Bargain review: Paramount+ K-Drama is an unrelenting nightmare that will have you hooked

• 📺 Where to watch Bargain: Premieres on Paramount+ on Thursday, 5 October
  

• ⭐️ Our rating: 5/5
  

• 🍿 Watch it if you liked: Squid Game, Asura: City of Madness, Night in Paradise
  

• 🎭 Who's in it?: Jeon Jong-seo, Jin Sun-kyu, Chang Ryul.
  

• ⏰ How long is it? 6 episodes, 30 minutes each.
  

• 📖 What’s it about? At a hotel in a remote location a black market auction is held for the organs of unsuspecting men duped by a trafficking ring, but things take a dramatic turn when an earthquake hits the building and everyone inside must fight to survive.

Bargain begins, quite aptly, with a deal. It is brokered between a young woman posing as a high school student looking to sell her virginity and a much older man, who wants to pay.

Read More: New On Paramount+ In October

The man, Noh Hyung-soo (Jin Sun-kyu), thinks he's caught the woman, Park Joo-young (Jeon Jong-seo) in a lie, and argues the price of having sex with her down from $1000 to $75. But soon we come to realise that not all is at it seems, and Noh has actually been duped by a trafficking ring who intend to sell off his organs to the highest bidder.

But the first bargain struck is not the main one — that is the black market auction for Noh's body parts, which is then interrupted by an earthquake that traps all inside, leaving them fighting for their lives in an unrelenting nightmare of their own making.

It is a stark opener but only the first of many surprises that director Jeon Woo-sung has in store for viewers over the course of the series, which is filmed as one long take to add to the intense and merciless nature of the plot.

The story doggedly pursues its characters as they look for a way out of the remote hotel, navigating treacherous landscapes and even more dangerous people, and the story keeps us engaged with each of the main cast's unique stories as the camera switches between them smoothly.

There is Noh, the man who was tricked but deserves little sympathy from viewers, Park, a woman who doesn't suffer fools and is trying to get to the top of the crime syndicate, and Ko Keuk-Ryul (Chang Ryul), a young man who buys one of Noh's kidneys for his dying father and wants a return on his investment.

Viewers never feel off-kilter when jumping between these characters because of the clever way Jeon moves from one to the other, the change in focus adds to the intensity of the series because its narrative develops at such a breakneck speed you'll be clamouring to hold on and yet feel desperate to know more.

There is no wasted space in Bargain; each scene, each set piece, even each prop feels it has a purpose, and Jeon's meticulous planning for how the story is told makes it truly feel like it is actually happening in real time (even if there are some clever edits that the audience will hardly notice).

Bargain is very different to the Korean Dramas that fans of the genre are used to. It's gritty and grimy, and doesn't have the same polished look, but that doesn't mean it's lacking in quality. In fact, the opposite is true.

K-Dramas can take their time to tell a story, and they can often follow many of the same tropes because it's a tried and tested model — Fans love them the way they are, so why fix what isn't broken?

But that's also why Bargain feels unique, it is completely unhinged and moves so quickly the audience will hardly have room to breathe. It's unlike anything else and while its violent nature means it won't be everyone's cup of tea, it is definitely one to watch.

Bargain will be released as a binge drop on Paramount+ on Thursday, 5 October.

Watch the trailer for Bargain: