"Squid Game" Review: This South Korean Import is NetFlix's Highest Premering Show E-V-E-R

With 111 million views since it's September 17th release, "Squid Game" is NetFlix's most watched launch ever. The show was written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. It took him some 10 years to get the show made... and now it's taking the world by storm.

The premise is an interesting one. 456 people are invited to play a game. If they win, they get the 45.6 billion won (roughly $38 million US dollars) prize. If they lose... well we're not initially sure what happens. Later we learn the cruel irony of the game. If you lose you die. Ya can't have much higher stakes than that. Our protagonist Gi-hun is down on his luck. He doesnt have a job and gambles. He lives with his mother and is estranged from his daughter. Out of options, Gi-hun agrees to play.

The players dont know it but rich people bet on who lives and who dies. Contestants must complete in SIX children's games.

The six games are:

Red Light, Green Light- Very simple- run on green light, stop on red light.. or else
Honeycomb (Ppopgi)- Each person randomly receives a cookie with one of 4 shapes (a circle, a triangle, a star or an umbrella). Contestants must use a needle to cut the shape out. Whatever you do, dont break the cookie.
Tug Of War- Same game we always play but done on a high suspending platform. The losing team plummets to their death. Seeing the various strategies of how to win were interesting.
Marbles- The loser is shot in the head
Glass Stepping Stones- Done on the same platform as tug of war
Squid Game- the title of the series is of course based on this game. It is apparently a version of tag that was played in South Korea in the 70s and 80s.

Grade: 5 Monsters (out of 5). Excellent! After several false starts, I finally got into the series. And really enjoyed it. I became attached to the contestants in a short period of time. I knew nothing of many of the games they played so it was fun to learn.Visually "Squid Game" is stunning. The costumes, the sets, the cinematography..everything about the show gives it an otherworldly feel. Think of it as a cross between a MC Escher drawing and the "Hunger Games". Apparently "Squid Game" is about capitalism and class struggles in South Korea. It definitely has a lot to say about how far desperate people with no other options will go. It is also an interesting psychological study on what people will do in order to survive.