4 Years Later, Netflix’s Best Zombie Horror is Still a Brutal Masterclass (& It Can’t Return Quick Enough)

While Netflix has plenty of iconic horror shows in the streaming service’s back catalogue, one zombie thriller remains the most brutal masterclass in the genre’s small-screen history. Even without singling out the sprawling The Walking Dead franchise and its many spinoffs, there is no shortage of zombie shows on TV and streaming. From Z Nation and Black Summer to Daybreak and iZombie, the shambling undead have been a small-screen mainstay for over a decade now.

However, few zombie shows have managed to outdo Netflix’s gory, brutally brilliant All of Us Are Dead. An inspired blend of The Breakfast Club and The Walking Dead, All of Us Are Dead takes place in a South Korean high school during the outbreak of a zombie epidemic. In an inspired move, the show focuses almost entirely on the perspective of the school’s teenage students as they navigate this grisly crisis, and All of Us Are Dead does not pull any punches despite the youth of its protagonists.

All of Us Are Dead’s Fusion of High School Drama and Zombie Horror Refreshed Both Genres

Kim Byung-chul’s shady science teacher Lee Byeong-chan plays a pivotal role in the story of All of Us Are Dead, but the show’s true stars are still the school’s students. Much of the show’s action focuses on Yoon Chan-young’s Lee Cheong-san and Park Ji-hu’s Nam On-jo, but there is also a reformed delinquent, a class president, an infamous rich kid, and a violent bully who flesh out the lineup. Without the zombies, the South Korean series would already have all the ingredients of a compelling teen drama.

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While action horror movies are somewhat infamous among critics for prioritizing thrills over scares, All of Us Are Dead’s tense siege story proves that a story about the walking dead can move at a fast pace and still find time to flesh out its characters. All the main characters get a chance to shine, and All of Us Are Dead ensures that none of them are simplistic caricatures, which only makes the show’s thoroughly unexpected character deaths all the more effective.

All of Us Are Dead’s Biggest Surprise Wasn’t Its Teen Cast

All of Us Are Dead’s young cast is impressive in their roles, but it is the show’s absolute ruthlessness when it comes to killing them off that is truly striking. Although The Walking Dead’s worst deaths were undeniably gory, the show had a bad habit of killing off some fan favourite characters for shock value while keeping other supporting stars alive for far too long despite how much their survival stretched credulity.

In contrast, All of Us Are Dead’s character deaths feel unexpected and genuinely tragic, especially due to the young age of the main characters. Sadly, All of Us Are Dead’s season 2 delays could hurt the show’s original premise. Realistically, after four years and no sign of season 2, the main protagonists can’t be school kids anymore. Thus, All of Us Are Dead’s long-awaited season 2 return will have a hard time making its peril as poignant as it was in the show’s first season, where viewers were constantly bombarded by the sight of students running from monsters.