If you've ever found yourself spiraling down a YouTube rabbit hole of behind-the-scenes clips, you've probably wondered about the all of us are dead script and how those intense, bloody scenes actually looked on paper before they hit our screens. It's one thing to watch a horde of students sprinting down a hallway, but it's an entirely different experience to read the descriptions that prompted those actors to contort their bodies and scream their lungs out.
The show really took the world by storm when it dropped on Netflix. It wasn't just another zombie show; it was a high school drama that just happened to have flesh-eating monsters roaming the cafeteria. When you look at the writing behind it, you start to see how the creators managed to balance the hormones and the horror so effectively.
From Webtoon to the Written Page
Before there was a script, there was the webtoon Now at Our School by Joo Dong-geun. Adapting something with such a cult following is always a gamble. The screenwriter, Chun Sung-il, had the massive task of taking that visual medium and turning it into a structured all of us are dead script that could guide a massive production crew.
What's interesting about the script is how it departs from the source material to make the pacing work for television. In the webtoon, things move differently. On screen, you need that "end of episode" hook to keep people from hitting the "exit" button. If you read through the scene beats, you can see where they intentionally ramped up the tension. They didn't just copy-paste the comic; they rebuilt the story to fit a 12-episode arc that felt relentless.
The Chaos in the Action Lines
In a typical screenplay, the dialogue is what most people focus on. But for a show like this, the action lines—those descriptions of what's happening between the talking—are the real stars. Imagine writing the scene where the virus first breaks out in the science lab. The all of us are dead script had to be incredibly specific about the "crunching" sounds, the jerky movements of the infected, and the sheer panic in the characters' eyes.
Writing action for zombies is tricky. You can't just write "they fight." You have to describe the choreography. The show became famous for its long takes, like that insane sequence in the cafeteria. On the page, that probably looked like pages and pages of frantic instructions. It's a testament to the writing that the director could take those words and turn them into a ballet of blood and lunch trays.
Why the Dialogue Feels So Real
One of the biggest compliments you can give a teen drama is that the kids actually sound like kids. They're sweary, they're impulsive, and they make terrible decisions because their brains aren't fully formed yet. The all of us are dead script nails that conversational tone.
Even when they're trapped on a rooftop with no food or water, they're still bickering about crushes and old grudges. That's peak high school. If the script had made them sound like philosophical poets or hardened action heroes, the stakes wouldn't have felt as high. We care because they're just kids who should be worrying about their SATs, not whether their best friend is about to bite their neck.
I think that's why so many fans have been searching for the script online. They want to see those interactions again. There's something deeply human about the way On-jo and Cheong-san talk to each other. It's awkward, it's suppressed, and it's layered with years of friendship that the script has to convey in just a few lines.
The Halfbie Factor
Let's talk about the "halfbies"—the half-human, half-zombie hybrids like Choi Nam-ra and Gwi-nam. This was a brilliant writing choice that set the show apart from things like The Walking Dead. In the all of us are dead script, these characters required a different kind of descriptive language.
How do you describe someone who has the hunger of a monster but the conscious mind of a teenager? The script had to balance Nam-ra's struggle to keep her humanity with Gwi-nam's absolute embrace of his new power. Gwi-nam, in particular, is a fascinating character to read. He was already a "monster" as a bully before he ever got bitten. The script highlights that irony perfectly—the virus didn't change him; it just gave him the tools to be his worst self.
Building the Tension Room by Room
The setting of Hyosan High School is basically a character in itself. The way the all of us are dead script moves the survivors from the classroom to the broadcast room, then to the rooftop, and finally the gym, feels like a levels-based video game but with much higher stakes.
Each room presents a new "puzzle" for the writers to solve. How do they get out without a key? How do they use a rolling desk as a shield? These aren't just cool visual ideas; they had to be logically mapped out in the writing. When you read the script, you see the geography of the school being laid out. It's a masterclass in using a limited environment to create maximum suspense. You never feel like they're just wandering aimlessly; every move is a desperate play for survival.
The Emotional Gut Punches
We can't talk about the script without mentioning the heartbreak. All of Us Are Dead isn't afraid to kill off characters you've grown to love. The "goodbye" scenes—like the one between Cheong-san and his mom, or the final moments on the construction site—are written with a lot of restraint.
Often, amateur writers try to over-explain the sadness. But in this script, the silence does a lot of the heavy lifting. The stage directions probably just say "they look at each other," but because the characters were built so well in the preceding episodes, those simple words carry a ton of weight. It's that "show, don't tell" rule in full effect. We don't need a monologue about sacrifice when we can see the sacrifice happening in real-time.
Learning from the Script
For anyone interested in screenwriting, looking at a project like this is super helpful. It shows you how to handle a large ensemble cast. Keeping track of twelve different students, plus the teachers and the parents outside the school, is a logistical nightmare. Yet, the all of us are dead script manages to give almost everyone a distinct voice and a clear motivation.
Even the "villains" like Na-yeon (the girl who caused the death of the boy in the sweater) are written with enough depth that you understand why they're being awful, even if you hate them for it. That's the mark of a good script—when even the characters you want to see get eaten feel like real people with real flaws.
Final Thoughts on the Writing
It's easy to dismiss zombie media as "just another horror show," but the success of All of Us Are Dead proves that people crave character-driven stories above all else. The all of us are dead script provided the solid foundation that allowed the actors and the stunt team to create something truly special.
Whether you're a fan who wants to relive the most intense moments or an aspiring writer trying to figure out how to write a compelling action sequence, there's so much to learn from how this show was put together. It reminds us that at the end of the day, even in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, it's the relationships we have and the choices we make that really matter.
It's been a while since the first season finished, but the impact of that writing still lingers. It makes you wonder what the script for the second season will look like—hopefully, it keeps that same raw, unfiltered energy that made us fall in love with the kids of Hyosan High in the first place. If they can maintain that balance of heart and horror, we're in for another wild ride.