WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!

South Korea has taken a liking to zombie cinema, filling viewers with thrill and horror along the way. After films such as Train to Busan (2016) and #Alive (2020), a new zombie era is taking place. Currently Top 10 on Netflix, the zombie-thriller show All Of Us Are Dead (2022) is making waves with a global audience. Read on for our recap of the latest must-see K-drama for horror fans. 

A Mysterious Beginning 

All Of Us Are Dead throws viewers right into action, involving scenes that could foreshadow what’s to come later. A gruesome fight begins with a group of students in uniforms. One student, Lee Jin Su (Lee Min Goo), is seen with a bloody mouth and aggressive behavior. He ends up falling down from the rooftop building and becomes hospitalized. It’s only a matter of time until this behavior could develop into something far more horrific. 

 

Action Upon Action

After the outbreak at Hyosan High School, the only way to survive is to run or hide. The show consists of many action scenes, from a cafeteria battle between humans and zombies to the hallway scene of students pushing their way through with classroom doors. Students are constantly on the run in order to survive the zombie apocalypse. 

If there’s nowhere to escape, students use objects like furniture to push zombies away. This gives them enough time to run and find a place to hide. Some students obtain weapons to use to kill the zombies. For instance, the archery team uses a bow and arrow. Others use simpler ones like the end of a broken mop.

The Cause of The Outbreak

The center of the outbreak begins with science teacher Lee Byeong Chan (Kim Byung Chul) as he creates the virus himself for his own reasons. His main reason was to use it on his son, Jin Su, in order to become stronger to defend himself from bullies. 

Eventually, after he injects his son with the virus, it would backfire as Jin Su would go berserk and turn into a zombie. Byeong Chan would continue to test the virus on rats, but as he tries to hide his test subject in the science lab, a student by the name Kim Hyeon Ju finds it and gets bitten. Byeong Chan tries his best to not let her escape after being infected, but she would soon find her way out looking for help. After receiving help, she bites the nurse, leading to the start of the outbreak at Hyosan High School. 

Strategy to Survive

The survivors brainstorm strategies and ideas to avoid any zombie attacks. If the students were trapped inside a classroom surrounded by zombies, they came up with a plan. In one episode, Lee Cheong San, Kim Ji Min, and Han Gyeong Su knotted a fire hose and placed it outside the window for the group of students to climb down to another room. Students like Jang Ha Ri and Park Min Jin train with a bow and arrow to shoot zombies when they attack. 

https://twitter.com/cumberboomz/status/1489296153099358209?s=20&t=cIXBGBAF_5TNeoNIdbbxCA

Viewers can see similar themes of survival with other Netflix shows, such as Alice in Borderland (2020), Squid Game (2021), or Sweet Home (2021). 

Explosion of Fan Reactions

Fans could not wait to share their zombie-loving reactions to the show. Some have also made edits with favorite characters. 

 

 

https://twitter.com/chupsro/status/1489210109310156804?s=20&t=G6Rfip2xO9MNAo7jvJgOdQ

https://twitter.com/yohansswifey/status/1488855965583564802?s=20&t=KgmijhRviYNzV_NDsRmoFQ

 

 

If you enjoy thriller zombie horror shows, you can watch All Of Us Are Dead (2022) on Netflix.

Looking for new self-care routines? Check out ACT!ON’s piece on self-care practices inspired by K-dramas here.