Netflix's new K-drama Squid Game has captivated viewers with its mix of social commentary, high-stakes thrills, and what-would-you-do moral dilemmas. The hit show follows a cast of people in serious debt who compete through a series of deadly kids' games for a literal fortune. Viewers are tearing through the fast-paced nine episodes, but luckily, there are several shows and movies from South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. that live up to Squid Game's high stakes and serious gore. Here's what you should check out if you loved the hit Korean drama.
1. Alice in Borderland (2020)
This Japanese sci-fi series has drawn tons of comparisons to Squid Game, but instead of winning money, the contestants are playing for survival. While hiding from some cops near Shibuya Crossing, three boys are suddenly transported into an alternate Tokyo, an arena where they must play through deadly games to load their individual "visas," or else they'll be executed. The games themselves are categorized through playing cards: Spades for strength, Clubs are team battles, Diamonds are battles of wits, and Hearts are games of betrayal.
2. Sweet Home (2020)
One of Netflix's most successful k-dramas, Sweet Home also follows a group of people who have to fight their selfish nature and work together to survive. A high schooler (Song Kang) moves into an apartment complex right before a zombie/monster apocalypse hits Korea. He and the residents, mostly strangers to one another, shield themselves in the building and band together to survive as long as they can.
3. 3% (2016)
This dystopian show from Brazil is set a near-future São Paulo where 20-year-old residents of the impoverished Inland compete to be admitted into a utopian Offshore society through The Process, a difficult and sometimes deadly series of tests where only 3% of participants make it through.
4. Battle Royale (2000)
The OG dystopian murder competition. In this cult-classic Japanese film, a future government captures a group of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other in a twisted competition on a deserted island. You may have read the mega-hit YA series it inspired, The Hunger Games.
5. As the Gods Will (2014)
This supernatural Japanese film has also been trending lately, since it has a similar kids'-games premise to Squid Game. A class of high school students has to undergo a series of trials set by "gods," giant animated versions of popular Japanese dolls that kill indiscriminately. Based off the trailer, this horror film may be even more bloody than the Netflix hit.
6. Circle (2015)
In this U.S. horror film, fifty strangers are kidnapped and placed in a hi-tech execution room where they're forced to choose which of them deserves to live. While it flew under the radar upon release, the surprising film has found some fans through Netflix.
7. The Purge (2013)
If you think the scariest part of Squid Game was its realistic, present-day setting, this is the horror series for you. In a near future (like, a couple of years near), the U.S. has designated one night per year where all crime, including murder, is legal. In the first film, a family has to stick out the night when a gang comes after a stranger they let into their highly-armed home.
8. Nerve (2016)
In this thriller, a young woman (Emma Roberts) joins an online game where players win money for completing random dares. The game teams her up with another player (Dave Franco) and the play quickly turns twisted as the duo loses control.
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