South Korean horror film Gonjiam Haunted Asylum

Directed: Jung Bum-shik

Produced: Kim Won-kuk

Written: Jung Bum-shik, Park Sang-min

Distributed: Warner Bros, Showbox

Release: March 28, 2018

Running time: 91 minutes

Country: South Korea

What happens if a group of teenagers who want to be popular try to explore mystical places and record everything they find there directly? This is what we will cover in the film Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum.

Korean young people named Wi Ha-joon, Park Ji-hyun as Ji-hyun, Oh A-yeon, and Park Sung-hoon and Moon Ye-won (Charlotte) want to explore Gonjiam, a former psychiatric hospital filled with stories mystical. All five have different characters and make this young person a team that is not compact and actually has their own personal ambitions.

It is said that from mouth to mouth, many Gonjiam mental hospital patients were killed. For the sake of curiosity over these five young people then try to find out these myths directly and record all forms of activities in the former Gonjiam mental hospital building.

However, the fortunes of these five young people were not as enthusiastic as the first time they came to Gonjiam. One by one the members began to scatter and separate. In fact, these five young people began to find things that didn't make sense and were captured directly by their cameras.

The atmosphere was increasingly tense, when their curiosity was answered by finding strange things. Is the legend of Gonjiam which is a mystical place really true?

Will these five young people get answers about the terrible Gonjiam myth? Everything you can see in movies directed by Beom-sik Jeong.

The packaging of the film itself is quite unique. In addition to Beom-sik Jeong who has a new idea in directing a horror film, the jumpscare scene that was built was not like ordinary horror films.

If other films use scoring music that makes your heart beat faster, then not with the film Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum. Since the beginning of the film, you've felt like following five young people who are crazy with mystical stories.

The condition of the Gonjiam building itself is truly quiet, and if the wind blows, then that is a picture of the reality offered by this film to the audience. The film is presented in the hope that the audience will see the original atmosphere that was built and truly penetrate the minds of anyone who witnessed it.

Like other horror films, triggering adrenaline with tension is a powerful weapon that makes the audience surprised. The same is true for the film Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, which is fairly good at constructing firm scenes in each film.

Another pattern that is used is to use a different perspective, such as a camera damaged by the young man's journey in uncovering the mystery of Gonjiam.

However, this film leads to one thing that is uncertain about the end of the film. For example, a mysterious room at the beginning is told to have many mystical stories. However, in the end it is not explained in full why this room is really full of mystery.

In fact, in this film it is told that there is a ghost in this hospital. This ghost is legendary in the general public and makes it a Korean "folklore".

However, it was also not explained and clearly demonstrated when these five young people had to "meet" the ghost figure in the abandoned building.

A horror film that provides a different perspective and is brave enough to present a new idea and storyline. For you fans of horror films, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum could be the right choice to watch