Banjong Pisanthanakun’s The Medium opens with a description of the spirit world as perceived by a local shaman named Nim, living in the Isan region of Thailand. Unlike Western perceptions of spirits, Nim’s religion believes that all things in nature have a spirit to them, not just people. This examination of the spirit world from an Eastern perspective is one that gives this found-footage horror film a unique voice that isn’t your average run-of-the-mill fare.
The Medium is presented as a documentary about Nim (Sawanee Utoomma), using handheld camera footage from filmmakers seeking to document her everyday life. Nim claims that she is possessed by a goddess named Ba Yan, which is a gift handed down to her from her mother and has been in the family for generations. One day, Nim’s niece Mink (Narilya Gulmongkolpech) begins to show uncharacteristic, erratic behavior, and Nim begins to suspect it is a sign that she is the next chosen one to inherit her shaman powers. As time progresses and family tensions rise, Nim begins to realize that this might not entirely be the case: Mink’s behavior grows increasingly sinister and becomes a growing threat to those around her. Will Nim be able to help Mink before it’s too late?
Initially, this film has slow, steady story-building that paints it as a convincing enough documentary. There is very little extradiegetic music, and the camera seems content with embracing the quiet moments of Nim’s life. Once Mink begins to act out, the camera takes on a more voyeuristic quality as it follows her, filming her violent outbursts. By the end, it becomes the filmmakers’ point of view while trying to survive through the night as Mink becomes completely overthrown by the malevolent entity inside her. The camera’s journey from a passive observer to a “victim” by the end is the payoff for the film’s unhurried pacing in the first hour. By the time the horror is unleashed in the second hour, we’ve come to intimately understand the entire family and develop a connection with the documentary filmmakers, despite hardly ever seeing them.
The dramatic change in pacing in the second hour is jarring and unparalleled in terms of other found-footage films exploring the concept of possession. It becomes a brutal, nonstop ride that doesn’t lose its grip over the viewer until the credits, and has plenty of genuinely disturbing moments to make even the most seasoned horror fan cringe. Narilya Gulmongkolpech is inspired as the possessed young woman who progressively loses more of herself from scene to scene, and the rest of the cast is equally masterful as people who devolve into states of terror and desperation as they witness her chaotic downward spiral.
The Medium’s slow buildup might be challenging for some viewers who require fast gratification, but the second half is so rewarding that those who dislike slow-burns should give this one a chance. It’s one of the most unsettling films about possession created in recent years, and its focus on family and spirituality from an Eastern perspective keeps the content multifaceted and innovative until the very end.
—Andrea Riley