Gonjiam was released in 2018. It is a found-footage horror film directed by Jung Bum-shik based on an actual psychiatric center with that name.
Our story starts with a web series cast traveling to this abandoned asylum to stream a live broadcast to the public.
Their idea was to create a fictional situation to gain more views, showing creepy scenes and reacting to them like they were true. But after a few moments, a few paranormal things emerged from the script. The crew realizes that they are trapped in an abandoned hospital, and inside the walls of that old building, lurk real creatures.
Cast
- Wi Ha-joon as Ha-Joon
- Park Ji-hyun as Ji-Hyun
- Oh Ah-yeon as Ah-Yeon
- Moon Ye-won as Charlotte
- Park Sung-hoon as Sung-Hoon
- Yoo Je-yoon as Je-Yoon
- Lee Seung-wook as Seung-Wook
- Park Ji-a as Hospital Director / Director’s Ghost
Reception
The movie was the first at the domestic box office on March 28, 2018.
Another Korean film is competing with Ready Player One and Seven Years of Night.
The movie won US$1.2 million from 198,369 admissions that day.
The next four days, the film earned almost 10.5 million dollars in its opening weekend.
40% of the total weekend box office was from this movie.
Setting a massive record in Korean film history.
After three weekends, the film Asylum accumulated 21 million dollars at the box office.
Gonjiam is, at this date, the second biggest gross for a Korean horror film.
The film “mastered” found footage horror.
Rotten Tomatoes recorded that up to 91% of critics give the film a positive review.
Interesting facts
Just before the film’s launch, the hospital’s owner filed a lawsuit against the producers.
The owner claimed that the film would generate negative opinions about the building, making it difficult to sell.
The film takes place in the actual abandoned Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital in Gwangju.
This building is known to be one of Korea’s most haunted locations. In 2012, CNN Travel listed the psychiatrist’s hospital as one of the “7 freakiest places on earth.”
Leave a Reply