There have been some tense games in pop culture over the years. And we’re not just talking about that holographic battle of Dejarik that could have cost C3PO his arms via a disgruntled Wookie…
Squid Game
First and foremost in the list for good reason. It’s sick and sadistic and fantastic. Ever wanted to watch Wipeout where people actually die if they get knocked out? This is for you! (Also, you might have issues.)
In this thrilling South Korean dystopian horror series, four hundred and fifty-six down-on-their-luck people are invited to compete in seemingly mundane children’s games for a stupendous cash prize. Fun right? Except this isn’t some kind of cheerful Saturday night gameshow. It soon becomes clear to our debt-ridden and inept protagonist Seong Gi-hun that the cost of losing is far higher and more deadly than anybody expected. This series isn’t for the faint of heart… and the great news is that Season 2 is now here for even more utterly tense and horrific television.
The Hunger Games
I volunteer as tribute! Except, no, I really wouldn’t, because this is all kinds of screwed up. In the story we probably all know, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister’s place in a televised competition to the death, with the upper classes of Capitol taking great pleasure in watching competitors from the poor districts under its control try to murder each other – with some of them as young as 12.
Alice in Borderland
I was tempted to go with Alice in Wonderland’s game of croquet, featuring the incredibly frightening Queen of Hearts, which I still can’t think about without getting nervous. However, I’ve opted to go with the much more contemporary, similarly named Alice in Borderland for the sickening and deadly games it throws its protagonists into. This is Squid Game with a more fantastical twist and mystery at its core – and it’s brilliant.
Flash Gordon
Showing my age with this one maybe, but when Flash Gordon is captured by Prince Barin in the 1980’s movie, he is set a challenge – to compete in what amounts to tree-stump Russian Roulette. Taking turns with Barin, Flash must shove his hand into one of the many dark, creepy holes of a tree and hope that he’s not stung by the grotesque scorpion-like Wood Beast that lives within it. You will never put your hand in a dark, creepy hole again after watching this.
Labyrinth
Okay, so perhaps one of the more terrifying things about this setting was David Bowie’s codpiece, but Sarah still had to compete against the clock – and some dangerous obstacles – to win back her baby brother from the Goblin King. Labyrinth brings the old-school game of chucking someone in a maze to brilliant, but terrifying life. It pits our teenage protagonist against betrayals, poisoned peaches, lying doors, bogs of eternal stench, unfathomable Escher ruins, and, uh, a masquerade ball. It might not have blood and guts and gore, but for the young impressionable minds that watched this on their VHS cassettes back in the day, this was scary and compelling stuff.
The Way Up Is Death by Dan Hanks is OUT NOW. Read the prologue of the novel exclusively with SciFiNow here.
