Kingdom: Ashin of the North

 A prequel movie to the highly rated, and now viewable on Netflix, Kingdom series.

 

 

Which is basically a medieval korean vs zombies series, and I admit I still need to binge it... but I knew this was coming and wanted to follow the timeline.

 

Set before the events of the first season, this movie delves into the origins of Ashin, and how she became the scorned woman turned against the kingdom of Joseon.

 

During her childhood she lived in a small village, Seongjeoyain, with her ailing mother and her father, one of the Jurchen people.  Tensions where high at the times between Joseon and the border tribes of Pajeowi.  During a scouting mission, they find 15 dead Pajeowi, and his commander believes they where killed by a high ranking member of the Haewon Cho clan.  

 

 

In an ancient cave, Ashin learns of a mystical ressurection plant, and realizes this is what brought a tiger back to life, which is massacring villagers as she is in the cave.  But when she returns, it is found out that a retribution was held against her father, and all the villagers have been killed, including as she believes her father.  She turns to the Commander, begging she would be avenged, and she is brought to a military post.  Here she secretly trains with a bow while doing chores in camp as a butcher.

 

During her childhood in the camp, she was often raped by the soldiers, and the Joseon let it pass.  But she finds her father during a spying mission, his limbs cut off as punishment for betraying his fellow Jurchen, and she grants him final mercy.  As most of the military camp go south to help stave off a Japanese invasion, she discovers documents that her village has been set up and that the tiger story was a lie to frame her people.  She starts her bloody trail of revenge on the Joseon soldiers, using the ressurection plant to bring them back as zombies.  When these rampage around camp, she ensures no-one manages to escape and is left to the mercy of the monsters.  Gathering monsters and survivors together, she lights the camp on fire to leave nothing behind.

 

 

She returns to her village, in which it is shown she has turned all the dead into monsters, chained in a hut, and she bring forth one of her rapists, dismembered as her father, for them to feed on.  She later sells the plant to the Josean King's physician, setting in motion the events that would lead to the Battle of Unpo Wetland and the tragedy that would come to pass in the first season at Dongnae.

 

A nice story, and now I am ready to start watching the main series, so that is definitly on the soon to view list!