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Several years ago, CNN released a list of the "7 freakiest places on the planet". Among the list was Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital, in South Korea. The building was closed during the 1990s because of economic issues and sewage problems, but that didn't stop people from creating stories of mysterious mass deaths and crazy doctors, and certainly didn't stop curious tourists from pouring into the place.
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum feeds off of that curiosity. The film follows the crew of a YouTube channel called "Horror Times" that decides to explore the building and transmit it live. The focus of their exploration seems to be the enigmatic Room 402, which has remained closed since the hospital was shut down. The film starts with two teenage boys trying to break the door open, only to disappear, which sparks the Horror Times crew to investigate.
On all my years on the Internet, I've seen several different viral videos that are frequently shared via social media of certain security cameras where everything goes calm for a while only to have a horrifying image suddenly jump in front of the camera to scare you. A fair share of them have made me jump, others not so much. Is it gimmicky? Yes, but I guess they achieve what they set out to do.
In some ways, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum could be seen as a more "elaborate" version of that because the peaks of the film come from a few moments that are framed that way (things going quiet for a while, then quick cut to a scary image). Just like those viral videos I mentioned above, this is kinda effective, I guess... but it's still gimmicky and after the initial jumpscare, not that memorable.
Even though that might sound like a negative, the production values are solid and the film does manage to build up a decent atmosphere of dread. Also, the cast is not that bad, but they're all just interchangeable and with no discerning characteristics to set them apart, which makes it harder for us to connect with what's going on. So if you're going down this road, just keep your expectations to something simple and maybe invite some friends over to your place... the place where ghosts live, on the screen at least.
Grade:
GONJIAM: HAUNTED ASYLUM
(2018, Bum-shik)
A film that starts with the letters G or H
(2018, Bum-shik)
A film that starts with the letters G or H
"Ghosts live here, everyone. And we are at the place where ghosts live."
Several years ago, CNN released a list of the "7 freakiest places on the planet". Among the list was Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital, in South Korea. The building was closed during the 1990s because of economic issues and sewage problems, but that didn't stop people from creating stories of mysterious mass deaths and crazy doctors, and certainly didn't stop curious tourists from pouring into the place.
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum feeds off of that curiosity. The film follows the crew of a YouTube channel called "Horror Times" that decides to explore the building and transmit it live. The focus of their exploration seems to be the enigmatic Room 402, which has remained closed since the hospital was shut down. The film starts with two teenage boys trying to break the door open, only to disappear, which sparks the Horror Times crew to investigate.
On all my years on the Internet, I've seen several different viral videos that are frequently shared via social media of certain security cameras where everything goes calm for a while only to have a horrifying image suddenly jump in front of the camera to scare you. A fair share of them have made me jump, others not so much. Is it gimmicky? Yes, but I guess they achieve what they set out to do.
In some ways, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum could be seen as a more "elaborate" version of that because the peaks of the film come from a few moments that are framed that way (things going quiet for a while, then quick cut to a scary image). Just like those viral videos I mentioned above, this is kinda effective, I guess... but it's still gimmicky and after the initial jumpscare, not that memorable.
Even though that might sound like a negative, the production values are solid and the film does manage to build up a decent atmosphere of dread. Also, the cast is not that bad, but they're all just interchangeable and with no discerning characteristics to set them apart, which makes it harder for us to connect with what's going on. So if you're going down this road, just keep your expectations to something simple and maybe invite some friends over to your place... the place where ghosts live, on the screen at least.
Grade: