The past ten years have seen an incredible amount of zombie representation. The Walking Dead, one of the most expansive television franchises in recent history, has relentlessly focused on the undead community — which is typically voiceless due to decomposed vocal cords. To date, 274 episodes of The Walking Dead have aired across the main series and two spin-offs, with new series and more episodes on the way. It’s a huge accomplishment, but it’s also suffocating, because any new zombie-themed show needs to work hard to break free from The Walking Dead’s lengthy shadow. Luckily, ‘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 a LOT less mean than other zombie shows like it.
This doesn’t mean that All of Us Are Dead has no bite. It’s a violent, brutal story where the students of Hyosan High School watch as their friends and teachers transform into zombies, or do horrible things to each another in a bid to stay alive. The show’s huge cast (which later expands to include people from all over Hyosan) allows it to focus on what is lost and what is worth keeping in such a disaster. All of Us Are Dead keeps its focus on humans — even when they turn into zombies — thanks to character-driven storytelling and a strong focus on how its cast interacts with one another.
Based on the Naver webtoon ‘Now at Our School’ (지금 우리 학교는) by Joo Dong-geun, All of Us Are Dead begins its zombie apocalypse in a pretty standard manner, focusing on the beginning of the outbreak. Studen Kim Hyeon-ju (Jung Yi-seo) discovers a mouse in the science lab that has been experimented on by Lee Byeong-chan (Kim Byung-chul), a strange and standoffish science teacher. When it bites her, the clock starts ticking on the high school surrounding her — and the city of Hyosan as a whole.
Much of what follows is expected, but then, what zombie story isn’t? Students and teachers quickly become infected. Some people are cowardly and unwilling to help. Students who notice what’s going on begin to suspect their classmates of being bitten. The zombies overtake emergency personnel. The plague continues to spread. With this being said, All of Us Are Dead is, thank God, a show where people understand what zombies, are and even mention 2016s Train to Busan.
The zombie-filled thrill ride is not for the faint of heart, and it’s better to see it in tiny doses. Initially, All of Us are Dead moves quickly and features some incredible camerawork and choreography that keep your attention.
Sequences like Cheong-san and Gwi-nam fighting on top of the library stacks, a tense tip-toeing trip down a hallway, and a desperate race across an auditorium to safety, are all beautifully staged to bring both the ordinary and extraordinary together with thrilling effect.
Unfortunately, the show becomes a little bland in the middle of the season, dragged down by needless subplots and arbitrary military/scientific themes. But when the action returns to Hyosan High School and the diverse group of kids dealing with their own problems, the show picks up again, eliciting gasps, shouts, tears, and laughs.
While the core group of teens run into danger, mourn constant deaths, and force their way to safety through the familiar corridors of their school with one inventive scheme after another, this specific zombie series allows them to continue to stay teenagers; harbouring crushes, holding grudges, and yearning for acceptance and closeness.
But, while some of them are still alive, it’s unquestionably moving to see them, against all odds, embrace the full experience of being human — all while finding hope in the least likely places.
‘All of Us Are Dead’ is now available to stream on Netflix.
