Netflix has added a new horror TV series to its catalog. The show in question is particularly compelling because, even though it tells an original story, it is reminiscent of many Stephen King stories. After watching its eight episodes, it is hard not to see how it feels more like a Stephen King adaptation than some of the direct takes on the King of Horror’s works.
The new Netflix horror show, Dead-End Job, initially follows a simple premise. It focuses on a broken, debt-ridden man, Hyuk‑jun, who finds a mysterious job that pays surprisingly well for regular labor. Seeing it as an opportunity to turn his life around, Hyuk‑jun accepts the offer. With this, he sets out to do a series of seemingly blue-collared jobs that escalate into nightmare fuel.
With each new episode, Netflix’s Dead-End Job finds creative ways to find terror in the mundane, day-to-day snags of unskilled labor. While at it, it also seems to draw subtle nods to some of the most popular horror tropes that have been popularized by Stephen King. It manages to create a distinct identity for itself in the genre, but its perfect description would be “Stephen King meets Squid Game.“
Netflix’s Dead-End Job Combines Stephen King’s Terror With Squid Game’s Survival Game Format
The unsuspecting protagonist of Dead-End Job takes up his first job at a convenience store. He is only expected to survive the night and update the inventory at the store. The setting almost seems reminiscent of the ones from Stephen King’s stories like The Mist and The Shining. In both stories, characters end up locked in seemingly harmless environments before their biggest fears come to life.
With a ticking clock over his head, Hyuk‑jun almost reminds one of Mike Enslin from Stephen King’s 1408. He has to merely survive his way through a nightmarish ordeal. If he does, though, not only will he live to see another day but also conquer his biggest fears. This gamification of the character’s survival in exchange for a large monetary reward even reminds one of Squid Game.
As the show progresses, it features everything from self-driving monstrous cars like Stephen King’s Christine to an evil shape-shifting clown like Pennywise. In its 8-episode runtime, Dead-End Job also features quite a few original monsters and story beats with its monster-of-the-episode format. However, its Stephen King nods are hard to ignore.
Even from a thematic standpoint, Dead-End Job is primarily driven by the Faustian bargain, which is a common theme in many Stephen King books. Similar to characters in stories like Pet Sematary and Needful Things, the show’s protagonist is forced to make the proverbial “deal with the devil” to be able to earn a living and pay off his debt.
Like Stephen King’s Stories, Dead-End Job Finds Horror In Blue-Collar Unskilled Labor
In some of Stephen King‘s best horror books and stories, like Graveyard Shift, The Mangler, and 1922, working-class people are forced to stay in life-threatening situations. They cannot clock out because that would lead them to the terrors of financial ruin. For instance, the ones in Graveyard Shift run into mutated rat-like monstrosities when they start cleaning a subterranean basement.
The protagonist in Dead-End Job also faces a rat-like monster in the very first episode, soon after his desperation drives him to claim an eerie night-shift part-time job.
Similar to the omnipresent monsters in Stephen King’s books like IT, Salem’s Lot, and Pet Sematary, the overarching evil in Dead-End Job also functions as a pervasive systemic machinery. It preys on an entire town, targeting generations of residents.
Its boundless nature suggests that humans lack the ability to overcome it and serve as mere pawns to pawns in a larger machine, much like labor workers trapped in an exploitative workplace.
Owing to these parallels between Netflix‘s Dead-End Job and Stephen King‘s stories, it seems fair to say the King of Horror’s fans will absolutely love the horror series.
- Birthdate
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September 21, 1947
- Birthplace
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Portland, Maine, USA
Discover the latest news and filmography for Stephen King, known for The Dark Tower series, The Stand, IT, The Shining, Carrie, Cujo, Misery, the Bill Hodges trilogy, and more.
