Everyone has been talking about Squid Game. “Everyone and their mom.” As some put it. Which is impressive because, indeed, even G.’s mom brought it up - and she’s not into this sort of stuff. And as someone who’s made it her duty to write about horror, I cannot go without at least acknowledging it.
I’m relatively late to join the party, though. G. got to watch Squid Game before me, in September, but I had to finish watching it during October, after coming back from a trip. And I didn’t want to bring up Squid Game during Halloween month.
And that’s just a personal preference because, if it wasn’t for all the beautiful autumn photography I got to see (thank you, photographers of the world), I would have been frustrated by how Squid Game took over.
Regardless, it astonished me. And initially, before I got to see it for myself, I had to wonder what was up with it. It didn’t seem so different from Alice In Borderland, which, although I very much liked it, didn’t cause anywhere near as much commotion. Similarly with Escape Room (and Escape Room 2), which I greatly appreciated not only for the various challenges and puzzles, but for the outstanding aesthetic design. Horror stories revolving around twisted games hosted by deranged people in secret organizations are not a novel concept. I love them, but it’s not like they’re mind-blowing at this point...
SPOILERS ALERT! If you want to avoid spoilers, you can stop reading right now.
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| Squid Game (2021) |
So, what was it about Squid Game that made it so popular?
Besides the amount of promotion done and how once a hype is accomplished it grows exponentially, I’d say that there are numerous elements to it that may or may not particularly appeal to one or another person.
Maybe for you, it was the selection of characters. The old man was certainly intriguing from the start. And how can you not love that spunky girl who’d do anything for her little brother? Maybe you saw yourself and others in the characters or just happened to find them especially fascinating. That wasn’t the case for me, though. Not to a significant degree, anyway (as it has happened with other stories). If I really have to play the “Which character am I in this story?” game, I’d say that I’m Hwang Jun-ho, the undercover investigator, and even that is a major stretch.
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| Squid Game (2021) |
For me, what set apart Squid Game from other things I’ve watched was actually the use of color and childlike motifs. It’s one thing to have a creepy environment to run creepy games, like in Saw, and it’s another to have something that looks like a nursery, a neat and tidy one at that (rather than an abandoned and deteriorated one), to carry out such insane acts. It adds insult to injury. It’s on a whole other level of messed up. It’s like those cutesy anime characters that look bright and bubbly on the outside but are among the darkest around on the inside - except worse. Because in Squid Game, it is basically a prison facility and a large number of people do die horribly for the amusement of a few.
Other than that, the costume design is uniquely memorable. Although the symbols on the masks (and cards) kept making me think back to Sony PlayStation controller buttons. Nevertheless, it sticks out.
Don’t get me wrong, though. There’s a lot more to it. Squid Game is genius in many ways. This is just what most jumped out at me in contrast with other works I’m already familiar with that I’d also consider brilliant in one way or another.
And wait… Really?
“The creator of Squid Game, Hwang Dong-hyuk, developed the show 10 years ago. However it was rejected by media companies and actors for 10 years.” [x]
The world wasn’t ready for it before, huh? Amazing. It be like that sometimes.
What made Squid Game extraordinary to you?