The Korean series with an unusual name. Squid Game, released on Sept. 17, is a nine-episode series about a world where children’s games turn fatal and has become number 1 on Netflix, which is a first in the Korean drama industry just 4 days after its release.
The trending Korean original series which has topped the charts of the global streaming service in a number of countries, started when a mysterious man played by actor Gong Yoo, was giving out business cards containing an eight-digit phone number to a desperately indebted group of people, he tells them to call the number if they want to join the game, where participants bet their lives to win a huge sum amount of prize money. It turned out that the number used in the film was actually a real number because sources stated that some viewers called or sent text messages to the number seen out of curiosity and the “owner” says he can’t continue with his normal life and activities due to endless calls, both day and night, and is suffering serious damage from prank calls. As a resort to this, A South Korean presidential hopeful has offered to buy the number for 100 million won.
Back to the movie. The group was initially tricked into a deadly competition of children’s games, but then many of them volunteer to come back, realizing the games may be their only chance to win the money they need to survive. The tournament itself does wind its way to a bloody resolution. You may get that ‘Hunger Games’ kind of feels due to the gruesome action the film has portrayed. They are both so similar and different in so many ways. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk wrote the script when he was in a bad financial situation and he feared the storyline was “too grotesque and complex” at the time. He said “It’s a sad story. But the reason why I returned to the project is because the world nowadays has transformed to a place where these unbelievable survival stories are so fitting and found that this is the time when people will find these stories intriguing.” Overall, it’s a well-done drama/horror series. The excitement, suspense, the twists and turns will definitely keep you on the edge of your seats. Be sure not to miss on the final episode as it is just mind-blowing.
