Last Updated on: 24th July 2023, 08:55 am
For These Italian Fans Of Squid Games, Dying Is Just A Game
There are children’s games, red-clad guards, and a single winner, but luckily for Italian fans of Netflix’s ultra-violent Squid Game, dying is just imaginary.
About fifty adventurous people gathered in a hangar near Milan and transformed into the universe of the South Korean television series that has become a global phenomenon.
It portrays hundreds of marginalized people forced to participate in traditional children’s games. Sadistic “VIPs” watch them crash, the only winner to make a fortune, and everyone else suffers a brutal death.
On a cold, wet November night in northern Italy, a masked security guard in a red jumpsuit yells to a crowd of fans: “Get in line!”
The masked leader running the game fires a shot into the air and all is quiet.
“They are there to please the VIPs, this game was organized for them,” he said, pointing to two masked people sitting in the corner.
The first game is “Red Light, Green Light”, in which the participants of the television series have to crawl on a terrifying robotic doll when his back is turned, at the risk of being shot if he looks emotional.
The bullets here are plastic and the guards say their goal is not to harm anyone. Participants wear masks to protect their faces and a shirt with an identification number.
But many quickly get into the spirit of things. “Can I earn 45.6 billion won ($ 38 million) here?” said Stefano, a 42-year-old doctor, looking at the silver award from the South Korean series.
Laura Tatolo, a 27-year-old waitress who came with a friend, told AFP: “The series fascinates me and I was looking for a game to find the atmosphere!”
Adrenaline Rush
“Squid Game,” directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, became Netflix’s most popular series upon launch, drawing at least 111 million viewers to its dystopian nightmare.
There are fans all over the world and Squid Game merchandise, murals, and “escape games” like the one in Milan have appeared all over the world.
“It was supposed to be a Halloween event, but it worked so well that we kept it going,” said Anna Kovalova of Enigma Room, the Milan-based company that organized the evening entertainment.
As with television series, the game has its critics. “We have received emails from outraged parents,” she said, adding that children under the age of 16 are prohibited.
There are a total of six challenges, including a tug of war in which you risk falling off a dizzying bridge in the TV series, and the experience lasts for two hours.
The last duel in Milan was won by candidate number 15, Federico Alemán.
“We got back the atmosphere, the adrenaline of ‘Squid Game,'” he said.
The price does not match the 45.6 billion won offered on the show. The winner receives free entry to another game.
