With movies such as Train to Busan (but also another very underrated comedy called Zombie on Sale) and the Kingdom series, South Korea is proving that no one is really doing the zombies as well and them right this moment. Ashin of the North is not the much anticipated third series of this hugely popular kdrama Kingdom, but a kind of prequel to a character we will get to know better in the third series. When we get to do that we will have to wait a bit more to find out.

Ashin is dark, not only in terms of it’s story and the subject matter of the story, but also in how it was shot. There were scenes, that were supposed to take place at night, where I did not see properly. That got on my nerves, but nothing that completely ruined the story for me or anything.

Personally, I would have liked to get a good three episode arc from Ashin and not this one and a half hour movie that we got. I thought the story was a bit hasty in parts and maybe a bit rushed in the first half and I really would have wanted a whole episode just to set things up and spend more time with the characters. Really explore the people’s actions and the consequences that came with that later in the story. And I would have liked more screen-time with the adult Ashin and her thirst and drive for revenge.

Getting a good two episodes where more character focus and a nicer buildup to the escalating tension would have been nice. Because I felt it was a little lacking. And I was expecting more of a connection to the previous season of Kingdom and perhaps more answers regarding the plant that is the root of this all. There was not much information we were getting from this story in my opinion.

Except for Ashin’s revenge of course, which will come to play later on. The revenge and how it all comes about is still a really cool and interesting, dark plot twists and what I enjoyed the most within the story. It wasn’t until that section came about where the story caught my attention.

Ashin is dark and thrilling in parts so if you’re just going into this to experience some excitement and a bit of zombie horror then Ashin manages to be completely satisfying. Maybe Ashin falls into the trap, like the first series Kingdom did for me, of being just an introduction or the beginning of something and not telling a whole story. Perhaps I will not really manage appreciate its genius until I finally see the third series and where the story will take the character of Ashin and the conclusion it might give to that story.

If Ashin was supposed to be something to quench my thirst for the third series, then I did not think it managed that as well as it hoped, although it is very good entertainment and a thrilling ride with some good twists. I just wanted a better buildup to things and character work. Had fun watching it though. Just didn’t leave as much as I wanted behind.