for more thrills.
Cho Yi-hyun shines in both All of Us Are Dead and The Matchmakers, connecting audiences to different genres.
Expect exciting new developments from Nam-ra in All of Us Are Dead season 2, setting up for a thrilling journey.

Those who enjoyed All of Us Are Dead should check out The Matchmakers , a historical romance K-drama from 2023 that has a major connection to the zombie how. In 2022, Netflix released All of Us Are Dead, a horror K-drama based on a webtoon from 2009. The story follows a group of teenagers who become trapped in their high school when their science teacher causes a zombie outbreak. All of Us Are Dead received high praise upon its release, earning an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and a season 2 renewal. Audiences have been waiting for All of Us Are Dead season 2's release date to be revealed ever since.

Those who loved All of Us Are Dead may be eager to find another K-drama that has the same level of thrills and terror. Luckily, there are countless great horror K-dramas , including Sweet Home and Gyeong Seong Creature. However, not every K-drama perfect to watch after All of Us Are Dead has to be horrifying. In fact, there is one romantic K-drama that doesn't have the same themes as the zombie series but is connected to it in a big way – The Matchmakers , which is a perfect follow-up to All of Us Are Dead.

Custom image of All of Us Are Dead's characters in season 1

Rewatching Netflix’s All of Us Are Dead ahead of season 2’s release reveals some harsh truths about the zombie K-drama that became a global hit.

The Matchmakers Stars All Of Us Are Dead’s Cho Yi-hyun

Cho yi-hyun is a major part of both series.

Rowoon and Cho Yi-hyun looking at each other in The Matchmakers

For more of All of Us Are Dead 's cast, viewers should watch 2023's The Matchmakers. The shows are connected by actress Cho Yi-hyun , who appears in both series. In All of Us Are Dead, Yi-hyun stars as Choi Nam-ra, the class president of Class 2-5. Meanwhile, in The Matchmakers, Yi-hyun plays widow-turned-matchmaker, Jung Soon-deok. For context, The Matchmakers follows a widower and widow who team up for a strange business that seeks to marry "old maids" who are causing problems during the Joseon era. Notably, the series earned a 7.5 out of 10 on IMDb.

Cho Yi-hyun has also appeared in K-dramas like Hospital Playlist, My Country: The New Age, and School 2021.

Though All of Us Are Dead and The Matchmakers have vastly different genres , Cho Yi-hyun is a great connector between them. For the most part, this is because Yi-hyun is vital to both shows. Nam-ra's All of Us Are Dead story , her hambie powers, and her romance with Su-hyeok are all significant parts of the plot. Furthermore, Nam-ra's connection to other, unknown hambies is another important aspect of the show. The same can be said for The Matchmakers. As the sole female lead, Yi-hyun's performance holds up half of the show with her arc of becoming a matchmaker and forming a bond with Shim Jung-woo.

How The Matchmakers’ Soon-deok Differs From All Of Us Are Dead’s Nam-ra

Soon-deok and nam-ra are in difficult positions.

For the most part, Cho Yi-hyun's roles in All of Us Are Dead and The Matchmakers are quite different . While Nam-ra is a rather shy and reserved teenager, Soon-deok is a crafty and secretive widow. Where Nam-ra attempts to stay out of others' lives, Soon-deok inserts herself into the romances of others due to her position as a matchmaker. Additionally, Nam-ra struggles to find her place among her high school peers, whereas Nam-ra seems to have a solid support system. In this way, Soon-deok and Nam-ra sit on different sides of the spectrum when it comes to social status and personality.

Soon-deok and Nam-ra are two women who are trying to break free of others' expectations to find happiness in their lives.

Underneath the surface, Soon-deok and Nam-ra do have some similarities though. For one thing, both women are in tough positions. Nam-ra earned the role of class president due to her mother's money, making her a laughingstock of the school. In this way, she is an outcast. Meanwhile, Soon-deok should have very few freedoms as a widow, yet she works undercover as a matchmaker. If others found out, she would be in serious trouble. Soon-deok and Nam-ra are two women who are trying to break free of others' expectations to find happiness in their lives.

The Matchmakers is streaming on Viki in the US and Netflix in some regions.

What To Expect From Cho Yi-hyun’s Nam-ra In All Of Us Are Dead Season 2

Nam-ra will take on a new role.

All of Us Are Dead's Choi Nam-ra holds Nam On-jo's hand.

When All of Us Are Dead season 2 hits Netflix, Cho Yi-hyun will continue to play a pivotal role in the series. At the end of All of Us Are Dead season 1, Nam-ra reappears after a brief disappearance and reveals that she has been protecting other halfbies that were abandoned by the government. Rather than returning to her friend group, Nam-ra decides to keep doing her work with halfbies. Notably, Nam-ra seems to have controlled her powers. This sets her up to follow a very exciting storyline in All of Us Are Dead season 2.

Nam-ra went from a person who would ironically be referred to as class president to a true leader in All of Us Are Dead season 1, a story arc that will continue in season 2. Nam-ra will play an important role with the halfbies, and based on the webtoon, she could be a potential source for a cure for the zombie virus. The Matchmakers only has one season, but All of Us Are Dead 's story will continue.

All Of Us Are Dead

Not available

All of Us Are Dead is a horror-thriller series based on the webtoon from creator Jeon Bae-soo. Set in a South Korean high school, a scientist father trying to find a way to protect his son from bullies accidentally creates a serum that uses the fear within humans to turn them into zombies. Set loose in the school, the surviving students and staff find themselves cut off from the outside world and must now fight to survive the infected onslaught - and each other.

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You’ve Seen This One Before

Any profundity in It Ends With Us , the first film adaptation of one of Colleen Hoover’s massively best-selling novels in which “everyone harbors relentless angst and has uniformly excellent sex,” pretty much taps out at the three main characters’ names. The movie follows Lily Bloom, a woman passionate about flowers whose self-confidence and capacity for love will one day blossom again. (That’s her middle name, by the way: “Blossom.”) Her first relationship was with a boy named Atlas, who (figuratively) mapped her heart and was probably her soul mate. And she ends up married to a man named Ryle, who is rich and charming and whose anger issues explode when he gets, you know, riled up .

There would be some whimsy to these names if It Ends With Us didn’t overshadow its didactic eccentricity with so much other melodramatic stuff. The film cycles its characters through rote romantic-drama tropes and a relentless barrage of abuse, sticking close enough to Hoover’s plot that fans of the book will be satisfied. Blake Lively is serviceable in the lead role; she gives Lily a sturdy, guarded core that makes the character relatable, though she’s never as convincingly deluded by her husband’s lies about their physical altercations as the script requires. In a scene written by Lively’s real-life husband Ryan Reynolds, the actress is all giggles and wry asides; she can be deathly dry, too, as she was in A Simple Favor . (Elsewhere, this film is as much a reflection of Lively’s connections in the business: Her best friend Taylor Swift contributed songs to the soundtrack, and her other best friend Gigi Hadid lent clothes to her character’s wardrobe.)

But It Ends With Us isn’t really the astute exploration of womanhood’s woes that it presents itself as. The brief conversations it allows about why women stay in abusive relationships are so broad in their analysis of codependency and loneliness that they’re not particularly insightful; the film never really digs deep enough to understand its characters’ decisions or motivations beyond their (say it in all-caps) childhood trauma. This is essentially just a Hallmark/Lifetime/Netflix movie with a lot more gloss and only slightly more grit, a pricier wardrobe budget, and a few lens-flare-inundated sex scenes.

It Ends With Us follows Lily in two timelines. As an adult (Lively), she’s a florist in Boston with an overbearing mother she keeps at arm’s length and a meet-cute romance with world-class neurosurgeon Ryle (Justin Baldoni, who also directed and produced the film and is embroiled in some kind of tension with the cast; they’ve unfollowed him on social media and at premieres have ignored questions about working with him). During their first conversation, Ryle asks if Lily will have sex with him, which she’s not particularly charmed by. But she softens after she sees him sympathize with a young patient responsible for an accidental death. That’s because she has her own baggage thanks to a physically violent father, from whom teenage Lily (Isabela Ferrer) hid her first love, an unhoused young man named Atlas (Alex Neustaedter), whose mother kicked him out when he objected to her brutish boyfriend. It Ends With Us uses flashbacks to this idyllic relationship to contrast Atlas’s gentleness with Ryle’s forwardness, Lily’s small-town roots with Ryle’s modernist-penthouse wealth, and the innocent sincerity of Lily’s first relationship with her more sexually charged bond with Ryle. Does all this come to a head when Lily finds out adult Atlas (Brandon Sklenar, who looks like the Mission: Impossible face machine got stuck between Scott Eastwood and Garrett Hedlund) is living in Boston, too? It sure does!

The women’s romantic-drama genre is cyclical; we had Danielle Steel, we had Nicholas Sparks, and now we have Hoover, whose works align with those predecessors in many ways. It Ends With Us bears a phenomenal resemblance to The Notebook , actually: a woman caught between two men, one blue-collar and the other privileged; a tense mother-daughter relationship fueled by resentment and a warped sense of protection; one of the men even builds Lily a restaurant, not dissimilar from how Noah built Allie a house in The Notebook . But at least The Notebook gave Allie and Noah interests and passions outside of their relationship and their jobs that didn’t neatly align with what we’d expect of them (think of Noah, a mill worker, reading Walt Whitman). In It Ends With Us , the primary risk is just Lily’s wardrobe, a mishmash of boho blouses, bodycon dresses, and enough Carhartt that you’d think you were watching Yellowstone . Otherwise, there’s no texture, no lived-in quality, no sense of surprise to any of these characters — you know Lily and Atlas are the film’s one true pairing because they’re both creative types and had abused mothers.

There’s love-triangle tension between Lily, Ryle, and Atlas, of course. But It Ends With Us wants to be more important than that, and so it can’t go more than a few minutes without reminding us of the characters’ damage — a cynical tactic that suggests we’ll only care about these three if we know how hurt they are. Beatings and bullying and backhands across the face, sexual assault and shoving and gaslighting. Admittedly, one of these scenes is so shockingly physical, and handled with such emotional acuity by Lively, that it cuts through the film’s tidal wave of misery and makes a legitimate impact. Yet even that development is resolved in a manner so tidy that it reinforces It Ends With Us ’s innate conservatism. The movie wants to be a form of comfort food, assuring us that everything would be all right if only women embraced their traditional roles as nurturers, mothers, and healers, but it all just tastes stale.

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‘It Ends With Us’ Review: Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni Deliver In Nuanced Feature Take Of Colleen Hoover Bestseller

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What Baldoni gets right, just like the novel, is relaying a tale of how many relationships that begin with the utmost love can unfortunately sour. What fans of the book will immediately notice is Baldoni’s deft touch in handling some of the more violent scenes on the page with a certain politeness — until the end, when Lily fully experiences a rude awakening. In addition, Hall’s screenplay largely sticks to the original dialogue in Hoover’s novel.

As streamers have cannibalized once prime box office genres, Sony has made it a mission to revitalize such features, in this case a romance drama, one which we’ve haven’t seen in quite some time. Delivering here a polished adaptation by an immensely popular author and novel, Sony and Wayfarer Studios, both of which co-financed, have a big opening weekend in store, some box office sources believing that a $40M-plus opening for It Ends With Us isn’t out of the range of possibility.

Should readership have any qualms with this mostly spot-on transformation, their reservations may be with some additional quirky comedic moments from Ryle’s sister Al l ysa (played by Saturday Night Live vet Jenny Slate). In addition, there are some lines by Lily when she first meets Ryle that don’t exactly hit. References come across a little disjointed as the characters were aged up from Hoover’s novel. Ryle’s absence may also be felt in a scene that discloses a tragic event in his past.

A chance rooftop meeting between Lily and Ryle — which forecasts more about Baldoni’s leading man than women might take in at first watch — sets up their reconnection a few months later after Lily achieves her childhood dream of opening a flower shop. When she gets the keys to her Bostonian building, who should walk in to volunteer and help but Allysa. Begging for work because she is bored and married to a well-off entrepreneur Marshall (Hasan Minhaj), Allysa promptly commits to helping Lily out down to cleaning out the building. Closer to opening the shop, who should walk in with Allysa’s husband to help hoist decorations but her neurosurgeon brother, and this rekindles the spark between Ryle and Lily.

Flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years set up the story of her first love, Atlas Corrigan (Alex Neustadter), who resurfaces when Lily meets her mom for dinner at Root, a restaurant that the grownup Atlas (Brandon Sklenar) now owns. This marks one scene slightly tweaked from the book in which Lily recognizes Atlas by a familiar scar on his hand on-screen versus first looking him in the eye in the book. Root’s décor and overall atmosphere subtly connects Atlas and Lily because it echoes how Lily decorated her childhood bedroom, and now her flower shop.

Ryle’s latent volatility shows itself in three separate scenarios, and Baldoni as a director plays the first two out in a fast-paced nature, while the third sequence includes a fuller, more grave reveal, one in which Lily has more clarity. Readers are well acquainted with these moments, and might be thrown by how they’re portrayed in speedy multiple angles and quick cuts before they see the final flashback. However, Baldoni’s style here is to capture the mentality of a woman who has been abused, and who often times tries to rationalize such tragedy. The story plays very well to that angle.

RELATED: Ryan Reynolds Vs. Blake Lively At The Box Office: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ To Slay Again With $50M, ‘It Ends With Us’ To Begin With $23M-$30M+ – Preview

The first instance entails Ryle leaving a frittata in the oven too long for breakfast. As he goes to grab it in a rush barehanded, Lily goes from laughing to sprawled on the floor; put there by surprise force. The sequence disorients the viewer, making it look like Ryle’s flinching reaction to the heat turned into a push that put Lily on the floor.

Confrontations by Atlas of both Lily and Ryle sets up another act of violence, which plays out in similar filmed fashion to the first. These first instances of Ryle’s violence will have the viewer questioning what really happened at first, like Lily does. In between the first and second altercations, Lily marries Ryle.

RELATED: ‘It Ends With Us’ New York Premiere Red Carpet Photos: Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Justin Baldoni, Brandon Sklenar & More

As Lily, Lively balances empathy and assertion. Her grace and calmness give way to quiet resolve as Lily faces down her and Ryle’s demons. Lively still sparkles with a hopeful joy in between the serious scenes, which lays the foundation for her convincing resilience.

Sklenar takes on the stoic nature of Atlas with ease. On the surface, his blue eyes and breezy nature contrast with Ryle’s intensity, but Sklenar as Atlas can meet Ryle’s anger with his own fierce protection of Lily.

Complicated relationships are a theme throughout Hoover’s work. Amazon MGM is turning her book Verity into a thriller. Given the clean and hopeful ending in which Lily has come to terms with herself and her choices, some fans may clamor for another installment between Lily and Atlas. There could very well be one in Hoover’s It Starts With Us , the 2022 sequel, which watches Atlas and Lily get a second chance at a relationship after she’s had time to adjust to her next chapter. This installment, though, stays powerful with the choice to keep Lily independent at its conclusion.

Title: It Ends With Us Distributor: Sony Release Date: August 9, 2024 Director : Justin Baldoni Screenwriter: Christy Hall Cast: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Brandon Sklenar, Isabela Ferrer, Alex Neustadter, Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Kevin McKidd, Amy Morton Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 2 hr 10 min

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REVIEW: “All of Us are Dead” (Netflix).
All of Us Are Dead (Netflix) Movie Cast & Crew, Release Date, Roles
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COMMENTS

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The title, All Of Us Are Dead, perfectly sums up the entire story. Everyone ends up dying anyway, regardless of whether they become zombies or not. People die because no one comes to save them, or they die trying to save themselves. People die because of the choices of others.
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All of Us Are Dead doesn't attempt to reinvent the wheel. A mysterious science teacher in the school experiments on a rat that bites one of the students and from there, the virus spreads first throughout the school and then throughout the city. The students in the series aren't oblivious to what is happening. They are aware of zombies and ...
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