The biggest event of the season NetflixThis could just be a South Korean thing HorrorSeries with a cephalopod title and a violent, disturbing idea.
You’ve likely heard of “Squid Game,” a dark social satire in which desperately impoverished people are enticed to compete in children’s games with deadly stakes for the chance to win a life-changing cash prize. Since its Sept. 17 debut on the streaming service, it has become an online craze, sparking memes and fan theories and becoming the No. 1 show on the streamer in 70 countriesAccording to Netflix,, which includes the U.S.
Television viewing may not be something we have ever experienced. “Game of Thrones” again in the streaming era, but amid the proliferation of content, streaming or otherwise, a genuine word-of-mouth surprise can still surface. This is what happened with “Squid,”The film received very little marketing and press attention in the U.S. after its debut. It is now part of a growing list of highly successful films. Netflix has foreign language series available in all 50 states(including “Lupin”And “Money Heist”) and will likely stay at the top of the pop-culture conversation as long as people keep telling their friends to watch.
Let’s see what the fuss is all about “Squid” (★★★½ out of four), that has so many people suctioned to their screens?
Nine-episode series is filled with a primal, primal, can’t-look away feeling. The series not only deals in gore, but also psychological horror and disturbances. The protagonist is Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), a divorced father who’s a bit of a degenerate and a gambler. He’s scraping by on the back of his elderly mother, whom he lives with while occasionally stealing her money.
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After a brutally bad day, Gi-hun is approached by a smartly dressed young man in the subway, who offers Gi-hun a chance to win money by playing games. Gi-hun agrees to be taken (or gassed and kidnapped), to a deserted island. There, he is greeted by 455 other players. One of his childhood friends Sang-woo (Park Haesoo), the bright boy who escaped the neighborhood but was able to steal and embezzle leaving him in debt and wanted.
The players sign a vague contract to participate in the games and get started with Red Light Green Light – but if they move when they’re not supposed to, they are killed by sniper rifle. That’s when the stakes of the game become truly real: If you lose any of the games or refuse to play, you die. The players are given an opportunity to leave, but the 45.6 billion won prize (equivalent to nearly $39 million) and the horrors of their own lives bring many back. Soon, the players are not only afraid of dying at the hands the game masters but also by one another as the worst aspects of human nature emerge.
“Squid” is immediately evocative of similar films, shows and books including the 2000 Japanese film “Battle Royale” – about kids forced to fight to the death by a totalitarian government – and “The Hunger Games”series. What distinguishes “Squid” is that the players in the game have a false sense of agency in their plight: As the game masters repeatedly say, they all chose to be there. But when their only other option is returning to a life of suffering that’s worse, how is that really a choice?
“Squid”The game exposes the wealth of the controllers and spectators, which harshly criticizes society’s economic inequalities. It takes specific aim at South Korea – a North Korean defector is a main character, who ruefully says she escaped the North for a better life in the South, only to find similar desperation – but it’s universal in 2021, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare so many injustices.
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The drama is enhanced by Lee’s superb acting, which makes Gi-hun lovable despite his many faults. The characters go through a lot of trauma and transformations, and the actors are able to portray believable emotions in an amazing setting.
The series’ dramatic and captivating aesthetic is a major part of its success. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk paints the surreal, colorful world of the deadly games like the backdrop of a video game, all exaggerated shapes and sizes and harsh edges that evoke pixels. Juxtaposed against the gray, gloomy streets of Seoul, where many of the characters reside, there’s a feeling that the players have crossed over into Oz when they enter the game.
It is perfect for binge-watching because Hwang’s use of pacing and cliffhangers makes the series so addictive. The endings of every episode are more captivating than any other original Netflix series. “next episode.” Each is nearly a full hour, but they never feel bloated or boring, like many streaming series do these days. The series is certainly disturbing, although its violence and gore never reaches the bloody levels of “The Walking Dead,”Instead, rely on a psychological terror that wraps its tentacles around your neck.
In the current television era, it can be difficult to predict the next streaming success. But there is real joy in discovering something without the usual trappings of A-list stars and huge marketing budgets. “prestige”Television that connects with so many people “Squid”We may be in a very dark moment in history. But, connection over something troubling is better than no connection.
And don’t worry, no actual squids were harmed during filming.
