Hyeok-jun is a young man on the edge of despair, crushed by the unbearable weight of massive debts. Suddenly, though, a golden opportunity appears: he can take on a part-time job for a staffing agency that pays roughly fifty times the normal rate. For Hyeok-jun, it is a godsend, so he accepts eagerly, not realizing what lies beneath. Behind this astronomical pay there is a clause that is, to say the least, disturbing: he cannot talk to anyone about what happens while he wears the employee’s clothes. As if that weren’t enough, every task assigned to him is in reality a supernatural gateway that allows malevolent spirits to enter the real world. The young man finds himself reluctantly facing challenges of every kind in order to stay alive at the end of his shift. Will his sister Ji-yoon and an investigator be able to help him save himself in time? Dead-End Job is a Netflix TV series in which the anxiety born from precariousness becomes a true waking nightmare. If this Korean horror that draws its strength from a sharp social critique is your new obsession, we have selected a few other titles that might appeal to you in the same way.
Dead-End Job: Here are the TV series similar to it that we recommend
- Alice in Borderland
- Severance
- Sweet Home
Alice in Borderland
Arisu is a slacker with a passion for video games who, after seeking refuge in the subway bathrooms to escape the police, finds himself in a barren Tokyo. These nerds realize that, unbelievably, they are trapped in a parallel universe where they must earn “visas” to stay alive; and to reach their goal, they must participate in cruel and deadly trials. Alice in Borderland is a Japanese thriller and science-fiction series from 2020 that shares with Dead-End Job the potentially lethal challenges faced by the protagonists. Three seasons and 22 episodes, available on Netflix.
Severance
Leading a team at Lumon Industries, Mark Scout — like all his colleagues — has undergone a memory separation procedure, designed to clearly separate private life memories from those of professional life. However, when a mysterious former employee resurfaces, someone begins to question, investigate, and reveal the company’s sordid secrets. Severance is a 2022 TV series — still in production — where work is alienating to the point of becoming a prison — even a psychological one. Two seasons and 19 episodes that you can find on Apple TV+.
Sweet Home
Cha Hyun-soo is a traumatized and marginalized teenager who moves into a haunted residential complex, Green Home. Not long after settling in, he and the other tenants find themselves forced to barricade themselves indoors: outside, chaos erupts. Suddenly and inexplicably people are starting to transform into terrifying monsters. Sweet Home is a 2020 Korean apocalyptic horror series where, like in Dead-End Job, pure fear finds its place in dreary and decaying surroundings. Three seasons and 26 episodes, available on Netflix, if you want to experience a bit more tension.
Comments