MOVIEGOERS who grew up with 1970s cult horror film The Exorcist will always remember the multiple stages of demonic possession encountered by 12-year-old Regan MacNeil, played by Linda Blair.
And those from the 2000s will remember the Paranormal Activity film series where horrifying footage of families getting possessed and attacked by vicious spirits sent chills down their spines.
Combining both concepts, plus homegrown stories of mediums from the northeast region of Thailand, Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun (Shutter, Alone, 4BIA, Phobia 2, Hello Stranger and Pee Mak) presents The Medium, his first "mockumentary horror" story which is the big screen debut of new actress Narilya Gulmongkolpech.
Thailand's Best International Feature Film hopeful at the 94th Academy Awards in March next year, The Medium premiered at the 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea on July 11, and won Best Feature Film.
Set to premiere in Malaysia tomorrow, The Medium, executive produced by Banjong's South Korean mentor Na Hong-Jin is a co-production of Thailand's GDH 559 and South Korea's Showbox.
LOCAL MEDIUM
Banjong, 42, said: "The film starts with a documentary team travelling to northeast Thailand, better known as Isan, to film the daily life of a local medium, Nim.
"She is possessed by the spirit of Ba Yan, an ancestral goddess who has been possessing women in her family for generations.
"The latest in the line of succession was Nim's sister, Noi. However, Noi turned to Christianity, and the spirit of Ba Yan moved to Nim," he said in an online interview recently.
Narilya, 21, who plays the possessed antagonist Mink, said: "Nim has only one daughter named Mink and she is a happy-go-lucky party animal.
"Her mother tells the documentary team that misfortune always befalls the men in her late husband Wiroj's family.
"The team is relieved, but not for long, as Mink begins to display strange and aggressive behaviour.
"This results in her getting fired from her government job, and Nim is soon convinced that Ba Yan wants her niece to succeed her."
RESEARCHING RITUALS
Banjong spent more than a month filming The Medium in Loei, northeast Thailand early this year.
"I met more than 30 shamans and a handful of them became my consultants. From them I got my actors and actresses to learn the correct method of chanting.
"However, I did not only incorporate Thai rituals in my film, I also borrowed rituals that are used by shamans in neighbouring countries of Southeast Asia such as Indonesia and Cambodia," he said.
Banjong also said that Na challenged him to "go beyond his comfort zone", and make The Medium "really scary".
"Na wanted the film to start gracefully and artistically but end in a horrifying way. He did not come to Thailand, but he gave me lots of specific tips and tasks to fulfil," said Banjong.
Banjong said that the mockumentary was a challenge since he had never done it before.
"I have not done horror for 14 years since Alone. I did a lot of romantic comedies and dramas. I want to go back to horror and explore something new," he said.
Banjong added that Na instructed him to "add horror to every frame" and "emphasise visual impact".
"While filming The Medium, Na and I learnt that Thais and Koreans have very similar beliefs in shamans.
"I spent a year travelling around my country, doing research to find information related to shamanism in different provinces.
"And to make the film really creepy, I chose to film it during the rainy season," he said, adding that The Medium was actually a tale of the relationship between nature and humans from ancient times.
GREAT POTENTIAL
Praising Narilya as a gifted actress with great potential, Banjong said: "She improvised each of her scenes beautifully, and was natural as the possessed Mink.
"She is disciplined, hard-working and focused, and I pray that she will go far in the film industry," he said.
Banjong also said that he was fortunate to be reunited with Sawanee Utoomma who plays Nim.
"Sawanee is an old friend, and we worked together in the film One Day. She is a popular theatre actress, but excels in cinema and television too."
TRICKY AND SCARY
Narilya said that she prepared herself thoroughly by watching horror films from Thailand, Korea and the United States.
"These included The Exorcist, Paranormal Activity and Pee Mak. I am not much of a horror fan, but I do enjoy a good scaring from time to time, and it is cool to make my big screen debut in this genre," she said.
Narilya added that the scariest and trickiest scene she had was a CCTV sequence at Mink's house past midnight.
"This is where my character, at her worst stage of possession, chops the family dog, Lucky into pieces and cooks it for dinner. Gruesome!"
An animal lover, Narilya said that she really felt sorry for the harmless canine, and was fortunate that the Korean choreographer who helped her film that scene dismembered a soft toy instead.
"There is so much blood in this film, especially from my eyes and mouth. That will always be my scariest memory of it," she said.
Narilya said that her hard work paid off handsomely when Korean viewers praised her portrayal of Mink.
"They loved it, and congratulated me when we were at Bucheon," she said.
"In fact, they gave a big hand to all of us, as a great team."
Narilya would love to star in more horror films in future, but for now she would prefer to take a break by appearing in romantic comedies.
"If I had the chance to reunite with this wonderful team from The Medium, I would definitely say 'yes'."
The Medium also stars Sirani Yankittikan as Noi, Yasaka Chaisorn as Nim's elder brother Manit, and Boonsong Nakphoo as their family friend, Santi.
Na is best known for The Chaser (2008), The Yellow Sea (2010) and The Wailing (2016).