Netflix - All of Us are Dead Review
Alright! Here we go. I was a bit hesitant to watch this show thinking it would just be another “Train to Busan” sorta thing. But huss and fuss all around the social media pushed me to say: Why not! and I did watch it.
To my surprise, it was good, not perfect but good enough to get value out of your time. It’s entertaining.
Overview
I have to remember that this is a spoiler free review so as not to disappoint the people who are about to watch.
It revolved around a district of South Korea called Hyosan where a scientist/teacher was able to create a virus that can supposedly help his son but instead turned to be uncontrollable and spread out when a student was infected.
The infection spread initially at the high school where the main characters do the best they can to survive and avoid getting bitten. They transfer from one room to another creating diversions and thinking of ways to keep themselves safe.
You might be thinking this is just another flick or series with crazy running zombies from start to end. Yes and No. This show offers much more from your usual zombie pandemic stuff. The appeal of this series is more on each of the main characters lives, behavior and attitude during this outbreak. How these students try to keep themselves together despite their individual issues. You can see yourself love and hating some of the actors.
The series also showcases how the government and military responds during a pandemic, well atleast as depicted here.
Action and Cinematography
As seen in “Train to Busan”, Koreans are highly regarded in scenic and appealing cinematography. All of Us are Dead didn’t fall short on that. Shots were done well especially on the action sequences where you can feel exhausted at times just by watching them. It’s nothing negative. In fact, this tells you how dedicated the production is in their craftsmanship.
The zombie or infected make-up are just ok. There were so much action going on, you’ll be too tired nitpicking on how real or unreal the zombies look.
I really admire the whole production on how the scenes and places can feel immersive most of the time. The suspense is just enough and nothing over board.
The Characters
I’ll probably name only a few and won’t be expandinbg much on their roles cause it’ll be spoiling the whole story.
Yoon Chan Young (Lee Cheong-san) – Best friend and next-door neighbor of On-Jo. This guy stands out. As one of the main characters, I think he just filled the shoes of his role perfectly.
Park Ji-Hu (Nam On-jo) – Best friend of Cheing-san and daughter of a fire fighter, her skills taught by her father came in handy. Like Cheong-san, She’s one of the prominent icon here.
Park Solomon (Lee Su-hyeok) – A popular athlete in the school. He mostly stands side by side Cheong-san leading the survivors.
Cho Yi-hyun (Choi Nam-ra) – She’s the class president and a top student. She’s always seen as quiet and isolated. Her facial expression is a good fit in the role.
Lee Yoo-mi (Lee Na-yeon) – Well, definitely, a character to focus on. No spoilers but you’ll be on a mixed back of hate and love for her.
Lim Jae-hyuk (Yan Dae-su) – Call him the joker of the bunch and he delievered it well.
Yoo In-soo (Gwi-nam) – The antagonist. Watch out for his performance here. He’s very effective and you’ll be hating him from the very first time.
Kim Byung-chul (Lee Byeong-chan) – The Science teacher and the one responsible for developing the virus. The character suits him well.
Jeon Bae-su (Nam So-ju) – The father of On-jo. He played a vital role here as a parent and a rescuer as well.
My Take on All of Us are Dead
All of Us are Dead is not a perfect zombie apocalypse series but it did deliver when it comes to suspense and entertainment. It’s one of those shows that gets you hooked till you finish the last episode.
In my opinion, this couldve been a good 2.5 hour movie. There were characters here with stories that can be opted out to shorten it. Some scenes were definitely unnecessary but since it’s a 12-episode series and they need these insertions to prolong it. Unnecessary but not really bad.
The suspense and action scenes were good enough to sometimes get me off my seat. The characters were charismatic that at the whole time watching this show. You can relate to almost each one and feel how they feel.
It’s a good show and worth your binge time!
I give All of Us are Dead a solid 4 out of 5!
