5 Netflix series to watch before the release of 'All Of Us Are Dead'

Determined to make the most of the current Korean wave, Netflix is set to release the brand new K-Original All Of Us Are Dead, on January 28th, 2022. The zombie thriller series is based on Joo Dong-geun’s popular webtoon Now At Our School that features 130 episodes regarding a zombie apocalypse survival mission. 

Helmed by the acclaimed director Lee Jae-gyoo, the series has been adapted into eight episodes by Chun Sung-il and will be based in a high school. According to the riveting trailer that was released recently, a group of high schoolers will find themselves fighting off zombies to stay alive during a massive outbreak. 

The zombie genre is timeless, and the South Korean industry has detected quite the success in this lucrative field, with hits like Train to Busan, starring Gong Yoo, paving the way for the genre, followed by the popular Netflix epic historical fantasy series Kingdom. 

Netflix has a wide variety of Original shows that are related to the struggle for survival, besides various other popular zombie series franchises. Zombie films are known for inducing paranoia, chaos, causing a surge in adrenaline and driving in a general atmosphere of fear and tension. 

If you are eager to feel that tension ahead of the release of All of Us Are Dead, here are 5 Netflix series, ranging from zombie thrillers to survival games, that you must binge on: 

5 Netflix series to watch before the release of ‘All Of Us Are Dead’

5. Black Summer (Karl Schaefer, John Hyams, 2019)

This zombie apocalyptic Original series chronicles the story of a mother named Rose who undertakes a harrowing journey amidst hordes of zombies, along with a handful of other survivors, to find her daughter Anna. She must use her cunning and make hasty and difficult decisions to survive. 

With wonderful cinematography and a riveting storyline, the show has garnered quite the cult-following, walking in the footsteps of The Walking Dead. It is a commentary on the human condition while taking a closer look at themes of morality, empathy, parenthood and the struggle for survival. 

4. Hellbound (Yeon Sang-ho, 2021) 

Starring Yoo Ah-in, Kim Hyun-joo, Park Jung-min and others in prominent roles, the show, with its bleak and nihilistic premise became extremely popular on Netflix. Based on Choi Kyu-Seok’s webtoon, Hellbound provides a brutal commentary on religious fanaticism, human hypocrisy, impending doom, as well as records the frenzied reaction of an anxious and paranoid nation when faced with the uncanny. 

Talking about sin, morality and redemption against the backdrop of lack of shame and remorse, the series records the beginning of various supernatural occurrences where one knows their time of death and are pummelled to hell by brute force in form of grotesque demons. 

3. Dead Set (Charlie Brooker, 2008)

With just one season, Black Mirror creator, Charlie Brooker sets a gory bloodbath of a commentary on the modern-day condition of media and the entertainment industry that also serves as a subtle examination of human morality. Starring Warren Brown, Kevin Eldon and others, the limited five-episode series is reportedly inspired by Dawn of the Dead. 

While filming a fictional reality TV show, the inmates inside the Big Brother House are seemingly oblivious to the massive zombie outbreak that takes place outside the confinement of the house before being thrust into an insane struggle for survival.

2. Kingdom (Kim Eun-hee, 2019)

Set in the Joseon Dynasty in Korea, right after the Imjin War, the series focuses on a mysterious plague that causes the dead to be resurrected and zombies soon overrun the empire amidst rising political tension, brewing malice and a lot of conspiracies.

An epic political and historical period thriller overrun by zombies, the show emphasises how power leads to corruption. A perfect blend of genres, the series reflects exactly what the creator said it would: “Politics and the living dead are not separate but rather come together as one”. 

1. Squid Game (Hwang Dong-hyuk, 2021)

With staggering money of 45.6 billion Korean won, 456 odd Korean participants are forced into confined spaces under the panoptic gazes of sinister, masked men as they partake in various survival games that determine their life or death. Starring Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Jung HoYeon and others, the show has become Netflix’s most popular series, garnering immense revenue and inducing the Korean Wave.

Set in a dystopian version of modern-day South Korea, the series is a scathing commentary on class differences, politics of power, capitalism, corruption and economic crisis. Vulnerability, paranoia and chaos run high as the participants struggle to survive amidst such desperate conditions, often unleashing their depraved nature.