The best of found footage work when there is just enough plot fleshed out to pull us in the scares, but also to keep us asking and guessing. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018) works well regarding suspense and uncertainty, but fails to fully engage with the plot. Nevertheless, the bleak set design blends perfectly with the energy of the cast to create a found footage film that works to a reasonable extent.
We are introduced to the Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital via Wi Ha-joon (Wi Ha-Joon), who briefs us on their mission to explore the abandoned hospital. The first thing I should point out is that the hospital is real (thus the Korean audience will know beforehand), and the actors use their real names (except for Charlotte). There's certainly a sense of realism throughout the film, fleshing out the characters with each event.
Character work is done reasonably well throughout the film, even with a one-and-a-half hour runtime. There are seven distinct characters, including a bright and thrill-seeking Charlotte, a quiet but always-first Ah-yeon, the scheming Je-yoon and Sung-hoon, and a reluctant Seung-wook.
The film follows expected plot lines, to a resolution where one may ask, "Is this it?" Honestly, it was disappointing; it seemed too anticlimactic, too unoriginal just to end like this. The film follows a rather simple introduction, but there is still due credit as it picks up its pace from there.
The delivery of the dilemmas are done quite well, probably saving the plot. The suspenseful this-was-fake-but-that-was-not plot line worked well in asking: at what point have we gone too far? When the scheming duo start to notice that things are going very, very wrong, they face a choice- do they give up their views and think about the safety of the team? Nah. They want a bigger share. Yeah, there's definitely something going wrong there.
There's also quite a clear dilemma for Ha-joon, the captain. On one screen, he sees the views of his channel, Horror Times. On the other, he sees inexplicable details and a traumatised team. What does he do? As a character whose sole interest is to garner up views and ad revenue, he continues. But we later see that the views were all fake- the views really only peaked at around 500 after Sung-hoon reveals the staging, and the ghost on the website sits up and leaves. Maybe it was the paranormal controlling the number of views the whole time (gas stove turning on, blackouts)?
Some of the visual highlights that made the film so much better. Not only did the set design tune in to the mood, it gave us an viscerally bleak, foreboding tone that the plot fed off well. The pasta-slurping ghost was also quite nice, sending Charlotte to one of the scariest parts of the film. The overwhelming sense of fear and defeat in Room 402 was suffocating as a successful climax. The third act, compared to the first and second, was especially well orchestrated and left me feeling suffocated.
However, the film is more like a ping-pong ball, hurtling at you with effect, and a few nice scares, but bouncing away from you with the same abruptness, leaving only a faint echo.
We are introduced to the Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital via Wi Ha-joon (Wi Ha-Joon), who briefs us on their mission to explore the abandoned hospital. The first thing I should point out is that the hospital is real (thus the Korean audience will know beforehand), and the actors use their real names (except for Charlotte). There's certainly a sense of realism throughout the film, fleshing out the characters with each event.
Character work is done reasonably well throughout the film, even with a one-and-a-half hour runtime. There are seven distinct characters, including a bright and thrill-seeking Charlotte, a quiet but always-first Ah-yeon, the scheming Je-yoon and Sung-hoon, and a reluctant Seung-wook.
The film follows expected plot lines, to a resolution where one may ask, "Is this it?" Honestly, it was disappointing; it seemed too anticlimactic, too unoriginal just to end like this. The film follows a rather simple introduction, but there is still due credit as it picks up its pace from there.
The delivery of the dilemmas are done quite well, probably saving the plot. The suspenseful this-was-fake-but-that-was-not plot line worked well in asking: at what point have we gone too far? When the scheming duo start to notice that things are going very, very wrong, they face a choice- do they give up their views and think about the safety of the team? Nah. They want a bigger share. Yeah, there's definitely something going wrong there.
There's also quite a clear dilemma for Ha-joon, the captain. On one screen, he sees the views of his channel, Horror Times. On the other, he sees inexplicable details and a traumatised team. What does he do? As a character whose sole interest is to garner up views and ad revenue, he continues. But we later see that the views were all fake- the views really only peaked at around 500 after Sung-hoon reveals the staging, and the ghost on the website sits up and leaves. Maybe it was the paranormal controlling the number of views the whole time (gas stove turning on, blackouts)?
Some of the visual highlights that made the film so much better. Not only did the set design tune in to the mood, it gave us an viscerally bleak, foreboding tone that the plot fed off well. The pasta-slurping ghost was also quite nice, sending Charlotte to one of the scariest parts of the film. The overwhelming sense of fear and defeat in Room 402 was suffocating as a successful climax. The third act, compared to the first and second, was especially well orchestrated and left me feeling suffocated.
However, the film is more like a ping-pong ball, hurtling at you with effect, and a few nice scares, but bouncing away from you with the same abruptness, leaving only a faint echo.