Let’s recap: South Korean cinema is terrific because these forward-thinking filmmakers— directors like Park Chan-Wook (“The Handmaiden”), Kim Ki-Duk (“Pietà”), Lee Chang-dong (“Burning”), Bong Joon Ho (“The Host”), Kim Ji-woon (“I Saw the Devil”) to name just a few — are masters of tone deftly flying through moods of hilarious dark humor, tragic pathos and back again while riding horseback and doing backflips through myriad genres; their deftness is a thing of beauty to behold. Next up to bat is Kim Seong-hun with “Kingdom.”
Seong-hun’s movie “Tunnel” was a top five movie at the Korean box office in 2016 and his “Kingdom” co-writer Kim Eun-hee’s series “Signal” was one of the top Korean dramas of that year. Together they have come to create a South Korean supergroup together and the series “Kingdom” which is essentially a historical, medieval zombie thriller and drama—told you they mixed a lot of things— about a deceased king that rises and a mysterious plague begins to spread. While this drama and pandemic surges, the prince must face a new breed of enemies to unveil the evil and save his people. Here’s the official synopsis:
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In a kingdom defeated by corruption and famine, a mysterious rumor of the king’s death spreads, as does a strange plague that renders the infected immune to death and hungry for flesh. The crown prince, fallen victim to a conspiracy, sets out on a journey to unveil the evil scheme and save his people.
“I have been working on ‘Kingdom’ since 2011,” writer Eun-Hee said several years back. “I wanted to write a story that reflects the fears and anxiety of modern times but explored through the lens of a romantic fascination of the historical Joseon period. Working with Netflix helps us to unlock this creative vision for ‘Kingdom,’ and I am excited to further build this unique story with the director for whom I have tremendous respect.”
“Kingdom” stars Ju Ji-hoon, Bae Doona (“Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance,” “The Host,” “Cloud Atlas”), Ryu Seung-ryong (“Miracle in Cell No. 7“) and debuts globally on Netflix January 25, 2019. It will be a must-see for all fans of genre and foreign film. The knock on Netflix is the streaming giant dumps a lot of content on their channel, but this is the third trailer in about three months they’ve dropped for “Kingdom” which means they probably actually want you to watch this one. See the new trailer below.
