‘Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum’ Remake Will Offer a New Take on the South Korean Found Footage Horror Movie

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, a very spooky found footage movie from South Korea, is getting an inevitable American remake. The original film follows a team of ghost hunters filming their overnight stay in a supposedly haunted asylum that turns out to be – you guessed it – really haunted. It’s not the most original of storylines, but it’s pretty damn effective.

According to THR, Los Angeles-based Black Box Management and Seoul-based BH Entertainment are teaming for an American remake of the 2018 South Korean horror movie Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum. In Gonjiam, a web-based team of ghost hunters heads into an abandoned asylum overnight with the plan of drumming up a hefty amount of online views. To increase their viewership, some team members secretly stage fake paranormal events that scare the ghost hunters who are out of the loop. This plan ultimately backfires when real supernatural stuff starts happening. Here’s a trailer:

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum

And if you need even more convincing, here’s a clip of one of the freakiest scenes in the movie.

Gonjiam is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S., and having watched it, I can confirm it has a fair share of scares (you can hear me talk about the movie on a recent episode of the /Film watercooler). The first half of the movie is a little uneventful and kind of silly, but when the horror ramps up, it never relents. I’m not entirely sure the film needs a remake, especially since the Canadian English language movie Grave Encounters has almost the same exact plot. But hey, there were plenty of people who felt that the Japanese horror movie Ringu didn’t need a remake, yet The Ring turned out to be fantastic. Maybe the Gonjiam remake will stick the landing as well.

“We are thankful to our friends at Showbox for putting their faith in us to develop Gonjiam for U.S. audiences. Korea has become a second home for us, and we are excited to help share the entertainment and culture that has captivated the world’s attention,” said Black Box partners Mike Dill and Lowell Shapiro.

Charles Pak, head of international development at BH Entertainment, added: “As Parasite has proven, the appetite for Korean content has never been higher. The partnership will further the exchange and development of Korean and U.S. adaptations, remakes and originals for both Korean and U.S. markets.”