13/29
At the beginning of the film, they first meet at a restaurant
Story
A web horror crew goes to an abandoned mental institution for a live broadcast. They soon find much more than they bargained for as they delve deeper and deeper into the nightmarish old building. The filmmakers were unable to get permission from the South Korean government to film in a real hospital, so the scenes for the film set in Gonjiam were filmed at the National Maritime High School in Busan, and the production team strictly followed the hospital’s floor plan to recreate the exact same exterior and hallways. However, on the way to the hospital, they reference their previous trip.
Not a stupid idea
In the video of everyone jumping into the water, all of their faces supposedly meet. *EDIT – they referenced the previous trip and then *everyone they just met* jumped into the water. They talked about doing it and then did it. Homecoming references in Haunted Hill (2007).
They soon disappear before opening the door
Two teenagers find themselves in the abandoned Gonjiam Mental Hospital, in front of the infamous Room 402, trying to open the door and broadcasting from their cell phones. The owner of the YouTube channel “Horror Times”, Ha-joon (Wi Ha-joon), decides to broadcast Gonjiam live, hoping to reach a million views, with sponsors paying half a million dollars in advertising. Gonjiam Mental Hospital has an infamous past because its director (Park Ji-ah) killed all the patients and then committed suicide. Ha-joon joins a team of six teenagers: three boys, Sung-hoon (Park Sung-hoon), Seung-wook (Seung-Wook Lee) and Je-Yoon (Jay Yoo); and three girls, Ah-yeon (Ah-yeon Oh) and newcomers Charlotte (Ye-Won Mun) and Ji-Hyun (Park Ji-Hyun), to spend the night in Gonjiam and broadcast live.
“Gon-ji-am”, also known as “Gonjiam: The Haunted Asylum” (2018), is a predictable but tense found footage film
Ha-joon remains in the base tent, controlling the delayed feed to edit his selection before broadcasting to the viewers, and the group splits up and heads to the four floors of the hospital. What the girls don’t know is that Ha-joon, Sung-hoon, and Seung-wook have planted fake supernatural effects to haunt the girls and, consequently, the viewers who would be frightened by the effects. When the effects are activated, Charlotte and Ji-Hyun are frightened and scared, but are convinced to stay with the group. But suddenly, supernatural things start happening in Gonjiam and Ha-joon tries to understand what is happening and continue the broadcast.
My vote is six
This low-budget film has terrible and chaotic handheld camerawork and is scary, but in a confusing way. The ending is a bit absurd. “Gon-ji-am” is recommended for horror fans who like these types of cheap films because the unoriginal plot is entertaining. Title (Brazil): “Gonjiam: The Haunted Asylum”