Duncan Lay: All Of Us Are Dead Netflix series not for the faint-hearted

The new Netflix Korean drama All Of Us Are Dead gives us everything we want from a zombie outbreak — and it’s even more gory than Squid Game, Duncan Lay writes.

Australia has been bitten by a new Korean drama – and this one makes Squid Game look like real child’s play.

All Of Us Are Dead has been number one or two in Australia on Netflix for the past two weeks and is number one in some 50 other countries.

It’s a mix of high school drama and zombie outbreak – with a definite emphasis on the zombies. Oh, and there’s also some of that social commentary that made Squid Game such a hit.

It likes to make you think, in between pulse-pounding action sequences with buckets of fake blood.

Oh yes, it’s not for the faint-hearted. It makes Squid Game look like the adventures of Jemima and Big Ted. (The Play School version, not the porno.)

But it’s so worth it. I love, love, love those Korean zombies.

If it wasn’t trying to rip my throat out, I’d adopt one.

Netflix series Squid Game took the world by storm in 2021.

They aren’t slow and dumb. These are rage-filled monsters who don’t need prosthetics to look terrifying. And watching them contort and turn crazy … wow. It’s very different from the Western zombies.

I’ve just watched the first two episodes of the middle third of the final season of The Walking Dead, which returns to Binge on February 21.

It’s action-packed, full of drama and spectacle and is warming up for a big finale.

But, by season 11, the zombies are no longer the real threat. Our heroes have to be unlucky, stupid or betrayed to fall victim.

Not in AOUAD. This is what Fear The Walking Dead should have been – a look at how an outbreak happens and how the authorities try to deal with it. Instead that spin-off show too swiftly turned into The Walking Dead In Another Part Of The USA.

AOUAD gives us everything we wanted from a zombie outbreak. There’s the social media influencers staging zombie stunts. The government shutting off all phones and internet to “stop the fake news” just as our heroes are about to call for help. The rich and powerful trying to escape first … it’s brilliant.

Then we have the social commentary. The virus was created by a teacher desperate to give his bullied son the ability to stand up to those picking on him, after the school swept things under the carpet. And the rich girl who would rather see the poor kid turn into a zombie than have to share a safe zone with him.

Then there’s the bullying that starts the whole thing. In some ways, that’s more confronting than watching schoolkids being eaten by zombies.

It even answers the question of how do you take a dump in a zombie outbreak.

Plus, every time you think you know where the plot is going, it takes a clever twist.

But it really needs to thank Squid Game in the credits. Previous K-zombie show Kingdom (Game Of Thrones meets The Walking Dead) and film Train To Busan were also excellent but missed out on the big ratings.

Without Squid Games, I don’t think AOUAD would have cracked the top 10.

It’s not without controversy, as it breaks my number one rule of zombies: If you get bit, that’s it.

But go on, sink your teeth into this new Korean craze. And, if you like the taste, there’s plenty more to feast on … especially as it’s all set up for a second season.

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Epic Star Wars fail even fans want to see killed off

Talk about a Boba Fail – the new Star Wars series has been such a bore that even the showrunners appear to have given up on it, turning it into season three of The Mandalorian.

Yes, after four rather dull episodes of The Book Of Boba Fett, the last two have featured the main character for roughly 30 seconds and he has not said a word.

Instead we’ve had effectively two bonus episodes of The Mandalorian, which have just highlighted how bad Boba Fett has been.

After The Mandalorian was a massive hit – and pretty much saved Star Wars after the controversies of the last two films – there were huge hopes for the Boba Fett series, about one of that galaxy’s most notorious characters.

Instead it’s been about as entertaining as watching Shakespeare performed by a bunch of Jawas – who have been frozen in carbonite.

Boba Fett may have crawled out of the Sarlacc, but it seems it sucked all the fun out of him.

Temuera Morrison is a brilliant performer, but apparently he’s been told to act as if there’s a beskar spear stuck up his butt.

The Book Of Boba Fett TV series has let down fans, Duncan Lay writes.

Meanwhile all the good plot and lines have been given to The Mandalorian.

Boba Fett isn’t the swashbuckling bad-ass we all expected. Instead, he’s about as exciting as watching a
45-minute presentation by Phil from HR on safety hazards in the coffee room.

If you weren’t alive in the 1980s, it is impossible to describe the effect such a seemingly minor character had on the psyche of Star Wars fans.

He was scary, he was awesome … he could actually go toe-to-toe with Darth Vader and earn the big guy’s respect.

And the weapons! The armour! It was the coolest thing a 1980s nerd could imagine. And believe me, we imagined a lot.

Yes he was pitched as a villain, but like the animated comedy series Robot Chicken, many fans invented storylines that had him running off with a bikini-wearing Princess Leia instead.

To me, it can all be boiled down to one thing – no character arc.

The Mandalorian began with Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) as a ruthless bounty hunter who was slowly changed into a hero by his relationship with Grogu – better known as Baby Yoda.

Sure, having Boba Fett undergo a similar transformation may have seemed like a rip-off. But it would have been way better than having him do nothing. There are Imperial mouse droids that have had more character arc.

If it had showed Boba as a cold-hearted killer who slowly warmed during his time with the Tusken Raiders, then was filled with a vengeful fury at their massacre and vowed to remake Tatooine to avenge them … well, now you’ve got a story.

Instead, we’ve got a series of vaguely interesting things that don’t quite connect and a plot about nasty spice traders that appears to have been an early draft of Dune.

There’s still two episodes left, so possibly it could have a miraculous comeback. But I don’t like its chances.

My 13-year-old self really wanted to enjoy the Boba Fett series. But they used up all the cool stuff on The Mandalorian.

The armour looks great, but there’s nothing inside.

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