Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum

It is well-paced and just the proper length.

The setup is good.

The actors are competent.

And most importantly, the third act does not disappoint, drag or get all weird for the sake of being weird. There are some genuinely suspenseful and scary moments.

But yeah, rethink the high heel boots if ever invited on a live-streaming haunted horror adventure at a location highly rated by a cable news outlet.

How much you get out of this Korean found footage horror will depend on your mindset for this particular sub-genre. There's really nothing new here - think along the lines of "Grave Encounters", but better executed with the use of upgraded technology to stream live any paranormal encounters. The premise is run-of-the-mill; a small crew from a horror web series "Horror Time" grab cameras to explore an abandoned and isolated asylum late one night for a live broadcast. However they get a lot more than what they initially bargained for.

No surprises in how the situation plays out, however the atmosphere is laid on thick. Pure dread, looming shadows and creaking sounds engulf a dank, colourless location that will simply swallow you up. It very much reminded me of the tone/ambiance found in Session 9, maybe even creepier. One thing though, no way would you get me in there after midnight.

After a slow beginning introducing the characters, chemistry dynamics and a little history of the asylum including other thrill-seekers that have disappeared after entering the building. It all works up quite nicely to the obligatory jump scares and equipment failure. What seemed simple at first showed the plot had a surprise or two up its sleeve in its paranormal loophole, which is all centred around the cursed room 402. There were a couple rather effective set-pieces, yet probably not enough incidents in what feels kind of drawn out. Still those moments we do get, and there are a good 3 or 4, are well-shot hair-raising thrills.

It's definitely worth the watch if that's what you wanna know. The acting was great and funny! I felt like I actually cared for the characters. The premise is very interesting, but some scenes seem inspired by Grave Encounters. I was instantly hooked from the start but towards the end, things stopped making sense... I felt like they rushed it and didn't bother to explain anything... but it was a fun movie!

If you're a fan of scary B movies, the scares are amazing on the second half. I really hate the blacking out/glitching effect the movie did. I enjoyed watching it when everything rolled out.

Normally I am critical of found-footage horror, as it usually is unnecessary and brings nothing more to the story. Usually found-footage movies would do better as a "regular" movie. This is not the case for Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum. With new cutting-edge technology, and a reason as to why the actors know how to work a camera, it serves this movies purpose excellent. There is little shaky-cam and other "effects" that you would usually see in found-footage, which in my opinion ruins the movie.

The story itself is pretty standard, 7 young "ghost hunters" enter an old insane asylum, mainly for views and profit, which makes it more realistic than other similar movies. The pacing of the movie is pretty slow, and nothing really happens for the first half, but it's worth it!

I originally wanted to give this a 6, but considering this is a horror movie, and one of the scariest of it's sub-genre I've ever seen, I bumped it up to a 7. If you want a scary movie without too much plot, this is the movie for you.