Discover 15 Must-Watch Shows and Movies for Squid Game Fans

My love for horror movies is well known, and while there are many varieties of horror out there, none quite captures my attention like Battle Royale. If you've seen the Netflix megahit Squid Game (and really, who hasn't?), chances are you're in the same boat as me. While there aren't many shows that scratch that same itch, I've put together a list of some hidden gems that are sure to satisfy your craving for pulse-pounding thrills and mind-bending puzzles.

Alice in Borderland is easily the most frequently compared show to Squid Game, and it's not hard to see why. Arisu, a talented gamer who's never lived up to his potential, suddenly finds himself in a post-apocalyptic version of Tokyo, where he's forced to compete in deadly games to avoid being lasered to death by an unknown source. Survivors get a few days' reprieve before being forced back into another life-or-death contest, and as you might expect, alliances form and betrayals are inevitable.

If you think your school days were tough, spare a thought for Shun Takahata. After complaining about his boring life, he's drawn into a brutal killing game with his fellow students, with each contest more dangerous than the last. Featuring a twisted version of Red Light, Green Light and other classic games, it's another entry in the "don't lose, or die" genre that Squid Game helped popularize.

For a more cerebral take on the same themes, check out Liar Game. A college student is recruited for a reality show where contestants succeed by outwitting each other in a series of psychological contests. The reward? A hefty pile of cash, of course. It's not quite the same as fighting for your life, but there's still plenty of tension and intrigue to keep you hooked.

If you prefer your death games in movie form, you can't go wrong with the classic Battle Royale. In this Japanese flick, forty two ninth graders are trapped on a deserted island and forced to kill each other, with only one allowed to leave alive. Armed with an array of weapons and survival gear, the students' only task is to stay alive long enough to be the sole survivor.

On the less violent end of the spectrum is 3%, a Portuguese dystopian series where every 20-year-old gets to take a test that could earn them a spot in a paradise island known as the Offshore. But with a success rate of just 3%, most of the candidates find themselves stuck in poverty forever. While there's no blood or gore involved, the pressure to succeed is still intense, and failure carries a heavy cost.

Switching gears, we have Memories of the Alhambra, a Korean show that blends sci-fi, fantasy, and romance into a story about an augmented reality game that becomes all too real. With users able to see the game world through special contacts, it's only a matter of time before a glitch causes players to start feeling real pain. To solve the mystery, CEO Yoo Jin-woo has to track down the missing programmer and uncover the truth behind the game's sinister design.

Finally, we have The Belko Experiment, a Colombian movie about a seemingly normal workday that quickly turns deadly. When 80 office workers find themselves trapped inside the building with explosive trackers implanted in their heads, they're forced to kill each other using nothing but office supplies. It's a gruesome and intense ride that proves once again that when it comes to the genre of death games, anything can happen.

Prepare for a twisted version of a classic game, where the winner takes home a fortune in exchange for their sanity and morality. As the game progresses, it becomes apparent that only one person will walk out alive, a true testament to the sadistic nature of the competition.

Enter the escape room, a world created for this genre. In this game, six strangers are pitted against each other in a race against time to solve puzzles and escape with their lives. Those who fail to solve the riddles before the timer expires are met with a gruesome end.

Step inside "The Cube," the original escape room. A group of strangers find themselves trapped in a never-ending maze of cube-shaped rooms, filled with deadly traps. It's a Kafkaesque nightmare that explores the human psyche's descent into madness.

For Nobuaki Kanazawa, transferring to a new school means being thrown into a deadly game orchestrated by "The King" via text messages. Every student must participate, but Nobuaki's prior experience with the game gives him an advantage. However, his survival strategy forces him to weigh the value of his life versus his classmates'.

Zero Ukai may appear to be an ordinary middle school teacher, but he leads a double life as a vigilante. When a twisted wealthy man forces him to participate in a deadly game at an amusement park with billions of yen at stake, Zero is pushed to his limits.

Kaiji Itou struggles with a gambling addiction and ultimately participates in an illegal underground gamble on a cruise ship, putting his life on the line. With mind-bending games like rock-paper-scissors, Japanese Mahjong, and high-stakes tissue raffles, Kaiji is thrown into a deadly competition.

In a futurist sci-fi thriller, fifty strangers wake up in a dark room to find that they are being executed one by one based on mysterious rules. As they must decide who among them should live, the story prompts philosophical questions about the worth of human life itself.

Finally, ending with an American favorite, a crafty serial killer uses complex physical and psychological tests to push his victims to their limits. This gore-filled death game is not for the faint of heart but is sure to impress with its twisted creativity.