Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, 2018 – ★★★★

Horror found footage often runs the risk of repetition, in fact, i think I watched two found footage movies about ghostbusters in haunted asylums just last year. So, this said, I judge found footage horror by two main points, do I believe the actors are in this situation, and did it scare me. Yes. And terrified. Asian horror should not be lumped together, but the best horror from Japan, China, or, here, South Korea, is horror that shows how vastly different the frightened psyche is in Eastern VS Western cultures. Sure, there’s overlap, and much of that can be attributed to importing each others’ work, but when it nails something, as this film does with at least two unique scares, it can be terrifying, yes, but almost mind blowingly so, because we see something and cannot always place why we’re afraid. Films that can do this are to be cherished. Gonjiam occasionally falls prey to its baser instincts, trodding roads well trod, but it often charts its own path. The scariest thing were the sounds she makes.

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