So, you’ve finished Squid Game on Netflix, the show that has everybody and their gganbu has been raving about, and now you need more. You’re insatiable. Your tentacles are just itching for something else. Well have no fear, I have you covered.
To start us off let me get one thing clear, there are plenty of shows like Squid Game, but none that really capture the same tension, clever writing and gorgeous visuals that the South Korean thriller has. So, here are some offerings that are similar in nature to Squid Game, but excel in their own unique ways.
And don’t worry, we have all streaming services covered for you, so you won’t run out of options. Here we go:
The Hunger Games
24 children enter an arena to compete in a televised bloodsport for the entertainment of the exorbitantly rich and wealthy. Sounds just like Squid Game but more fucked up because it is.
You won’t get any excessive gore or on-screen violence here, but you will get the excessive costumes and Jennifer Lawrence acting that will satisfy you across four increasingly tense films.
Now streaming on Binge, Stan and Netflix.
Love Child (Binge)
A South Korean couple’s child dies of neglect, and the pair blame their crippling internet addiction to a game called Prius Online.
Thing is, this isn’t a movie, it’s a documentary. Life is sometimes the most fucked up of all.
Now streaming on Binge.
Snowpiercer
The answer to Earth’s second Ice Age is to drive a (mostly) luxury train across the globe, on a massive line that never seems to end. Who built the tracks? It doesn’t fkn matter. People are dying, Kim.
The front of the train belongs to the crazy rich, while the back of the train belongs to the worse off, who are barely even afforded proper food. Naturally, this shit can’t go on for long, and so an uprising comes about.
Now streaming on Binge and Stan.
The Belko Experiment
80 employees at Belko Corp. are turned into pawns of a rather violent game, as they become trapped in their building and told to slowly kill off members of their own.
Who comes out on top, and how did a strange voice manage to take over an entire building and its intercom so easily? Only one way to find out, friends.
Now streaming on Stan.
The Purge
What if annually, there was a 12-hour stint in America where every single crime became legal? Sounds like something that they’d do, to be honest, but this is the idea that The Purge puts forward.
Of course, there are people who just wanna eat their tuna casserole in peace, so what happens when the excessively violent meet the passive?
Now streaming on Stan.
Kingdom
A mysterious plague that turns people into zombies starts to ravage a fictional South Korean kingdom, but politics still find a way to prevent everyone from getting to safety. As the elite block out the less fortunate by closing their doors, selfishness comes out to play.
This is one of my personal fave Netflix hidden gems, and it has a surprising amount of plot twists and turns that you will not see coming.
Now streaming on Netflix.
Extracurricular
A high school student kicks off a highly illegal sex trafficking business to earn enough money for university, and once his colleagues catch wind of what he’s doing, they decide to join in committing awful crimes.
Can a crime ring run by a bunch of greedy students last forever? Guess you’ll have to watch and see what happens.
Now streaming on Netflix.
Sweet Home
Monsters are wiping out the city, and a group of strangers trapped in an apartment building decide to group together to destroy the creepy crawlies coming after them.
There’s enough blood, gore and hard-to-watch horror that you’ll definitely forget the funny-looking CGI monsters that aren’t even as uncomfortable as some of the themes presented here.
Now streaming on Netflix.
Alice in Borderland
Imagine if the entire city of Tokyo was turned into a bloody series of games where the difficulty is determined by playing cards and people are shot in an instant by red lasers in the sky for failing to win.
If any of that piqued your interest, Alice in Borderland is for you.
Now streaming on Netflix.
It’s Okay To Not Be Okay
On a lighter note, just because you liked Squid Game doesn’t necessarily mean you like all the tense thrills that it provides.
It’s Okay To Not Be Okay is a romantic South Korean comedy/drama that will keep you hooked without the need for a giant doll that sings “red light, green light”. Win win.
Now streaming on Netflix.
Only Murders In The Building
Another lighter choice that still keeps the thrills, drama and intensity that you may have grown to love from Squid Game.
Three strangers who share an obsession with a true-crime podcast decide to start their own after someone is killed in their building. A classic whodunnit lead by three stellar actors. Plus, it’s always good to see Selena Gomez return to acting, which is where we all fell in love with her first.
Now streaming on Disney+.
