Given how many people have told me about this movie over the past few years, it is perhaps shameful that it has taken me so long to get to it. Before I dive in, let me present a little context. I watched this one on my laptop with the headphones plugged in, which I believe added to the overall experience. With that said, let’s get into it.
The movie opens with video of a pair of young guys trying to break into the legendary Room 402 in the asylum. We then find out they went missing, which is when we are introduced to The Captain, who talks about his channel, Horror Time, and how they are going to do a live feed from the asylum.
The opening 20 minutes or so are spent meaning the people who will take part in the livestream, which includes three invited female guests. I found this section to be rather tedious, as the characters are all rather loud and obnoxious. It is important, though, as they do feed some details about the place they are going to visit and record.
Once we get to the asylum, it becomes clear that the group are chasing views and money. If they can get to 1 million views, they will earn $500,000. I won’t say too much here, but with that much money on the line, you can guess that there might be some shenanigans taking place to help build an audience.
The movie takes a sharp turn at about the one-hour mark, as it becomes clear that what is happening in the asylum is not at all for the sake of the shoot. We see frequent cuts to the viewer count, and it begins to feel that the location is playing it up to the audience as the numbers rise.
This found footage style of filming is always a little hit and miss, but I think Gonjiam did it about as well as you could. The sound design is astonishing. They take a minimalist approach, relying on the ambient sound of the location to the point where it feels like there is an unsettling hum sitting just below the surface. The shifts between camera angles and moment of extreme chaos to quiet calm leaves you off balance and unsettled. The great thing, too, is that they don’t rely too heavily on jump scares, choosing instead to let atmosphere do much of the heavy lifting.
The last 15-20 minutes of Gonjiam is the absolute highlight of the movie and will be appealing to those of you who love the Korean approach to horror. There was one scene in particular where I looked up to see my wife laughing at me. I had shifted to one side of the couch, angling away from the laptop, while shouting, “What the fuck is that?” The are not many horror movies that can do that to me, which is why Gonjiam: Hunted Asylum gets top marks. If you want to give it a watch, it is available for free on TUBI, although that does mean watching some ads.
5 Stars out of 5
I need to watch this! Great review