Fans of Netflix’s gory series Squid Game: The Challenge have been questioning how da fuq they actually shoot people once they’re eliminated.
While it sounds incredibly sinister and gory (it is), obviously, the contestants are not killed IRL, but it seems lifelike with a gunshot sound effect, the players falling backwards from shock (and pain) and what looks like a black paint spatter across their chest.
The series offers reportedly the largest prize in game show history, $4.56 million, and while we’re still reeling from that piece of info, we had lots of questions!
How do they shoot people in Squid Game: The Challenge?
According to the streaming giant’s official website, there is an extremely clever way that the effect is put into practice and no, it has nothing to do with a paintball machine!
Instead, an ink packet (also called a squib or in film and TV, a “bullet hit squib”) was fastened under each player’s t-shirt before they started the game.
“When the motion sensors, cameras, and game arbiters determine a player is eliminated, the squib bursts”, indicating to the player that they are, in fact, “dead”.
Speaking of the t-shirts, apparently, production hit a snag — realising that the fabric softener they were using was causing a less-than-ideal result for TV.
“The costume team were washing the T-shirts with a laundry detergent that had too much starch, and it was acting as a blocker,” executive producer Tim Harcourt said in an interview with Netflix. “This prompted a last-minute switch to a low-starch alternative.”
What is a squib and does it hurt?
As mentioned earlier, the shock of the packet exploding always leaves the contestants looking dazed and confused before they fall to the ground. But we wanted to know if it actually hurt.
The short answer is: yes.
According to TV Trope, for anyone who has ever been hooked up to the squib (a small plastic sac filled with a liquid that produces what supposedly looks like a “real” wound), the impact of it exploding does cause some pain.
If you want to see how they’re made, check out the video below:
Squid Game: The Challenge is streaming now on Netflix.
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