The Medium – Shudder Review (4/5)

THE MEDIUM on Shudder is a horror movie from Thailand. It’s a bit too long, but other than that, it’s extremely efficient. In other words: Make sure you give this Thai horror movie on Shudder a chance. Read our full The Medium movie review here!

THE MEDIUM is a new Shudder horror movie from Thailand. The style is a mockumentary (shot as a documentary but being fiction) and it works really well in this setting. At first, it’s about a shaman and then it’s more about possession, spirits, and demons.

Also, the horror elements work really well and it does not shy away from throwing some crazy curveballs.

Continue reading our The Medium movie review below. You will want to give this Thai horror movie on Shudder a shot. It’s worth your time (most of it anyway).

A true genre-hybrid

As mentioned above, The Medium is shot like a documentary. This means it’s both in the POV category and could also be described as “found footage”. However, more than anything, this plays out like a horror movie.

Think The Taking of Deborah Logan for a reference in terms of genre-hybrid and storytelling style. If you’ve watched that movie, then you’ll know just how brilliantly this approach can work. If you haven’t, then you seriously need to remedy that. For your own sake, because you’re robbing yourself of an awesome horror movie.

For The Medium, I can’t help but mention that I found it to be a tad too long. However, there is quite a lot to unpack, so it makes sense. Imagine a true-crime documentary series that has been rolled into a longer film instead, and you get the gist.

The burden of being a shaman

Interestingly with The Medium, is the fact that the main character is a shaman. She’s being interviewed about how she became a shaman and it’s apparently something she’s inherited.

In fact, her sister should have been the shaman for the Goddess, she’s connected with. The entity she essentially works for as a shaman. However, her sister wanted no part of the shaman business and converted to Christianity to avoid it. What happens next is the core subject of the movie, so I won’t get into it.

Let’s just say that it gets pretty damn dark fast!

Watch The Medium on Shudder!

Basically, we follow this female shaman, who does not hold back when it comes to critiquing all the “professional shamans” who put on shows. Who knew the shaman business was such a competitive area?! In any case, the shaman in our movie is named Nim and she’s all kinds of amazing and no-nonsense. She’s great!

Sawanee Utoomma portrays Nim and has to do so in a very natural and relatable way. Particularly because this is shot like a documentary. At many different times throughout The Medium, Sawanee Utoomma took my breath away with her intensity and heartfelt portrayal.

Banjong Pisanthanakun is the director of The Medium and he also took part in writing it with The Wailing director Na Hong-jin. Even if Banjong Pisanthanakun’s name doesn’t sound familiar, you might know one of his previous movies, if you watch Asian horror films. Banjong Pisanthanakun co-wrote and co-directed the 2004 horror movie Shutter (2004), which you’ll definitely want to check out as well.

You may know the US Shutter remake from 2008, which starred Joshua Jackson and Rachael Taylor, but the original is the better of the two. And no, I don’t always think originals are better than the remakes as some sort of rule. I watch all movies objectively – though obviously a remake will be compared to the original.

The Medium is out on Shudder from October 14, 2021, in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as via the Shudder offering within the AMC+ bundle where available.

Details

Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun
Writers: Banjong Pisanthanakun, Na Hong-jin
Stars: Sawanee Utoomma, Narilya Gulmongkolpech, Sirani Yankittikan