All of Us Are Dead | Review
I know I’m not the only person who appreciates a great zombie story. All of Us Are Dead’s high school driven series is a refreshing adrenaline rush that, at times is extremely funny & relevant. The series features the perfect amount of violence, styled fights scenes with zombies, vicious body horror, visual FX & character development for future seasons to come (if any). All of Us Are Dead is directed at a younger audience, combining high school love/drama with action horror. One of the things I like about this series was the name drop of the movie “Train to Busan” (a favorite of mine) & mentions of the quarantine period for events like COVID 19. The relevance, as if you just so happened to be quarantined, I highly recommend zombie & horror lovers to binge watch this series ! 🧟♂️😱
Written by Joey Rodriguez
The events of the series all start when a failed scientists, turned science teacher develops a virus he names the “Jonas Virus,” & turns his bullied son into a zombie. He first turns after a fight with his bullies causes him to lose control, followed by him falling off a roof landing him in the hospital. His father proceeds to break his son out of to conduct further studies, But not before trying to kill him & hauling him off in a suit case. The teacher also tested the virus on mice, with clear results of them being unstable. Eventually, a student wanders into the science lab, & discovers the mouse. She then sticks her finger inside the cage & I’m sure we can guess what happens next. 🙄 As many zombie movie epidemics begin, the virus spreads viciously in & outside of the school when the student who got the virus from the mouse, escapes from also being held captive by the science teacher. She proceeds to bites the school nurse & is taken to a near by hospital. Basically… all hell breaks loose.
As the Jonas virus spreads to other parts of their city, the main story follows a group of teens trying to survive as they are viciously attacked by the rapidly spreading zombie hosts. Each person that is bitten seems to get a different reaction to the virus. Some get horribly deformed while completely turning into zombies, & others seem to evolve with the virus. They still have consciousness unlike their brain dead counterparts, giving them super strength, heightened smell, hearing & vision. “Halfbies” as Jun-Seong coins it. This evolution goes both horrible & slightly to the main characters advantage, Given that the craving for human flesh is still a factor in the evolution. This specific change in the “zombie world” is what I really liked about this show that set it apart from other films that use the virus outbreak scenario.
One of my favorite characters from the show was actually the villain. One of the bullies from the beginning of the show becomes one of the halfbies & is probably the biggest threat in the series. Now, I don’t like him because he’s a bully, it was the fact that this dude was an amazing villain. He was truly cold blooded, ruthless & played the part so well. I hated his character so much, yet I enjoyed watching him make things more difficult for everyone who crossed his path. He also gets beat up, thrown off the school building like 3 f*#king times, & because of the Jonas Virus he gets right back up to hunt his prey & watching that happen never got old.
As far as aspects of the show that I didn’t like, that list is short. The only things that I didn’t entirely love about the show was the random moments of “love/drama.” Although the timing isn’t good at anytime given they are fighting for their lives in a zombie outbreak, the moments sometimes throw me off. Zombies & Teenage love drama don’t mix too well. But I get it, I would probably be trying to get with the girl I liked if I was in a zombie apocalypse too. I guess it just doesn’t sit well cause (SPOILER ALERT) everybody ends up being alone & losing the person of interest. But I honestly really liked everything about the show from the great acting, cinematography, fight choreography & especially the main villain.
To end my review, The first episode of the series got me hooked & kept reeling me in, wanting more & more. The intensity that some of the characters brought was very enjoyable & made me look forward to new seasons. The suspense had my anxiety worked up. I’m already a sucker for a good action & zombie films. Now, you mash those things together and turn that into a 12 episode series, I’m watching that for sure. To finish my review, I’d give this series a 9/10. While I felt the sappy vibes were unnecessary, giving that most of them die… they honestly had the perfect amount of violence, suspense, performances. Definitely worth the watch & I highly recommend ✨