All of Us Are Dead

Netflix Sensationalism With Poor Substance

To quote a great poet "I expected nothing and I'm still let down".

I checked All of Us Are Dead out of curiosity: labelled as a Netflix show but with a kdrama more usual format (12 episodes of roughly 1h). I think this is the first time I wished this drama had been shorter like the other Netflix productions.

The Story

It drags on. The main plot of the students can be summarized in one sentence : a dozen students try to survive a zombie epidemic, moving from safe spots to safe spots while having encounters with zombies and see their group thin out. That's....... basically all there is to that main storyline. As the epidemic spreads, we follow for a while other storylines, notably two : that of Captain Song Jae Ik (Lee Kyu Hyung) and firefighter Nam So Ju (one of the female leads' father). While the first brought a well-needed comic relief and some adorable moments of Lee Kyu Hyung adopting kids left and right (and being his usual great self), the other managed to catch my attention more, balanced action scenes with calmer ones better than the school storyline. Maybe I was more receptive to these two particular part of the story because I like the actors involved or it moved quicker than the students' and gave more information to the stakes of the storyline. But, in my opinion, the part outside of the school were just..... better. Which is quite sad considering the main point of focus of the drama is youth in the midst of a zombie epidemic and the emotional impact such epidemic has on them.

In addition, I was really uncomfortable by the scene of sexual assault at the start of the drama which........ Served no purpose and was never really resolved unless punishing and blaming the victim even further was the point.

And generally speaking I'm just very tired of bullying plotlines. This is an important topic that should be addressed but lately it seems it's in every drama I watch and there is only so much I can take.

The drama could have easily been just 10 episodes or even less, but instead we got long boring scenes of the students talking and talking and talking and being suspicious and fighting (plus some plotholes) not to mention two "love" storylines that were quite honestly kinda cute but unnecessary imo.


The Characters

Going in pairs with my boredom to the students storyline, I did not really get attach to any of the students. I liked them, the actors did a good job portraying them but they were..... Just there. I did not particularly care what would happen to them and even if some scenes were sad I barely felt anything. It just did not click for me. HOWEVER, once again, Lee Kyu Hyung portraying a police captain trying to grapple with the last shred of hope he can find and Jeon Bae Soo in a desperate father role were two highlights and I was disappointed when their arcs were done (especially Lee Kyu Hyung's which was cut way to short for my taste).

Visuals

The zombies make-up and their choreography was really well done (one of the few positives in this drama for me). They truly looked the part and were chilling at times.

As for the rest... I know this is a horror drama and that gory scenes are likely to happen. But this drama really had me think that some gore scenes were simply there just because Netflix can have them - in a "in-your-face" kind of way. Just like with most of their dramas, it seems to me they massively take the route of violent, gritty dramas and just go and escalate what they show each time. I'm not sure why. Is it provocation? Is it cheap shock-value? Is it just to "buzz" on social medias and thus receive extra publicity? I'm not sure, but this Netflix Sensationalism is not IT. And it's frustrating because Netflix knows just how to make shows with violence and still have it be a natural part of the story (Kingdom comes to mind particularly) and not...... the whole personnality of the drama.

The cinematography was subpar at best, not that I was expecting anything in that regard.


In conclusion

If you like zombies and have seen several dramas and movies on the subject, you will probably get bored though you might still want to check it out. If this is one of your first dramas, please check out other dramas. If it's zombies you're interested about, Kingdom is right there waiting for you. If it's simply dramas in general, Netflix and many other platforms like Viki, Viu and others have many titles to offer with better stories, better development, better crafting all around.

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Could have been better

This drama had so much potential, but it fell flat in a lot of ways. To start, almost all the female characters were unlikable, incredibly boring, and useless 99% of the time, which is really frustrating to watch. I'm especially dissapointed with Eunji's character arc. Having her take revenge on the bullies and going up against an immune Gwi Nam would have been epic. What a wasted oppertunity and a wasted character. It would bave been nice to see some character arcs play out a little differently. This story also has some pretty big plot holes, we never really find out what makes some people immune to the virus for instance, or what happened to Cheong-San's dad, or what the antidote was that delayed Byeong Chan's son's transformation. Overall, this drama had some good ideas but wasted too many opportunities and left way too many questions unanswered but if you're in the mood for mindless action, gore and zombies vs students then this is the drama for you.

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Zombie Zombie.

I am usually not a fan of Zombie movie but I got curious how they will manage to follow Train to Busan and Peninsula. I thought overall it was a nice drama. The story lack some point or could have been better developped. As for the bully girl, she is here to show that bullied can become bully. I would have loved to see her in a massive fight with Gyu Nam but I can understand the writer point of view. In this drama, the adult are completely useless and it shows that the teenager do not need help. I was sure that not all of the kids will make it as it is korean and no... Not everyone will survive a zombie apocalypse. I am really confused as why Nam Ra is still alive and didn't decided to sacrifice herself in order to protect the other but I guess we might have an answer in the 2nd season. The adult are quite famois actor for people who do know kdrama. As for the kids it depends but I was so happy to see Park Solomon and Yoon Chan Young on a lead role for netflix and I hope it.will bring them more opportunities. Overall, as we were going forward the drama... I had that weird feeling and it somehow got confirm at the end of ep 12. "You abandoned us" " I won't ever trust an adult". It was a shout out to all the adult that gave up on the teenagers stuck in the sewol ferry that the adult didn't try to save. After watching Birthday with Yoon Chan Young a few years back... I never thought they will reuse similar scene as an interrogation of the survivor like it was their fault. I feel like I wouldhave to watch it again to catch all the secondary point but I will be really excited to see the season 2

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A Unique Show With A Zombie Origin

I loved that this show has the zombie origin and has lots of twists that are new to zombie shows. It has a lot of originality and not your typical zombie show. Plus it adds real human emotions which is really possible during a zombie outbreak.

I also like that the casts acted really well, with the guidance from their director. And watching the behind the scenes, they had fun shooting even if it takes a lot of time and preparation to shoot a single scene. I like that the storytelling was good, and the camera shots are meticulously done. It's not dizzying or confusing to watch even with the chaos brought about by running or fighting from zombies

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All of Us are Dead builds on and extrapolates the zombie playing field of Train of Busan, and more

If you have enjoyed Train to Busan, you will be drawn in gradually to this series. All of Us are Dead builds on and extrapolates the zombie playing field of Train of Busan, from a 2h movie to a 12h drama series, and from within a train to a sprawling high school campus.

As i am still pretty new to kdramas and not familiar with the k actors/actresses, It was confusing for me with the introduction of many different students all dressed in the same school uniforms in the first episode, albeit the occasional different coloured sweaters for some students. After 4 episodes, i started to wonder how the series can continue meaningfully for another 8 episodes, other than students trying to escape alive from the zombie-flooded school.

The series surprisingly engages as it starts to develop the key characters, connecting viewers to them, and exploring humanity, love, sacrifices and teamwork between peers, teacher-students, dad-family, amidst the relentless attacks by the endless swarms of zombies. See comment for link to life lessons and spoilers. It drags at midpoint, as with most dramas. The introduction of half zombies thereafter beefed up the plot for a 12h series.

Overall, it is an enjoyable and enriching zombie series to watch. While i wont be rewatching this series, I do look forward to Season 2 of this series.

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Pretty good but a bit drawn out.

** 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 zombiecalypse.
** With 12 episodes running 1 hr. long each, it gets a bit exhausting at times due to continuous gore and violence. It could easily have been done in 8 episodes.
** Some of the characters were a little annoying and the romantic interests felt just a bit silly and somewhat ill fitting.

*** Aside from that it was otherwise reasonably entertaining.

It 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.

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different but annoyingly different

just like sweet home and squid game, this was unlike the "usual" kdramas, well the zombie apocalypse part, the highschool romance angst was actually exactly like any other school kdramas ;)

for a zombie apocalypse, it's not usually from a teens' pov. and usually it doesn't revolve around bullying.. but that was it's charm..
was it believable? lol of course not.. those kids never ate anything for 3 days straight, and they barely slept, yet they had enough strength to run, fight and hold back zombies who are known for their speed and power (like those chombies showcased, there's no way those kids could've survived that long)


Tbh prez should use her strength more, I mean if it was a guy chombie he'd have carried them all out and saved the day by now.. prez only threw bully off the roof once..

that bullied girl eating bullied boy.. that's not revenge, he couldn't protect himself she shouldn't have expected him to save her.. she needed to take revenge on her bully.. she should've stayed in the school then found her bully bullying the kids so she'd save them and have her revenge
her revenge against "the whole school" made no sense cuz as those kids showed most of them didn't know either of the bullies or the bullied..

also with cheong san's mom, he should've shown more disbelief, and also she shouldn't have gone there, also where was his dad?
it's like the mom, the fls dad, the bully, the bullied girl, they were all just steps to get the story somewhere.. but they just mostly needed less eps and less reason to drag it out, like that whole flashbacks sequences..

Cheong San didn't deserve this.. the bully was attacking him and he defended himself.. he did not deserve an eye for an eye


The 2 cops are just adopting any kid they find🤣🤡 I was waiting for them to run away with 1 kid now they have 2🤣🤡🤡

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amazing plot, plain characters

i really enjoyed the plot of this show. i love zombie stories and this one definitely did not disappoint. i was at the edge of my seat during every episode.
however, i feel like they focused on the story more than the characters' personalities. i loved watching the love stories form, but they really had to work on their individual characteristics. the main female lead was a bit boring to me and the other classmates felt almost irrelevant.
overall, i still enjoyed the plot of this series and i can't wait for season 2! i highly recommend watching this with your friends.

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Welcome to creepy yet addictive Zombie land

First of all.... If you like watching zombie movies just go for this!
But if you can't stand bloodshed and creepy looking zombies please don't even start this because it's full of such scenes.
The zombies are really creepy and will scare the hell out of you in many scenes.

I am not scared of this genre but trust me, in my dreams and rather even in day time when i would be alone in a place/ Street, a sudden zombie attack is something that crosses my mind even though i know nothing like that exists... At least for the time being at my place.. hehe...


Each and every episode leaves you eager for the next and keeps you engaged in their storyline.

There are few scenes which are left unexplained but it's ok... The story and acting makes up for it.

All in all a very good thriller and horror drama which will leave you with "now what?" after it gets over!

Must watch at least once.

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Mindless fun

Hello, first of all I want to apologize for any grammatical mistake in the review English isn't my first language and I never took specialized classes to learn it at a somewhat professional level, with that out of the way I 'am kind of new to K-dramas I only started watching them when covid began so please be gentle with me (／≧ω＼).

Story: (6-7/10)

without going into too much details I'll try to stay as vague as I can, there is not a lot going on story wise at least not the first half of the show it's basically as the synopsis says students try to survive a zombie outbreak the first 6 episodes are very slow in my opinion but by the end they did a great job building this sense of urgency and uncertainty it definitely has some common clichés but it should be expected as this is a Drama after all. One more gripe that I have with the show is the lack of development in characters luckily the acting is very good so it's not that big of a deal. Overall the story for what is there is decent nothing groundbreaking but it will keep you entertained.

Acting: (8/10)

This is where the show excels the most, I had never heard of Yoon Chan Young, Park Solomon, Park Ji Hoo and Jo Yi Hyun but they all performed great the supporting cast was one of the best I've seen in a while they do a great job making you relate to the characters and root for them (the zombies were very scary and well played too)

Music: (5-6/10)

Nothing special here I don't even remember one song from the score it does the job and builds the scenes correctly.

Rewatch value (6/10)
I 'am very biased here I usually don't rewatch shows unless I was very touched by it and in this case while the show is good it's nothing spectacular I don't see why someone would rewatch unless a season 2 is announced in a few years

Overall (8/10)
While the show is nothing special if you are like me and like horror, gore and apocalyptic settings this show is good fun, if you are looking for something with a deep story and meaningful interactions this is not what you are looking for.

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A little hokey but still entertaining

First of all, I wanted to address something several reviews I've read have mentioned about the story. The thing to keep in mind as you're watching is, primarily, All Of Us Are Dead is focusing on a group of TEENAGERS trying to survive a zombie apocalypse with no help. Those of us that are adults, think back to when you were a teenager? Did you make intelligent, rational decisions? I was considered an intelligent kid and I know I didn't. And that's not with the added stress of a real life-or-death scenario. So I think a little grace needs to be used when nitpicking the decisions that led to undesirable results for these kids.

That said, I will agree that while I commend what they were TRYING to do story-wise (commentary about school bullying, the toxicity of politics, etc), there was definitely too much going on that didn't need the screen time and sort of took away focus from what should have been the main theme. I understand wanting to show the end of innocence and childhood through the loss of a parent too soon but the pregnant student and the subsequent baby left without its mother part seemed redundant, especially when there was so much emphasis put on a couple of the students witnessing the death of a parent or at least knowing for sure that their parents were dead.

The focus on the assembly member after On-jo's father had left the group to find his daughter didn't really seem needed to me at all. And killing him off within minutes after they were reunited seemed like just a cheap way to keep the kids on their own with no adult help whatsoever and made all the screen time focused on him being a badass and trying to get to the school and all his setbacks completely worthless.

Personally, I felt like not enough time was spent on fleshing out the characters and their relationships to each other to make the deaths more meaningful and devastating. Don't get me wrong, it's sad and a couple of them made me shed a tear even (I'm pretty emotional though and tend to cry when I see others crying.) but it never lasted very long.

The only other thing about it that irks me is that the score was completely forgettable. To the point where I don't remember any of it minus the intro music. I feel like with the use of a better score, I would have felt a lot more connected to the story and characters like I did after the rooftop singing scene.

Despite all that, I still found it incredibly entertaining and I'm interested in what they might be planning for a possible second season.

TLDR; Not the best drama ever written, but not the worst either. In my eyes, worth a watch if you're into zombies and horror.

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