All of Us Are Dead (2022)

You need to be a zombie to enjoy this

Whew! Watching this is like doing an unwanted chore. Such a waste of opportunity!

After saving it in my to-watch list the first day I saw the trailer on Netflix, I cleared my Friday night schedule to binge all the episodes, prepared my popcorn, (and beer) popped the first episode and I'm hooked! The first episode was compelling and was such a gorefest, I thought it is exactly how I want my horror show. The very first attack by the school nurse was heartstopping and showed a lot of promise. Sadly, after the 3rd episode, I am snoozing like a baby, drools and all.

My expectations are low when it comes to horror. I come to be entertained and have a good time, and the more gruesome and the more bloody the better. Having said that, I have set my bar even lower for this series because I know it's teen-centric and I just want to enjoy and not nitpick details. This show, however, exceeded in delivering mind-numbing foolishness, and it's so easy to hate almost all characters that you can't stop wishing all of them would just be bitten.

The story is simple enough but could have been a goldmine of ideas and exciting scenarios. Instead, they dropped stupid and repetitive scenarios one after another. The character's eyes keep popping like a light bulb every time they think (or they think they thought of) of brilliant ideas to outsmart the zombies. You just can't help but cheer the zombies to finally have a go at it and just kill the characters:
1. One of the most frustrating is the way they handled Ohn Jo's father, they were building the story for him to be the big rescuer, and that he will do everything to save his daughter only to die minutes after reuniting with her. We were shouting at the screen when that happened cause they all clearly have a path to get away from the zombies, especially right after when he threw the first flare because it seems they can all go safely, Then, he unnecessarily threw the second and third flares. Very anti-climatic for his arc just to create the drama.
2. Seems like they were intent on just unnecessarily killing all the adults alive in the school to keep the narrative that the teens are on their own.
3. The vlogger was just a nuisance. I don't understand his importance to the story cause he did nothing at all.
4. Do I need to mention Chiong San's mom? What about his dad who mysteriously disappeared?
5, The police force. My goodness! I love Lee Kyu Hyung and even if his character here was almost the same as in Happiness, he is still also one of the few bright spots of the series. However, the whole Hyosan police force was just a dimwit bunch. Did you see how easy it was for the zombies to overrun the friggin police headquarters? The guys at the school put up a much better fight than these weakling cops. They got the main culprit -the brain behind the virus and they know the virus is spreading and you interrogate him like it's a normal crime? Has no one there thought of coordinating with the other agencies, and telling them that they have the crazy scientist, turn him over and make him do the antidote or something. No, they all panicked when the zombies attacked the police station, no one even thought of maybe finding some weapons because just maybe there are some because THEY ARE IN THE FRIGGIN POLICE STATION!
6. What about the assemblywoman? What's her actual contribution to the whole story?
7. Did you see how the teen mom tied her hands with that ribbon, to keep her from eating the baby? She's a zombie, not a gift box, that ribbon looks so thin that when she became a zombie she could have snapped it easily. Oh but that ribbon is made of steel and it held her overnight. And that baby? It must have superhuman powers to survive that long without milk.
8. The bullied girl in the rooftop. I was thinking they'd give her a recovery arc, but no, she is just as self-centered as her bullies. She was so happy to announce that she SET THE SCHOOL ON FIRE, but girl has to check that statement cause all she did was burn the papers in the office, nothing more. Hasn't she seen the fire sprinklers working? A fight between her and GwiNam could have been epic.
9. And OMG that bullied guy. I kinda understand why he did what he did on the rooftop, but then he was at the camp, met this girl, and he tells him I want to eat you, and then he just let her. That scenario alone could have opened a lot of possible chaotic scenarios inside the camp. I was kinda expecting the zombies to spread there, but no, nothing of that sort. It's like the guy's existence is just to make the abandonment of the kids in the rooftop climatic, which by the way is not.
10. I would like to mention the countless stupid ways to escape a zombie apocalypse but this is already way too long.

They even spent almost an episode literally talking about shit. They complained about thirst and hunger but didn't bother to find food and water and yet they spent quite some time teaching us how to do the number 2 during an apocalypse.

What makes it sadder, is that I find not a single character to latch on to - not the drama queen, not her puppy best friend, not the pretend goody goody jock, not even the smartass who could have been their gifted savior. What they delivered instead was a puke-invoking bunch of whiny pimpled teenage characters who can't stop talking about their silly crushes and quite a few useless adult characters who make selfish and terrible decisions.

There are only two characters I didn't hate- Gwi Nam is a scary psycho and the funny delinquent Mi-Jin. Had they shifted the focus to these two, they could have created a witty frightening gore. I just have to add that my favorite part was when they were on the rooftop and singing cause that felt sincere.

I can't help but wonder why this show got a 12-episode order as opposed to Kingdom which has 6 per season and Sweet Home which has 10. The show could have used a lot of editing and maybe it will feel better if it was just 8 or even 10.

I recommend having a go at it using your mobile device, that way you can change the playback speed, otherwise, if you're watching on your smart tv just have the remote ready and just feel free to skip the boring parts. I promise you, you won't miss anything. Hard to rewatch, unfortunately.

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Dying is easy, surviving is hard

All of Us Are Dead is adapted from the serialized Naver digital webtoon entitled Now at Our School, which was written by Joo Dong Geun and published from 2009 to 2011. I haven’t read the webtoon but it reportedly consists of only nine chapters. Therefore it would probably stand to reason that the live-action adaptation has expanded on its lore, especially when Netflix is involved where the potential exists for a series to be renewed for a second season, depending on the success of the first season.

The drama is co-directed by Lee Jae Gyoo, who won a Baeksang for Damo and directing honours for Beethoven Virus, and Kim Nam Soo. It is based on the screenplay adaptation written by Cheon Seong Il, the screenwriter for Chuno and The Pirates. Principal photography took place from June 2020 to February 2021, which was prolonged due to the Covid-19 outbreak during filming.

In a nutshell, the story revolves around a group of highschool students who are trapped at their school, the ground zero for the onset of a zombie virus outbreak. The drama depicts them fighting to survive both the zombies and virus infection while waiting to be rescued. The rating classification for this production is R-18 and aside from the expected zombie action and gore, certain trigger warnings are present in the form of bullying violence that even borders on sexual assault.

In a recent interview with director Lee Jae Gyoo via the online presentation of the production in South Korea on 26th January, he had intimated that this drama would be uniquely distinct within the K-drama zombie genre that has become commonplace in recent years. According to him, All of Us Are Dead features thought-provoking themes that add a different meaning to a zombie apocalypse, where the focus is on the choices young students make at the boundary between life and death. In addition, the story also provides a satirical take on South Korea's educational system and school space.

What I Liked

I love the K-drama zombie genre and anything closely or even remotely associated in the form of mutants, monsters and the like, complete with the horror, action, adventure tags whether in contemporary, sageuk or fantasy settings. As much as I’ve enjoyed the recently aired Happiness, my preference for zombies leans towards the more feral variety with hordes of them rampaging through the populace annihilating anything and everything in their path, in the mould of Train to Busan (which gets a shoutout in this drama), Kingdom and Rampant. Call me sadistic but I’m all for epic levels of productions with economies of scale in delivering the exhilaration of the action, thrills and suspense, along with all the emotive aspects of human drama as well. Based on what I’ve seen of the depiction of zombies in this drama, it manages to convey all of the above, and has successfully fulfilled most, if not all, of my expectations.

A co-production between JTBC Studios’ Film Monster and Kim Jong Hak Production for Netflix, the quality of the technical execution is beyond doubt. No effort or budget was spared as even a huge four-storey set was constructed as the setting of the fictional Hyosan High School. The money was very well spent indeed as the production design looks top notch with all the nitty gritty details providing an intriguing backdrop to the zombie outbreak. The zombies themselves are deftly manifested in terms of the makeup, special and sound effects, as well as the blood, gore and contortions which complement the extensive range of expertly choreographed sequences.

The cinematography is deserving of praise with the crucial aspect for productions of this nature being the calibre of the camerawork, which for the most part does not let me down (or induce nausea). The well rendered scene transitions are testament to the standard of editing as well, where it’s worth mentioning that the chaotic scenes at the cafeteria and library involving 200 or so extras are reportedly the result of a single-take shooting.

As far as the narrative is concerned, the premise of a school-based zombie outbreak is refreshingly new to me. Some viewers may associate elements of Dark Hole to be of similar vein but personally it really isn’t despite the comparable vibes. While I wouldn’t consider the overall plot trajectory as particularly inventive or groundbreaking, what distinguishes this drama from most others that I’ve seen is the storytelling approach.

In addition to the multiple POV perspectives of the main characters, the screenplay takes its time to explore the origins of the zombie outbreak and motivations behind the actions resulting in the said virus being unleashed on humanity. The depiction of characters dealing with the tragic circumstances in the aftermath certainly elicits an emotional response as well.

True to the director's word, this drama tackles both existing and hypothetical societal concerns which provide added dimensions to the storytelling. Among the thought provoking themes incorporated into the storytelling - unchecked and unmitigated school violence, the ingrained hierarchical social order within a society segmented by wealth and power, the deeply polarised mindsets of the local government and communities in the event of an apocalypse or the aftermath of a mass casualty event. The role that technology plays in binding all these themes together is tackled as well in the form of the ever increasing reliance on and abuse of social media as an outlet that fuels the dissemination of actual and fake news.

The infusion of a number of side stories, character arcs and a narrative that steadily evolves as the drama progresses helped to allay my initial concerns of the story sustaining its momentum over 12 episodes. The dynamic between characters giving rise to various forms of conflicts, teen angst, and even hints of romance contribute towards preserving an atmosphere filled with tension and suspense. That said, I do think the drama could have been slightly shortened without adversely impacting the storytelling.

The main cast is made up of young actors, some of whom were prolific child actors and even critically acclaimed talent as well. Park Ji Hoo, Yoon Chan Young, Jo Yi Hyun, Park Solomon and Yoo In Soo portray the highschool students who are caught up in the ensuing chaos. Featuring roles of varying capacities, these youngsters provide a decent account of themselves through characterizations that are adequately written, for the most part. Lee Yoo Mi is particularly impressive here following her brief appearance in Squid Game, given her experience of being the oldest actress portraying a student and for her captivating portrayal of the antagonistic Lee Na Yeon that actually steals the scenes from the protagonists at times. Meanwhile, I would consider Park Solomon’s affable Lee Soo Hyuk, Jo Yi Hyun’s stoic Choi Nam Ra and Ha Seung Ri’s heroic archer Jang Ha Ri as my favourite characters amongst the students.

The supporting cast come across as being more familiar, where we get to observe Kim Byung Chul (Sisyphus, Doctor Prisoner), Lee Kyu Hyung (Happiness, Voice 4), Lee Yo Mi (Squid Game), Uhm Hyo Sub (King of Tears, War of the Son) , Bae Hae Seon (Happiness, Inspector Koo, HomeCha), Jeon Bae Soo (Stranger, Lawless Lawyer), Kim Jong Tae (The Veil, Sisyphus), and Yoon Byung Hee (Hot Stove League). The more nuanced acting in the drama is provided by these mostly experienced veterans, especially Kim Byung Chul as science teacher Lee Byeong Chan. Utterly intense, sinister, and convincing, unsurprisingly the best performance in the entire drama comes from this award-winning actor. Jeon Bae Soo gets to play the hero this time in a memorable performance as firefighter Nam So Ju.

What I Didn’t Appreciate

When it comes to K-dramas and school students, bullying and violence are par for the course - they’re never far away and will probably remain as a staple trope. It’s infuriating and disturbing to watch at times and seems to be escalating in brutality these days. The scale of the savagery seems to be higher than the actual zombie action itself but it’s something that all viewers of K-content will need to accept and get used to, unfortunately.

The main villain of the story is featured through the gangster wannabe and low-life bully Yoon Gwi Nam, played almost too well by Yoo In Soo. This despicable human thrash has the typical clichéd story arc that stretches far too long, in my opinion, before eventually fizzling out as a mere afterthought.

As mentioned earlier, I think the storytelling would have been better presented if it were slightly shorter, perhaps with 8 or so episodes.Despite the multiple POVs, too much time is allocated to the teen drama at school than is perhaps necessary. I would have liked to have seen Kim Byung Chul’s character more fleshed out in real time rather than merely as a series of flashbacks. The same goes for Jeon Bae Soo’s firefighter who is desperately trying to get to his daughter.

There are numerous annoying characters in this drama, some of whom supposedly supplying the usual ill-fitting comic relief that appears very much jarring to the senses.The tough girl wannabe and her whingeing companion, the cowardly police sergeant, and the bickering couples, to name a few. I think generally the boys are better written than the girls who come across as petty and physically abusive towards their male counterparts, as far as the youngsters are concerned.

Final Thoughts

All things considered and despite its flaws as well as the overly dramatic ending that has the potential for expansion either as a sequel or a side story, I had a great time mainly because of my love for horror and zombies. We honestly do need more zombie stories because there is too much romance, rom-coms and melodrama in dramaland already and simply not enough of the macabre flesh-eating, blood-sucking undead. All of Us Are Dead is not the best in the genre, where Kingdom still reigns supreme, but as a one-time weekend watch it definitely fulfils my insatiable hunger for such content, albeit temporarily.

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