An utterly brilliant prequel that captures everything we love about Kingdom, while filling in the backstory in a powerful and original way.

Both Kim Shi-ah and Jun Ji-hyun put in mesmerising performances as Ashin, the Jurcheon child whose family is slaughtered in a border clash between their people across the river and Joseon where they have settled. A brutal, bleak and dark study of poverty and disenfranchisement, Ashin of the North continues Kingdom's study of those who fall between the cracks of a system that cares only about sustaining itself.

For those who want zombies, they may be somewhat surprised they only really turn up in the last third of the film. But like the best zombie stories, Kingdom has always known that it's not really about zombies at all. This is an origin story to the Ashin character introduced in the final episode of Kingdom season 2. And after watching this bleakly atmospheric film about the character's journey from sun-kissed childhood to stone-cold killer, I can't wait for season 3.