| Ghost searchers search Namyang Mental Hospital wearing action cameras and face cameras in 'Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum.' / Courtesy of Naver |
By Ko Dong-hwan
The movie has been shot using action cameras and face cameras attached to actors exploring a mysterious pitch-black space. Most scenes are filled with high-octane suspense that is sure to deliver plenty of goose bumps.
The "experience-horror" genre is unprecedented in South Korean films and is sure to fuel anyone's worst nightmare.
"Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum," in theaters on Mar. 28, has the name of a well-known countryside town in Gyeonggi Province. The psychiatric institution closed in 1996 but scary stories about the place have blossomed since, including that the old building is haunted.
In the film, seven online community members ― who delve into the reality of much-hyped haunted places ― visit Namyang Mental Hospital in Gonjiam county that was selected by CNN as one of the world's seven freakiest places. Their objective is to feed their online fans live video of themselves rummaging through the place and crank up hits to a million.
But they discover they are not the only ones there. They experience a range of paranormal activity, with doors inexplicably closing behind them and a wheelchair rolling forward by itself. What starts out as fun quickly turns to horror, and screams replace their laughter.
The film was directed by Jung Bum-shik, who co-created the 2007 horror movie "Epitaph." He said in an interview that he didn't tell the "Gonjiam" actors at first they were going to shoot the scenes with action cameras.
"Now that I think about the film, I wonder how I had ever come up with such a far-fetched idea," Jung said. "But I was determined that 'these will all have to be shot by the actors themselves'."
Namyang Mental Hospital existed. And its CNN reputation is also true. But unlike the film, in which the seven believed it was shut down after 42 patients committed mass suicide and the hospital president went missing in 1979, the institution, cash-strapped, closed in 1996 after the president died. None of his children wanted to take it over and they didn't bother with a costly demolition.
| In the movie, ghost searchers encounter inexplicable paranormal activities and start to realize the hospital is haunted. / Courtesy of Naver |
The building's owner said he plans to sue CNN, distributor Showbox, producer Hive Media Corp and online portals Naver and Daum for heightening rumors about the hospital. In fact, the hospital has been a mecca for horror fans and has drawn many visitors wishing to go inside. These adventurers have caused local citizens grief for a long time.
"I will file criminal suits against the film's director and actors for entering the hospital and shooting the film without agreement," the building owner said.
But the film was not shot there. Jung said he searched nationwide for a location that looked similar to the hospital and found the old Haesa High School in Busan.
Since "Blair Witch Project" (1999) stoked first-person-based filming in a documentary style in the horror genre, there have been others that continued that trend, like the "Paranormal Activity" franchise. "Gonjiam" contributes another experiment to the popular sub-genre.