What stayed with me most is that the story is not really about zombies, but about the terror of losing someone while they are still physically there.

The strongest moments, for me, are the quiet human ones: Zora leaving to protect her daughter, Marcus refusing to take away her chance to choose, Quinnen’s name returning, the bubbles in the backyard, the crayon heart in her pocket.

The horror works because it keeps circling back to love, care, and the fragile insistence that the person is still worth reaching for.