“The Medium” Directly to Inferno, a roller coaster of fear that continues to accelerate

Techniques for “horror movies that use visual media”

Director Pisantanakoon suddenly came into the limelight when his feature-length debut horror film ``Spiritual Photography'' became Thailand's No. 1 domestic box office revenue of the year. This film is an excellent work that was remade as Japanese film director Masayuki Ochiai's Hollywood debut film `` Shutter '' (2008), but surprisingly, this is the first time in a long time that Bungeon has made a pure horror feature. As a result, the entire film is filled with energy and tenacity towards photographing the supernatural.

``Spiritual Photography'' and ``The Medium'' have one thing in common: they are ``visual media.'' ``Spiritual Photography'' is a story about a photographer and his girlfriend who are attacked by strange things after they hit and run a woman with their car on the way home from a friend's wedding. As the title suggests, the horror begins when a woman's face appears in the protagonist's developed photograph. In other words, ``photography'' appears as a medium of fear.

On the other hand, in ``The Medium,'' videos replace photographs as mediators of fear. What is shown in the footage of the reporting team closely following the shaman? What is captured by the fixed-point camera set up to check Min's movements in the middle of the night? What will each person say in the interview? As a horror film that deals with visual media, this film further refines its storytelling techniques.

"The Medium"© 2021 SHOWBOX AND NORTHERN CROSS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Director Pisantanakoon is aware that this is a horror film, and as if to break the rules of fake documentaries, he goes out of his way to surprise the audience with loud sounds (jump scares) as a service. However, the most skillful thing about the film is that it does not rely on any such effects at all, but instead uses only ``what is shown and what is not shown'' to create fear. It would be scary if the moment in question was captured, and even if it wasn't, it would be scary because your imagination is working. The elaborate production, which resembles a psychic video, is also effective, giving the illusion of being “reflected.” In the middle of the movie, when Min gets into the back seat of a car, I want you to be careful about what's inside the window.

This work begins as a suffocating human drama with an emphasis on realism, but gradually accelerates as it incorporates all kinds of scary effects. As the pieces of the carefully designed puzzle come together little by little and the overall picture emerges, the story continues to be steered in the direction that both the characters and the audience wished would happen. That's why at the beginning of this article I described this movie as a "roller coaster that goes straight to Inferno."

From `` Chaser '' to `` Sad Beast '' to ` `Coxson ''. Throughout her filmography, Na Hong-jin has continued to portray "despair" and "irrationality," and this film is no different. And director Pisantanakoon's extensive use of horror production goes perfectly with these themes. However, the twist at the end of the movie that is ``very Na Hong-jin-esque'' was not in the original draft, but was an idea that director Bang-jeong came up with on his own. The horror was already promised when these two terrifying talents joined forces.

Interview and text: Takatoshi Inagaki

Writer/editor/dramaturg. His writing activities span across fields such as movies, dramas, comics, theater, and art. Contributes to theater programs such as the movies ``Tenet'' and ``Joker,'' edits web media, edits exhibition catalogs, and appears on radio. Major stage works include dramaturg for PARCO's productions of ``Kengyo Yabuhara'', Tristone Entertainment's ``Shoujo Kamen'', prosthetic assistant for Kinoshita Kabuki's ``Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan'', ``Sannin Kichizo'', ``Kanjincho'', and KUNIO's ``Greeks''. ”Literature.

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"The Medium"

July 29th (Friday) Cinemart Shinjuku, Human Trust Cinema Shibuya, Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro, UPLINK Kichijoji

Distribution: Shinka

Provided by: Shinka, S.P.O.

© 2021 SHOWBOX AND NORTHERN CROSS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.