Squid Game review
8.0 / 10 — CineScope score
Overview
Hundreds of debt-ridden players compete in children's games for an enormous prize, where losing is fatal and the audience is watching.
The short verdict
A razor-sharp satire of debt and spectacle that became a global phenomenon without softening a single edge.
Story
The games are simple and the stakes are surgical, which lets the show spend its time on the alliances and betrayals between rounds.
Direction
Hwang Dong-hyuk keeps the production design candy-coloured and the violence matter-of-fact, an inversion that gives the show its chill.
Performance
Lee Jung-jae anchors the series with a performance that moves from desperate to genuinely cold.
Cinematography
Primary colours, brutalist staircases and a pink-and-teal palette that turned the show into an instantly recognisable visual brand.
Music
Jung Jae-il's score smuggles classical chill into a death match, and the show's use of traditional melodies is a recurring joke with teeth.
Pros and cons
What works
- Immediately gripping premise
- Social critique with real bite
- Superb production design
What does not
- Later seasons lose the first season's purity
- Some antagonists are underwritten
Final verdict
The first season is essential viewing; the follow-ups are a decent continuation of a very high bar.
8.0/ 10