The crew of a horror web series travels to an abandoned asylum for a live broadcast. It soon encounters much more than expected as it moves deeper inside the nightmarish old building.The crew of a horror web series travels to an abandoned asylum for a live broadcast. It soon encounters much more than expected as it moves deeper inside the nightmarish old building.The crew of a horror web series travels to an abandoned asylum for a live broadcast. It soon encounters much more than expected as it moves deeper inside the nightmarish old building.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 9 nominations total
Oh Ah-yeon
- Ah-yeon
- (as Ah-yeon Oh)
Lee Seung-wook
- Seung-wook
- (as Seung-Wook Lee)
Mun Ye-won
- Charlotte
- (as Ye-Won Mun)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
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.
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.
A terrifying found-footage horror from the South Korean film industry, Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum travels a well-worn path, packs the expected genre tropes, and implements the same formula that other similar examples before it did. And yet, everything about it is surprisingly better & far more effective, possibly due to its genuinely tense build-up & excellent rapport between its committed cast.
This is a found footage film. It's not much different than others out there but it did a great job of building tension once it got going. I think that it should have moved a bit faster at the beginning.
I was disappointed that there wasn't much of a story about the hauntings. It seemed like it only gave enough information to imply that it might have been haunted. I wanted more details.
I thought it had a couple of creepy moments and overall, I enjoyed it.
I was disappointed that there wasn't much of a story about the hauntings. It seemed like it only gave enough information to imply that it might have been haunted. I wanted more details.
I thought it had a couple of creepy moments and overall, I enjoyed it.
The movie started off pretty slow. Once it started ramping up though it definitely moved pretty quickly. I would say probably only the last half an hour was the really creepy part, but it was definitely worth the watch. It was a little hard to follow at certain times because the cameras keep flickering and turning off and you think that it's something wrong with your TV or Internet, but that's the way they have the movie set up. I appreciate it that there were English subtitles and those subtitles included telling us what the words on the doors meant as well so we knew which room they were going into.
You start to hate one of the characters about halfway through and you hope that they die through the rest of the movie. A good "found footage" movie.
My son and I have been looking for horror movies that will actually scare us and this one definitely creeped us out enough to where we had to watch TikTok for a little bit afterwards to take our mind off of it.
You start to hate one of the characters about halfway through and you hope that they die through the rest of the movie. A good "found footage" movie.
My son and I have been looking for horror movies that will actually scare us and this one definitely creeped us out enough to where we had to watch TikTok for a little bit afterwards to take our mind off of it.
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.
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.
Did you know
- TriviaThe filmmakers were unable to get permission from the South Korean government to film in the actual hospital, so scenes in the film set in Gonjiam were actually filmed in the National Maritime High School in Busan, with the production team adhering closely to the floor plan of the hospital to recreate exactly the same exterior and hallways.
- GoofsAt the start of the film, they meet in a restaurant for the first time. Yet on the way to the hospital, they refer to a previous trip. In the footage of everyone jumping into the water, it's all the same faces that supposedly just met. * EDIT - they referred to a previous trip & then *all of them that just met* went jumping into the water. They talked about doing it & then they did it. Not a goof.
- ConnectionsReferences Retour à la maison de l'horreur (2007)
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Gonjiam: hospital maldito
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $115,252
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $19,017
- Apr 15, 2018
- Gross worldwide
- $21,180,050
- Runtime
- 1h 35m(95 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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