Directed by Jung Bum-shik, this Korean found-footage, paranormal horror film scared the socks out of me. It felt like a Korean version of grave encounters, but in my opinion, this was better. The introduction of the crew reminded me of how “Hell House LLC” started., a fun, happy-go-lucky group of friends that’s about to go into an adventure, or so they thought.

The premise seemed like the usual, a paranormal investigation team going inside a haunted asylum, Gonjiam, but their goal was different than what I expected; keyword to this without spoiling anything is “views”. Don’t expect gore scenes as they didn’t use those to instill fear to the audience, the whole film was just creepy, just one word is enough to define it.

Casting was great, also given the fact that most, if not all of them, were unknown to me, made it all the more better. Their horrified expressions felt very authentic and really projected it to their audience. I love how they started out as a happy bunch, and you could feel their happiness and eagerness at what their about to do, but then when it came down to it, their expressions and vibe went the opposite direction. Dread. Horrific. Terrified. Hopeless. Everything was perfect.

Sounds/music was also spot-on. From the time they entered the asylum, the whole feel became eerie and grim, and it never lightened up; all the while I was at the edge of my seat watching, and waiting what was in store for them. Though it did took them a while to get things going; in my opinion, the small details that happened beforehand was properly done as a set-up for the latter part of the film. I actually thought I was old enough to not be scared of horror films, but this one reminded me of what a wuss I still am.

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum gave me the kind of creepy feeling I never asked for, and it stuck with me long after the credits rolled. The atmosphere was so unsettling and intense that it felt like something was lurking just around the corner, waiting to pounce. It reminded me of the same eerie sensation I had when I first watched Hell House LLC—especially that creepy clown. That clown’s image haunted me for days, and just like that, Gonjiam left a similar impression.

There’s something about these films that taps into a deep sense of discomfort and fear, one that lingers in your mind long after you’ve watched them. They don’t just rely on jump scares—they build an atmosphere that stays with you, making you think twice when you hear an odd sound in the dark or see something strange in the corner of your eye.

Gonjiam’s ending left me in awe of how great this film was. It was like riding a haunted roller coaster ride. You go in, everything goes crazy and you don’t even know when its going to end, and then it does, and it’s like nothing happened. All of it seemed like a dream with which you won’t be waking up from. It was a blind watch for me so it was a real treat. Definitely recommending this for found-footage fans.