My Daughter is a Zombie: The Unlikely Story of a Film That Didn't Happen

My Daughter is a Zombie: The Unlikely Story of a Film That Didn't Happen

Wait, before you start scrolling through Netflix or Prime Video for a movie called My Daughter is a Zombie, I’ve got some news. It doesn’t exist. Not really.

If you've spent any time on TikTok or YouTube lately, you’ve probably seen those AI-generated "trailers" or weirdly specific movie posters that look incredibly real. They’re everywhere. Usually, they feature a distraught father and a kid with grey skin and milky eyes, looking all sad and post-apocalyptic. People are constantly searching for "My Daughter is a Zombie movie" because the algorithm is feeding them fragments of a story that was never actually filmed. It’s a phantom of the digital age.

The confusion is real. Honestly, it’s understandable why everyone is looking for it. We’ve been conditioned by years of The Last of Us and The Walking Dead to expect this exact trope. The "protector father" and the "infected but still human daughter" is basically the Shakespearean tragedy of our era. But the reality of this specific title is a mix of internet rumors, scrapped indie projects, and a very popular Korean webtoon that actually is real.

Why Everyone Thinks This Movie Is Real

The internet has a funny way of manifesting things into existence. You’ve probably seen the posters. They look like high-budget A24 or Warner Bros. productions. In reality, most of these are the product of Midjourney or DALL-E. Creators prompt the AI to make "gritty cinematic zombie movie poster about a daughter," and then they post it with a caption like "Coming to theaters 2025."

It’s clickbait, basically.

But there’s a second layer to this. A lot of people are actually remembering a very specific webtoon. If you’ve ever read My Daughter is a Zombie (the original Korean title is Amado Jeulgeoun Naui Jib), you know it’s a masterpiece of comedy and heartbreak. It was written by Yun-chang and ran on Naver Webtoon.

It’s about a guy named Jeong-hwan whose daughter, Su-a, turns into a zombie. Instead of doing the "heroic" thing and putting her down, he hides her in his house. He tries to keep her "alive"—or as alive as a corpse can be—by feeding her and keeping her from biting the neighbors. It’s hilarious. It’s also incredibly depressing. Because the webtoon was so popular, rumors of a live-action adaptation have circulated for years.

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The Actual Projects You Might Be Confusing It With

When people search for My Daughter is a Zombie, they’re often actually looking for one of these:

Maggie (2015)
This is the big one. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yeah, the Terminator. But it’s not an action movie. It’s a slow-burn indie drama where his daughter (played by Abigail Breslin) is slowly turning into a zombie. He stays by her side as she decays. If you want the "My Daughter is a Zombie movie" vibe, this is the closest you will ever get to a Hollywood version. It’s bleak. It’s quiet. It’ll make you cry.

Train to Busan (2016)
While not about a zombie daughter, the central core of the film is a father trying to save his daughter during the outbreak. The emotional beats are almost identical to what people expect from the rumored My Daughter is a Zombie film.

The Last of Us (HBO)
Joel and Ellie aren’t father and daughter by blood, but the dynamic is the same. The "sick child" motif is so strong here that it likely fuels the search traffic for similar stories.

The Korean Webtoon: A Deep Dive into the Real Story

Since the movie doesn't exist, let’s talk about the source material that everyone wants to see on screen. The My Daughter is a Zombie webtoon isn't your typical "run for your life" horror story.

It’s a satire.

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The world has already "solved" the zombie apocalypse. The zombies were mostly wiped out, and society went back to normal—except for the few people hiding their infected loved ones. This creates a bizarre domestic tension. Imagine trying to explain to your boss why you’re late, while your zombie daughter is in the basement trying to eat the cat.

The genius of Yun-chang’s writing is how it treats the zombie as a metaphor for chronic illness or disability. The father isn't fighting monsters; he’s fighting bureaucracy, social stigma, and his own grief.

There have been reports in the Korean trades, like Star News and Naver Entertainment, suggesting that a film adaptation was in development as far back as 2019/2020. However, production hell is a real place. Casting rumors flew around—fans wanted actors like Ryu Seung-ryong—but nothing has hit the big screen yet.

The Ethics of the "Zombie Daughter" Trope

Why are we so obsessed with this?

It’s the ultimate "what if?"

Most zombie movies are about the "Other." The monsters are things you can kill without guilt. But when the monster is your kid? The rules break. Experts in horror cinema often point to this as the "Subversion of the Sacred." The parent-child bond is supposed to be the safest thing in the world. Making the child a predator is the ultimate psychological nightmare.

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Dr. Kim Newman, a renowned horror historian, has noted that zombie fiction often evolves to reflect current societal fears. In the 70s, it was consumerism (Dawn of the Dead). Now, it’s the fear of losing our family to things we can’t control—whether that’s a virus, mental health struggles, or radicalization.

What to Watch Instead

Since you can't go to the theater to see My Daughter is a Zombie today, you have to pivot. You have options.

  1. Cargo (2017): On Netflix. Martin Freeman is a dad bitten by a zombie. He has 48 hours to find someone to take his infant daughter before he turns. It is a masterpiece of the genre.
  2. The Girl with All the Gifts: This flips the script. The daughter figure is the zombie, but she’s sentient. It’s brilliant science fiction that deals with the biology of the "fungus" in a way that feels very Last of Us.
  3. Little Monsters (2019): If you wanted the comedy of the webtoon, watch this. Lupita Nyong'o is a kindergarten teacher protecting her students during an outbreak. It’s funny, gory, and sweet.

The Future of the Project

Is there hope?

Maybe.

With the massive success of Korean content globally—thanks to Parasite and Squid Game—investors are looking for proven IP. My Daughter is a Zombie has millions of views on Webtoon. It’s a "proven" story. It is highly likely that a streaming service like Netflix or a Korean studio like CJ ENM will eventually greenlight a high-budget version.

Until then, don't believe the TikTok trailers. They are lying to you for engagement. If you see a poster with a 2025 release date and no actual studio logo, it's AI.

Actionable Steps for Fans

  • Read the Webtoon: Go to the official Webtoon platform. Support the original creator. It’s the only way to get the actual story right now.
  • Check K-Drama News: Follow sites like Soompi or AllKpop. If a real movie gets greenlit, they will be the first to report on the casting of the father and daughter.
  • Avoid Scams: Don't click on "Watch Now" links for this movie on sketchy websites. You’ll just get a virus. Not the zombie kind, the "steal your credit card" kind.
  • Watch 'Maggie': If you haven't seen the Schwarzenegger film, do it tonight. It’s the spiritual sibling to the story you’re looking for.

The "My Daughter is a Zombie" movie might be a ghost right now, but in the world of entertainment, nothing stays dead for long. Keep an eye on the Korean production schedules for late 2025.