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| Director Na Hong-jin poses at a press conference for promoting the film "The Medium" in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Showbox |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
"The Medium," a spooky horror film produced by director Na Hong-jin and directed by Thai filmmaker Banjong Pisanthanakun, includes both gory scenes as well as mind-bending psychological thrills.
The horror flick begins its story in Thailand's northeastern Isan region where the benevolent goddess Ba Yan is worshipped. For several generations, one family in particular has served as Ba Yan's shaman and only the female members of the family are chosen as the next medium of the tradition.
Mink (played by Narilya Gulmongkolpech), a young girl who seems to be chosen as the next successor, expresses her disbelief at this legacy at first, by saying "Shamans? I think they're nonsense. I don't think they're real."
As Mink's condition begins to worsen, her behavior becomes increasingly disturbing and erratic. The family starts to suspect that she might be possessed by a demon, not the kind goddess Ba Yan.
The suspense builds up slowly during the first half of the story as the documentary-style film includes interviews with Mink's family to present an authentic look into the shaman spiritual inheritance. However, the second half of the film is filled with frightening scenes that will have audiences flinch in their seats.
Na, known for ultraviolent thrillers like "The Chaser" (2008) and "The Yellow Sea" (2010), said he was super cautious when developing the original story for "The Medium" because he wanted to create something different from his previous work "The Wailing" (2016).
"Since both films deal with shamanism, I thought it probably wouldn't make much of a difference if 'The Medium' was shot in a small town in Korea. Then I suddenly thought of Pisanthanakun, whom I met five years ago, and chose to set the film in Thailand. I wanted the filming location to have a rainy season as well as enormous forests and unpaved roads," he said during a press conference for the film, Friday.
When asked if he had given any thought to directing the "The Medium" himself, Na said he is satisfied with being part of the project as a producer.
"Now that I have many works under my belt, there are films that are visually or narratively similar and that tendency grows stronger. Some may define it as one's style but I deliberately try to avoid it," he said.
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| Thai actress Narilya Gulmongkolpech in a scene from "The Medium" Courtesy of Showbox |
Pisanthanakun, who saw early success with his 2004 debut film "Shutter" and later smashed the country's all-time box office records with his 2013 horror-comedy "Pee Mak," said he spent some time researching Thai shamanism. Calling it a thrilling experience, he said that a lot of hard work went in over a long period of time to create the backstory of goddess Ba Yan.
"When I received the original screenplay, I was worried at first because I didn't know much about Thai shamanism. So I asked Na to give me time to do some research. I was surprised to find out that shamanism in Korea and Thailand are remarkably similar," he said.
The Thai director revealed that he has been a long-time fan of producer Na.
"If you ask me if The Medium was inspired by The Wailing, I would say yes. However, I wanted it to be an original story. I did extensive research on shamans living in the northeastern region of Thailand and shot certain scenes inspired by their shamanic ceremonies," he said.
The two acclaimed directors said they argued over the film's violent and scary scenes. "We never intend on promoting sexual or violent scenes to make it a box office hit. All of them are essential to the story," Pisanthanakun said.
"The Medium" will hit local theaters, July 14.
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