Did Squid Game kickstart your penchant for South Korean survival dramas? Then Paramount+ are here to supply your newest hit of stylish Korean thrillers with Bargain. This shock factor-fuelled miniseries by Jeon Woo-sung is a fresh adaptation of an award-winning short film of the same name. Sleazy men are lured into an organ-trafficking ring under the ruse of buying sex from underaged girls. In a remote motel, the slimy businessmen are auctioned off body part by body part (while still alive).

A hierarchy between fake sex workers, proposed pimps and mysterious big boss is evident from episode one. But a devastating earthquake causes this fragile system of power to crumble, leaving chaos, gore and savage backstabbing to ensue. A classic suspense-thriller feel is created as we move through each episode in real time, never catching a glimpse of the world outside. Scrambling for money, power and survival, all laws are tossed out the collapsing motel’s window. This is like Lord Of The Flies, but instead of starting with innocent schoolboys, we begin in a black-market auction for human organs. How much worse can it get?

This dystopian wasteland needs some serious setting up for an audience to have a clue what’s going on, but soon after we’ve come to terms with the rules of this backwards world, it starts to implode. With six half-hour episodes, the programme moves at an entertaining pace, but some effort is required to keep up with the plot (especially its characters’ incessant double-crossing). 

Some of the translation in the English subtitles could be considered clunky, but that doesn’t take away from this refreshing show’s impeccable style. It’s quick and funny at times and sickeningly gory at others. A jazz-influenced soundtrack creates the feel of an old-time New York detective story; a notable style choice that kicks Bargain’s overall originality and atmosphere up several notches.

All episodes available on Paramount+, Thursday 5 October.