Is All of Us Are Dead connected to Train To Busan?

In the overdone genre of zombie thrillers, the latest entry being All of Us Are Dead, it is easy to connect two films or shows given the similar premise - a zombie virus that goes rogue, turning humans into the undead.

But thanks to a simple reference present in the recently released All of Us Are Dead, confusion over whether the film is connected to the 2016 blockbuster Train To Busan has become popularly shared. And it doesn’t help that the show and film have a somewhat similar plot and their characters share many common traits.

How is All of Us Are Dead similar to Train To Busan?

In Train To Busan, the virus is not seen leaking from a lab but it starts spreading on a train full of passengers who don’t have the option to leave. The series has a somewhat similar plot where the virus quickly spreads across the school, turning students and teachers into the undead, leaving the survivors stranded.

The zombie virus, too, behaves similarly in both films. While films like Resident Evil give its characters ample time after getting bitten to turn into a zombie, in both All of Us Are Dead and Train To Busan, it doesn’t take much time for the infected to turn.

Strangely enough, the prime characters, in both the show and the film, unlike the supporting characters, don’t instantly turn and get lot of time for teary-eyed goodbyes. Also, in both cases, the characters employ the tactic of covering their forearms and legs to protect themselves from zombie bites.

In terms of characters, the heroic Cheong-san, willing to face hordes of zombies to save his friends and above all, On-jo, the girl he secretly likes, reminds us of Young-gook from Train To Busan, who fought till the end to save Jin-hee.

On-jo’s father, So-ju, in All of Us Are Dead is also a lot like Sang-hwa in the film who are both strong and respected professionals in their respective fields. Just as So-ju sacrifices himself to ensure his daughter gets to safety, Sang-hwa single-handedly faces the zombies to ensure his wife and unborn child don’t get hurt.

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But does the show take place in the fictional universe of Train To Busan?

Nope. And director Lee Jae-kyoo makes it explicitly clear in his series. In the beginning, just when the zombie apocalypse starts spreading through the school, Cheong-san exclaims that it’s just like Train To Busan.

This single reference completely sets the series apart from the universe of the film. In the film, characters are not aware of zombies or how to deal with them, establishing that the creatures don’t even have a fictional presence via films, shows, novels, etc in the world in Train To Busan.

But by referencing the film, All of Us Are Dead effectively states that the concept of zombies exists in its universe and characters are aware of what the undead are.