Who would have thought that Asian horror movies could be this good?
The Medium is a Korean - Thai horror thriller movie directed by Banjong
Pisanthanakun and Na Hong Jin, the same people behind the hit movie The
Wailing released 5 years ago. This movie lifts the myth from Thailand about
Bayan who is known as a god of mercy who can cure various diseases caused by
mystical things.
The main character of this movie is named Nim, a shaman who is the heir of
Bayan at that time. Since ancient times, Bayan has always inhabited every
descendant of the Nim family, starting from his ancestors to Nim, who is now
entitled to inherit this belief. Even though initially Bayan was interested in
Noy but Noy refused him, and who knows what is happening now, it was Nim who
finally became a vessel for Bayan.
Nim's daily life as a shaman can be said to be quite smooth, he is proven
successful in curing various ailments caused by mystical things. Many people
came to his house for treatment, and indeed it was his duty to help these
patients recover from their illnesses because the God Bayan who inhabits his
body is a loving God.
his life was filled with happiness until in the end, something bad started to
happen to Ming, Noy's son. Various mysteries began to emerge regarding Ming's
unnatural condition, such as his sometimes child-like behavior, starting to
experience of abnormal menstruation, until finally, Ming disappeared for weeks
without a word.
Nim and Noy finally began to find out the cause of the strange things that
appeared to Ming, the results turned out to be far more sinister than they had
ever thought before.
The story presented by The Medium does seem very simple, only telling about a
shaman who is dealing with a supernatural thing that has possessed his nephew.
However, this simple idea is delivered with a plot full of surprises
throughout the movie. Na Hong Jin again managed to bring out an element of
mystery that made the audience think about who possessed Ming's body. The
various mysterious elements shown are what make this movie always interesting
to watch, even though the duration is quite long, which is more than 2 hours
(a little more though).
To be honest, I didn't have high expectations for this movie when I watched
the trailer. However, after watching the entire contents of the movie, The
Medium succeeded in bringing the horror genre to a higher level of horror.
What's more, The Medium is presented in a documentary format that makes all
the creepy moments seem more realistic, as if they were happening.
The horror sensation is obtained without the need for a lot of jumpscares and
various unnecessary sound effects, all scenes seem to flow by themselves,
really like what happens in the real world. Coupled with the decent quality of
the acting of the players, especially Narlya Gulmongkolpech who played the
role of Ming successfully made his face ring in my ears, especially when the
scene where he smiled right at the camera while holding a piece of glass, was
so scared that I was carried away by a dream. Narlya Gulmongkolpech is pretty
when she's not in a trance.
For those of you who don't like documentaries, you will feel bored at the
start, because the first part of this movie does have a very slow plot, mostly
only showing the daily lives of the characters. But don't worry because the
boredom at the beginning of the movie will pay off when the conflict in The
Medium peaks, especially when the team starts installing CCTV cameras in
Ming's house which finally displays all the strange behavior of Ming who isn't
there. It makes no sense, from messing with the house to boiling the life of
the family's pet cat.
Overall, The Medium is a movie that is highly recommended to you, because this
movie manages to make the audience feel real fear. This movie also succeeded
in showing various traditions in Thailand, making it even more interesting
with views of villages in Thailand that are full of culture, such as the shape
of their houses, their religions and beliefs, various traditions that are
carried out, and many more. interesting things contained in the movie. horror
about this one.
SCORE
9/10
The Medium manages to present a story that is very interesting to follow, a
plot that is not easy to predict making those who watch it seem to be involved
in the atmosphere of conflict shown in this movie.
Apart from that, the horror genre that is shown doesn't seem too pushy, even
though this movie mostly only shows people who are possessed, no ghosts or
spirits are possessing Ming. However, with proper execution, the concept of a
possessed person is made much more interesting than seeing a ghost's face
directly.
TRAILER
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That's all I can say regarding the movie review of The Medium. If there are
criticisms or suggestions from you, please just write them in the comments
column.