Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (3/5)

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is definitely a creepy experience. If you love movies about haunted places then you should love this Korean horror movie!

Also, it’s no secret that we love Korean horror movies, but this should hit home across borders. Yes, obviously they speak Korean, but there’s a character, Charlotte, who was raised in the United States.

It almost becomes a running joke, when she has to introduce herself. She always does so with a heavy American accent and you’ll find yourself referring to her character with that very same accent. Also, she’s a real badass, who has already been to various of the creepiest places on Earth,

This is just another one on her list, but (of course!) this place is the real deal. Charlotte is portrayed by Ye-Won Mun and won me over immediately. As a fan of horror-comedy, I always appreciate a certain level of humor and Korean movies tend to deliver on that. Unless they’re very dark, which Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum isn’t. It’s just really creepy at times!

You can watch the trailer for Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum right here or continue reading our review below.

Scenes that haunt you

A group of horror fans walks through Gonjiam, while wearing GoPro cameras and documenting everything to a live online audience. Obviously, both the viewers and participants expect some scary things will happen, so every small sound becomes a big deal.

However, it really doesn’t take long before some bigger events start taking place. Some of these scenes still haunt me now. Or rather, one particular character stayed with me for a while. It was just the creepiest moment and it works so perfectly.

Whether the people participating will survive doesn’t really matter. They knew what they were going into. Of course, so did he!

Nothing new, but something good

Even though we love Korean horror movies and have watched quite a few, we haven’t seen anything by director Beom-sik Jeong before. Of course, he is only just beginning his career, so we’ll probably get a lot more from him. Especially since Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is a huge hit in South Korea and will probably do well in the rest of the world.

It’s not that Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is innovative or brings anything new to the genre. It’s just very well executed and keeps its audience engaged. For me, there was a bit of a lull – when it became a tad too repetitive – but overall, I really enjoyed it.

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum will be out in limited theaters and on VOD from April 13, 2018.

Details

Director: Beom-sik Jeong
Writers: Beom-sik Jeong, Sang-min Park
Cast: Wi Ha-Jun, Park Sung-Hun, Lee Seung-Wook, Oh Ah-Yeon, Park Ji-Hyun, Yoo Je-Yoon, Mun Ye-Won

Plot

Based on the local legends and stories of people who’ve visited the real-life abandoned hospital, GONJIAM: HAUNTED ASYLUM follows the crew of a horror web show who plan to stream live from inside the asylum. To attract more viewers, the show’s host arranges some scares for the team, but as they move further into the nightmarish old building, they begin to encounter much more than expected.