Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is a 2018 Korean horror film, inspired by the rumors surrounding the real (now demolished) Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital. It was once named one of CNN's 7 freakiest places on the planet. In the movie, the hospital was closed down in October 1979 after the mass suicide of the patients residing there and the disappearance of the director, though there were rumors that the director murdered everyone and then killed herself. In reality, the hospital closed in the 1990's, and I'll talk some more about that later.

The film is about a group of six investigators and their "captain" (who directs the others from a tent outside the asylum) who plan on doing a livestream for an internet show called Horror Times, allowing everyone to watch them explore the abandoned asylum. Two of the investigators already work for Horror Times, making the others four complete strangers. Their plan is to navigate through the rundown hospital while performing various rituals, and end the livestream by opening the door to room 402, where rumor has it you'll be cursed to death. All of this is intended to get Horror Times one million views.

Slight SPOILERS: Things start out lighthearted enough, with everyone drinking, getting to know each other and discussing the rumors surrounding the asylum. They even to to the blob jump together on their way to Gonjiam. (If you don't know what a blob jump is, google "Running Man blob jump." You won't regret it.) Once they reach the hospital and begin exploring, doors slam shut on their own, candles blow out and bells begin ringing during a ritual the group performs. Unsurprisingly, these initial experiences are completely fabricated by the members of Horror Times, unbeknownst to the other four investigators. But then things that even the two crew members can't explain begin happening, and that's when the movie becomes truly terrifying. [End of SPOILERS.]

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is an incredibly stressful movie to sit through. It features two of the settings that scare me the most: The woods and a rundown asylum. The over the shoulder camera, aimed behind the characters, had me on the edge of my seat throughout most of the movie because it always makes you believe something horrible is about to happen. The use of shadow is extremely effective. Most of the movie has no score, and it's not needed, you probably won't even notice that there's no music playing to clue you in that something awful is about to occur. The film is so incredibly tense because nothing ever happens at the moment you expect it to, it's really unpredictable. You know something is coming, but you don't know when, and right at the moment when you think to yourself, "I guess I was wrong," that's when the movie attacks. I actually had to look away at one point towards the end because I knew it was only a matter of time before the worst happened, but each time, it never did and the buildup to it stressed me out so much that I couldn't watch anymore. (It was no less stressful during the second viewing.) I never get like that with horror movies. It's almost impossible to unsettle me to the point where I'm actually afraid to look at the screen.

The film feels more realistic because the actors are relative unknowns, and they used their real names, with the exception of Moon Ye Won (who plays Charlotte, but I think I read that she does actually go by that name as well). Since you've probably never seen the cast in anything before, it seems more believable, like they really could be any random group of people exploring a haunted location. If they had cast someone like Gong Yoo, it wouldn't have the same feeling because he's very famous, you've likely seen him in things like Coffee Prince, Goblin and Train to Busan, and it would break the immersion that allows you to feel like this is all actually happening to these characters.

If it isn't already clear, I loved the movie. My boyfriend said it would have been better with a bigger budget (I strongly disagree, it's a found footage movie and it comes across exactly as it's meant to) and that some of the acting wasn't great (again, I disagree, Moon Ye Won was especially great as Charlotte). I decided to recommend the film to a few friends because I was curious to see how other people felt about it. I don't normally enjoy movies about ghosts, but I really loved this one and I would even say it's probably in my top five horror films of all time, I was very surprised that I liked it so much. And considering my boyfriend didn't care for it, I wanted to see if I was in the minority before posting and saying it's a must-see horror film. Just because I love it, that doesn't mean everyone else will. (Full disclosure: My boyfriend prefers sci-fi and the friends I recommended Gonjiam to are all fans of scary movies.) Here's what everyone had to say: The first friend watched it twice and said she was really creeped out and disturbed by the movie. The second friend said she liked it and it freaked her out. And the third friend said it was slow, but worth it and legitimately creepy.

Watch Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum if: You like found footage horror films, Grave Encounters, House on Haunted Hill (1999).

What you should know before watching the film: There's some buffering, film distortion and black screens. This is intentional, to make it feel as if you're actually watching the livestream.

The Real Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital

According to this article, the hospital closed down due to economic downturns and maintenance issues, not nearly as interesting as the rumors surrounding the building. The article says the hospital was demolished in May 2018, but in a blog post from another website, someone visited as late as May 29, 2018 and a comment left in August 2018 claimed that the building was torn down "about a month" prior.

Still, even though Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital wasn't closed down in the 90's because of mass suicides/murders or hauntings, that doesn't stop people from spreading similar rumors. The Paranormal Guide states that one story claims patients and staff suddenly began dying without cause. They also talk about rumors of a mad doctor and their experimentation on patients and even staff members. Inside the hospital remained furniture, lab coats and paperwork scattered about, making it appear as if everyone left in a hurry.

It's interesting that the building was demolished not long after the movie was released. In all the articles I've read, I never found a reason why they decided to knock it down. The locals were apparently very secretive about the hospital's location when visitors would ask for directions, so it seems to be a sensitive subject. There was also a lawsuit from the owner of the building that attempted to prevent the movie's release because they believed it would make it difficult to sell the hospital. Just based on speculation, I wonder if it was torn down because they knew even more people would attempt to break into the building once the movie came out.

Regardless of what really happened at Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital, the rumors told about it are unsettling. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum did a great job bringing the rumors to life in the film. Even though you can no longer travel to the real hospital yourself, you can always experience it through this terrifying movie.