Film Review: The Medium

The Medium is the latest film from Thai filmmaker, Banjong Pisanthanakun, who is collaborating with South Korean filmmaker, Na Hong-Jin, who serves as a producer and co-writer for this project. These are two big names for genre fans, the former for his early classics like Shutter and Alone, and the latter for his recent masterwork in The Wailing. The Medium follows Nim (Sawanee Utoomma), a shaman who resides in a small village in northern Thailand. She begins to notice her young niece, Mink (Narilya Gulmongkolpech), exhibiting strange behavior that might require her skill set before it becomes too much for everyone to handle.

What I didn’t realize going into the film was that it was done in a sort of mockumentary format, where we’ll have the crew following characters around, interviews being done, particularly with Nim and Mink, and various title cards to help set the stage for what’s to come. It’s a decision that I’m not entirely sure works, especially as things start ramping up, and the classic question comes to mind, “why are they still standing around filming this?” The film doesn’t offer much solid grounding to answer that, and it is the one weak point in the film, but thankfully, the strengths overcome this.

One thing the film does incredibly well is create a sense of place. While the film might ultimately be just another possession movie, the cultural context around it provides enough compelling and fresh material that it never feels redundant or stale. It’s interesting to watch Nim at work, and talking about how her process works, even before we get into some of the wilder parts of the film. There’s a curiosity to the film that is infectious, it makes you want to know more, and it pays off well as the intensity builds and builds.

Despite the approach the filmmakers took in telling the story, it still provides with a lot of moments that are genuinely unnerving and creepy. The end of the trailer does give away one of the most striking and bone-chilling images in the film, but it still works like gangbusters in context of the scene that it is in due to a really good sense of buildup. Pisanthanakun does a fantastic job of keeping you on your toes, letting moments linger just before letting something outrageous finally happen. It’s simultaneously satisfying, but also nerve-racking. Exactly the kind of feeling you should get seeing a master at work.

The performances are top notch, notable for bringing the naturalistic quality that can make a faux documentary approach like this as effective as it can be. Sawanee Utoomma has a nice sense of warmth and authority that makes you buy into her perspective on things as you watch the film. Narilya Gulmongkolpech admirably commits to some really gnarly stuff as the film goes on, and her possession gets more deranged. Sirani Yankittikan adds an interesting dynamic as Nim’s sister, Mink’s mother, who doesn’t allow Nim to help. Everyone is on the film’s wavelength, and without a weak link in sight.

Obviously, as a film steeped in cultural specificities, I can’t help but feel like I might be missing out on deeper layers in The Medium simply because I’m not super aware. However, if you’re going into this just as a horror film, I can’t imagine not coming out of this unsatisfied. There’s a lot of skill on display and some stellar craftsmanship. And while I might not care for the mockumentary approach, it doesn’t take away from the horror that the film indulges in. It’s still deeply effective, and with it’s somewhat lengthy 2 hour and 10 minute runtime, it allows itself to take its time, digging into the characters, the culture, and of course, the scares. It’s definitely one of the better horror films to come out this year, and while I wouldn’t necessarily say this is as great as something like The Wailing, or even Shutter, it’s still one that horror fans should most definitely seek out.

 

The Medium is now out on Shudder.