Reddit Claims This Korean Horror Gem with 91% Tomatometer is the Scariest Movie Ever

South Korean cinema seems to be particularly good at horror movies. Their individuality lies not only in the peculiarities of the Korean mentality, but also in their rich mythology, perfectionism, and impeccable sense of style.

Instead of throwing fast cuts and jumpscares at the audience, these films explore the darkest depths of the human mind. And thanks to Korean cinema, nearly forgotten horror subgenres are rising from the ashes.

Mockumentary horror practically died without even having time to produce a sufficient number of cult films. More than a decade has passed since the Spanish Rec, and while films have been made with some consistency, each one movie that has followed has only multiplied the genre's well-known flaws.

However, after dying on the big screen, the genre has been revived in the form of YouTube videos. The format has become so popular around the world that its development has been transferred to the big screen again, with a mockumentary horror film about bloggers filming staged ghost hunts – Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum.

What is Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum About?

There are many stories about the abandoned Gonjiam Asylum: disappearances of patients and staff, mass suicides, gruesome experiments.

One day, a video appeared showing teenagers entering the building and trying to open the door to room 402, where the most horrible things were rumored to have happened. The recording ended at the most intense point, and the teenagers were never found.

After a while, a popular blogger who runs the Horror Times channel about paranormal phenomena, goes to the hospital with a film crew to check out the rumors and record a horror stream.

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is One of The Best Examples of The Found-Footage Genre

The film was a box office success, becoming the second highest grossing Korean horror film after A Tale of Two Sisters. Viewers who have already seen this horror gem call it the scariest found-footage movie, which also brought something new to the genre.

“Wasn't expecting a whole lot but once it got going it REALLY got going. It had some of the freshest scares in this sub genre that I have seen in a long time,” Reddit user MoonRaccoon17 wrote.

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum Starts Off Slow, But Picks Up the Pace in The Middle

For the first hour, a group of ghost hunters simply wander through the ruins of the hospital, shying away from strange noises – many of them are created by the bloggers to add entertainment to the live broadcast. But soon there will be no need for it: victims of horrible experiments will appear from all corners and rooms of the hospital.

The live broadcast form, which makes it easy to immerse yourself in the setting of an abandoned building, increases the feeling of claustrophobia and makes Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum one of the most frightening examples of Korean found-footage horror films.