All of Us Are Deadis one of Netflix’s best horror shows and includes some of the scariest zombies I’ve ever seen. An originalNetflix K-drama,All of Us Are Deadpremiered on January 2022 following the successes of previous webseries likeSweet HomeandSquid Game. The series is set in the fictional city of Hyosan and follows a group of students whose school becomes ground zero for a zombie apocalypse. Unlike many zombie movies and shows,All of Us Are Deadtakes place in the first hours of the outbreak.
It all starts with a science teacher who develops a virus to transform rage into strength after learning that his son was being bullied at school.Professor Lee Byong-chan’s experiment goes wrongfast, and his son almost becomes patient zero of an outbreak. While the professor manages to avoid a widespread infection at first, someone at the school ends up getting contaminated.All of Us Are Deadis aK-drama based on a webtoonand is as entertaining as it is scary, especially because of the choreography and makeup used to create the zombie hordes.
From Zack Snyder’sDawn of the Deadremake toDavid Fincher’sWorld War Z, fast zombies have a complicated reputation in pop culture. On the one hand, the idea of fast zombies added a much-needed new spin to the zombie genre and helped it reinvent itself. On the other hand, zombies showing as much speed and strength as their human targets can go against the very thing that made undead creatures so scary in the first place. Fortunately,All of Us Are Dead’s fast zombies worked incredibly well and scared me just enough.
More than their speed,what makesAll of Us Are Dead’s zombies so fun is how intense they are.With amazing fight choreography and great performances from the stunt actors and extras,All of Us Are Deadachieved the perfect balance between action and horror. Many entries in the zombie genre struggled to find that balance, includingWorld War Z. The behavior ofAll of Us Are Dead’s zombies isn’t just a stylistic choice but also a story-related decision. The Jonas virus, which started the zombie outbreak, was created to turn anger into strength.
Hambies Are “Asymptomatic Zombies”
In addition to the fast and strong zombies,All of Us Are Deadalso has a unique type of undead people – hambies. Also known as halfbies, this different class of zombies refers to people who were infected with the virus but did not fully transform.A hambie will retain its consciousness and personality but will crave human fleshlike every other zombie. Hambies also gain the “superpowers” that come with the zombie transformation, including enhanced speed and strength. They also have heightened senses, which can be used against them through loud noises.
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The term “hambie” is never used on the show, which instead refers to these characters as asymptomatic zombies. The fact that they do not show all the signs of the infection right away means hambies are a threat to any quarantine or safety zone, which led to some intense moments in the latter of the season. Once the military confirmed the existence of asymptomatic zombies, all rescue missions were put on hold since no test could confirm whether someone was infected.The hambies also made for some compelling moral dilemmasabout whether the infectees were gone forever.
The Horror K-Drama Is Intense And Scary Throughout
There are a lot of great things aboutAll of Us Are Dead, from the pacing to the characters. However, just the fight choreography and the visual effects alone would be enough to recommend the show to someone who likes zombie action.The zombie K-drama uses some of the genre’s tropes but subverts others, and all of these creative decisions are made better by how great the action sequences are. The students have to learn how to deal with the zombies as hours go by and no one comes to the rescue.
All of Us Are Deadwas renewed for season 2 on August 23, 2025, but has yet to be given a release date.
At 12 episodes of around an hour each,All of Us Are Deadmoves surprisingly fast. Similar to other Netflix original Korean shows,All of Us Are Deadhas a significant budget that is translated into its production value. The only downside of starting the show right now is thatAll of Us Are Deadseason 2 may still be far away. That said, despite the cliffhanger ending, I believeAll of Us Are Deadseason 1 works just fine as a standalone series that pays off most of its storylines.
All Of Us Are Dead
Cast
All of Us Are Dead is a South Korean series that centers on a high school overrun by a zombie virus outbreak. The students, facing an unprecedented crisis, must navigate survival while combating the threat of becoming part of the undead horde.
