[Film Review] The Medium (2021)

I can’t resist a faux documentary horror. I freely admit that. Ghostwatch, Behind the Mask:The Rise of Leslie Vernon, Savageland, it’s a particular subset of found footage that I’m always in the mood for. I’m also always in the mood for new Asian horror that is making waves in horror circles, so a movie that combines those two things is a near guaranteed recipe for me to have a good time. Thankfully a good time is exactly what I had with The Medium, a Korean-Thai co production from the makers of both The Wailing and Shutter.  

In rural northern Thailand, a documentary crew follows the day-to-day life of a shaman, Nim (Sawanee Utoomma), who is a medium for the local deity of Bayan. It’s an inherited role passed down in the women of her family, and signs are starting to show that Mink (Narilya Gulmongkolpech), Nim’s niece and daughter of her sister Noi (Sirani Yankittikan) who was originally supposed to receive the role, may be the next medium for Bayan. Mink is unsure if she even wants to be involved in shamanism, her mother having condemned it when she rejected Bayan years before, and there are other factors which suggest it may just be more than a benign deity that is influencing Mink’s behaviour.

There’s something appealingly mundane about Nim. Yes, she is the shaman of local significance, but she also has a day job and comes across very straight-forward and down to earth. Even in her shamanistic duties there isn’t anything too over the top, she just has a particular function in the community and carries it out. She has respect for the native local spirituality, something that her sister Noi rejects, which in turn leads to things getting worse when Noi attempts other methods for relieving Mink’s supernatural affliction.

Running through the film is a mood of creeping dread with a few squirm in your seat moments. This is something that, along with the faux documentary style, brings to mind the excellent but sadly under-seen Koji Shiraishi’s Noroi: The Curse. Both films are focussed on folklore and ritual, and both have a slow burn to them by building up the characters to give  events more personal significance. Both also work well at presenting their stories as puzzles that give you bits and pieces and lets you build the picture for yourself. The Medium even throws a few red herrings in to keep you guessing about the wider mystery. Great making for a double feature, and if you enjoy one I would recommend seeking out the other.

It is also so refreshing to get a possession film outside of the traditional Catholic lens that Western audiences are so used to. Not a priest suffering a crisis of belief or an upside down cross in sight. Belief is a key factor; faith, what faith means, and the importance of it, just without a lot of the cliches we’ve seen dozens of times before. Some are still present though, but to actress Narilya Gulmongkolpech’s credit she does well with the possession basics; staring, creepy smiling, and contortion that would make any yoga teacher jealous. Some won’t feel that the differences are enough, but for me I found it gave the movie some interesting flavour. There is also a  sequence of events reminiscent of Paranormal Activity that takes place in the family’s home as we count down to a ceremony to help Mink, which has what is probably the movie’s most effective scares, even as you wonder why nobody just ties this girl down to her bed.. Dumb decisions are a recurring factor in the film in general, you just wish people would stop and have a bit more common sense. 

The film crew themselves don’t really factor into the events of the film, passive observers rather than characters. Who are they? Why are they making this film in particular? We don’t know and the movie doesn’t care to tell us. This does mean that the focus on Nim and her family which is the most important thing, but it still feels like a missed opportunity. Also, whilst I hate the “why are they still filming?” question with found footage because if someone wasn’t filming then there wouldn’t be a movie so it should just be accepted as an aspect of the style, there are a few moments where you can’t help but think that their priority in that moment should maybe be something other than filming. 

The Medium is an interesting and at times deeply unsettling movie. Whilst not without its flaws it constructs its central story and mystery in a way that keeps you invested, and might be one of the low-key horror highlights of the year.

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