After recent success with global dramas, Netflix’s newest Korean show, “All of Us Are Dead,” was released on Jan. 28. The show takes viewers on a journey through a dangerous zombie virus outbreak at Hyosan High School. The never-ending attack of zombies on a group of students that is trying to fight through a dangerous infection was quite the thrill.

The show centers around science teacher Lee Byeong-Chan (Kim Byung-chul), who invents a virus to make his son stronger to fight his bullies. After he fails, a student’s accidental involvement quickly spreads the virus around the entire school. A certain group of students finds themselves together in a room trying to keep the zombies out. The plot takes viewers on their journey of figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of zombies, taking care of daily necessities, and most importantly, coming up with elaborate plans to stay alive.

I was terrified when I watched the trailer a couple of weeks ago, so I was hesitant to watch the 12-episode show. Horror films with creepy zombie faces, blood and screaming do not appeal to me. As a result of the realistic school setting, this show was even more frightening as hundreds of students fell victim to the virus. The plot was initially thrilling and a bit terrifying because the students were just trying to escape the school and protect themselves from zombies. The students lost control of the situation or were threatened their trust for one another. The most frightening part of the show is how one is either a zombie or they’re not. 

The show became more somber during the second half as the students wondered whether anyone made it out of the school alive or if anyone would come and help them. The audience gets to see more of the students’ backgrounds and personalities later on. The story was brilliantly written. Everything from character development to revelations, deaths, plot twists and the last scene were well done. I was deeply moved as I saw flashbacks of the main characters in a city that had been normal. In spite of their lack of human skills, zombies are still zombies, and all they could focus on was their insatiable hunger. 

It was truly sad to see young children running away from their zombie parents who tried to bite them. Years of relationships between friends, lovers and family members were shattered in a matter of minutes. As I watched, I felt like I was following that group of students around the school myself. I found myself screaming at them through the TV too. The whole situation throughout the show was too much for anyone to handle. Difficult decisions were made as the whole city of Hyosan started to succumb to zombies. 

All in all, this was a masterpiece. I had a difficult time stopping myself from binge-watching the show in one day. After watching the episodes, the content of the show lingered in my mind for quite some time. There are still questions unanswered after this season, so I hope there will be another in the future. I recommend this show to anyone looking for a thrilling and deep plot.