Kingdom
Based on Land of the Gods by Kim Eun Hee
Written by Kim Eun-hee
Directed by Kim Seong-hun
Starring Ju Ji-hoon, Bae Doona, Ryu Seung-ryong
Country of origin South Korea
You could almost believe you were watching an Akira Kurosawa film. Mystery lies in the minutiae, horror in hints, suspense in speckles. Mixed in with a vast plot filled with action and drama, a building dread and by the end of the first episode you find that your life, your very consciousness, in entwined with the central characters. The crown prince, accused of treason and searching for the answer to a horrible crisis that is engulfing his country, the nurse, faced with a horrific plague caused by her patients unknowingly eating the wrong thing.
The acting is sublime, the sets and costumes breathtaking. Mediaeval Korea had the absolute coolest hats; if some of those showed up in a Girl Genius comic, the Jagrmonsters would be swooning from lust and unrequited love.
The names of the people involved in this are not well known in the west, but with Kingdom, that might be about to change. Yes, it’s a foreign costume drama with subtitles. It will scare away all the people who have never heard of Kurosawa, either. Yes, it’s a comic book zombie apocalypse story. But for people who like superbly crafted programs that deftly combine period drama, fantasy, horror and suspense, Kingdom is a must-see.
Six episodes of varying length (43-56 minutes), now on Netflix.