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The medium movie12/22/2023 ![]() Initially her character hits all the right notes in terms of the creeping the audience out her distant stares, the late night confrontation with a blind woman stood in an open doorway, or the unsettling manner in which she carries herself. It immediately commands a respect for the culture and beliefs of the people who’re the subject of the film, and thus hand holds you into believing that what you’re watching could very well be a straight-up documentary. The Medium does a great job of establishing mood, with locations that can’t help but feel enlightening, spiritual, and shrouded in that other-worldly mist which hangs in the mountain air. ![]() So when dead dogs start appearing in the middle of the road, and Nim’s niece Mink (Narilya Gulmongkolpech) begins going a little bit Linda Blair, it’s a case of “Who You Gonna Call?” for this close-knit Thai community. However, Nim wasn’t next in line to inherit the spirit, for that was a responsibility meant for her sister, who spurned the opportunity, and this has seemingly led to some rather strange occurrences in this quiet mountainside village. The set-up is intriguing, as we’re introduced to Nim (Sawanee Utoomma), a local shaman possessed by a spirit called Ba Yan, a peaceful Goddess who has inhabited the bodies of generations of women in her family. The format they’ve chosen to tell their story of Shamanistic shenanigans is that of the mock documentary, which isn’t exactly a novel approach in the horror genre – think Troll Hunter, Rec, The Blair Witch Project – but you hold out hope that Pisanthanakun can add a unique spin to this potentially tired narrative device. Together they’re hoping that their combined powers for making your geese bump will result in another another classic chiller. On production duties is Na Hong-jin, the writer-director behind 2016’s splendid slow-burn supernatural mystery The Wailing. It’s directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun, who made 2004’s Shutter, which has been remade countless times, and used as the negative blueprint for many genre copy and paste efforts since. This joint Korean/Thai production is summoned to cinema screens with some real heavyweight horror credentials. What could be possessing a family member might not be the Goddess they make it out to be. By then, most will be so invested in the story, it will not bother them.Starring Narilya Gulmongkolpech, Sawanee Utoomma, Sirani Yankittikan, Yasaka Chaisorn, Boonsong Nakphoo, Arunee Wattana, Thanutphon Boonsang, and Pakapol Srirongmuang.Ī horrifying story of a shaman’s inheritance in the Isan region of Thailand. The film adds a coda at the end to try to explain things, but it will fall flat for some. Everything unravels at a frantic pace, and it truly becomes a question of how the audience is going to see what is happening. By this time, it has become exclusively found footage. Things become harder to understand and confusing. The Medium moves along nicely up until the last few minutes. The way it is eases people watching into this new viewpoint may make it more palatable to those who normally do not watch point of view movies. Things switch from a normal documentary to the type of found footage film audiences are used to seeing. The Medium seamlessly weaves these elements into its story. Starting with the second act, night vision cameras and computers become more prevalent. It is a nice touch that gives a level of character depth not normally seen in the genre.įound footage tropes are not completely eliminated, however. The first act actually plays out like a standard movie with a voiceover. Everything is grounded and is akin to watching a story about a remote village. ![]() There is much less of the shaky cam and running in the dark that detractors dislike about these types of films. This gives The Medium a look that is unlike anything in the found footage arena. Many times, it seems like a movie about a documentary being put together as opposed to an actual doc. It looks more like an ordinary feature than another point of view flick. For starters, aside from Japan and Korea (sort of), found footage never really took off in Asia. What they discover is much more horrifying than they could have ever imagined.ĭocumentary and found footage often go together, but things work a little different here. When her niece starts experiencing odd symptoms, everyone’s focus changes. A documentary team follows Nim who is a shaman in Northern Thailand. Part documentary and part found footage with bits of a “regular” movie sprinkled in, the production is a strange brew that comes together nicely until its chaotic finale. The Medium is a film that is firmly planted in horror, but still manages to cross a number of sub genres. Listen to the latest episode of the AIPT Movies Podcast!
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