All of us are dead REVIEW: Gruesome, gory and edgy; get set to be zombi-fied with this Netflix show

Director: Lee Jae-kyoo, Kim Nam-su

Cast: Yoon Chan-young, Park Ji-hoo, Cho Yi-hyun, Park Solomon, and Yoo In-soo

Bollywood Bubble rating: 3 stars

If there are two words, we as human forms absolutely have come to abhor, it is the virus and pandemic. Thanks to the last two years spent living with COVID. After the horrifying Hellbound and a rather light zombie apocalypse show Happiness, a new Korean show titled All of us are dead is here that dabbles with zombies and the after effects of it. If Hellbound was about alien-like shadows summoning you about your death, and Park Hyung-sik and Han Hyo Joo starrer Happiness dabbled with madman rabies pandemic set in a high-rise apartment, Netflix original show All of Us Are Dead is set in a high school in South Korea where hell breaks loose.

This apocalypse, much like Happiness, is man-made. In an attempt to strengthen the will power of a boy (also his son), who had been a victim of bullying, a genius scientist tries to meddle with the genes. What he considers a magic potion turns out to be rather catastrophic. The virus turns humans into zombies who lose all their senses and humanity after being bitten. It doesn’t end at that, we also see variants of it as the virus keeps evolving. Boy, all of this would have been more enjoyable had we not witnessed the last two years. Of course, COVID was no zombie apocalypse but to think of it, it wasn’t any lesser.

 

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What makes All of us are dead all the more gruesome is the premise. It is set in a high school with students who are yet to come off age. Up until the zombie attack begins, all they were worried about was studies, falling in love, asking their crushes out. If not this, there were some involved with shameful bullying with no remorse. This until a student is infected after being bitten by a mice in a science laboratory. What follows is a series of gruesome attacks, gory visuals of students leeching off each other’s flesh, enjoying the taste of it and a few trying to survive. It becomes a game of survival yet again, a cut-throat competition in it. A fair reminder of Netflix breakout show Squid Game, only the participants chose to play the latter.

To be fair, the first two episodes are difficult to get passed if you don’t have the stomach for violence and bullying. However, everything starts to fall in place once you warm up to the visuals of zombies pouncing on anything that smells flesh. Just like vampires, being a zombie also heightens your sense of smell and hearing. The story starts to get interesting by the fifth episode for me as a group of students experiment, use logic and sometimes go by instinct as they plan, execute ways to fool zombies and find an escape route. Do they finally survive or rather how many actually survive?

 

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With 12 episodes, All of us are dead seemed almost three episodes longer to me. It could have easily be completed in 8 episodes. The performances by the cast makes it believable as we see the angst, the confusion, the helplessness as they experience loss and fear. Directed by Lee Jae-kyoo makes sure to give it a unique spin as he brings together emotions driven by the natural instinct of survival, humanity and love. Some of the scenes are very well shot with the students finding unique ways to defeat the zombies. The importance given to choreograph the fighting scenes can be seen and it goes without the doubt that the it accentuates the viewing experience as an audience.

The show is backed by young talents, Yoon Chan-young, Park Ji-hoo, Cho Yi-hyun, Park Solomon and Yoo In-soo among others. All of us are dead is based on the Naver webtoon Now at Our School by Joo Dong-geun, which was published between 2009 and 2011. The makers have adapted it well, making it contemporary and dealing with complex and conflicting emotions.

Watch it for the performances, as you take a detour from an intense and romantic K-drama!

Also Read: Park Shin-hye and Choi Tae-joon look breath-taking in their pre-wedding photoshoot

Bhavna Agarwal

Assistant Editor at Bollywood Bubble. An ambivert who is currently high on K-dramas and K-Pop. A forever Bollywood fan, who continues to gush over solid stories and characters. Hit me up for a fine conversation over chai.

You can also reach me on – https://twitter.com/filmybugB