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Story: A team of documentary filmmakers accompanies the shaman Nim (Sawanee Utoomma) as she helps the people in her village when they are haunted by evil spirits. The documentary is aimed at shedding light on the way the role of shaman is passed on in Nim's family, as the goddess Ba Yan has chosen the female members of the family as a medium for generations. One day, Nim has to attend her brother-in-law's funeral. Nim has been out of touch with her sister Noi (Sirani Yankittikan) for a long time, as she was actually chosen for the role of shaman but passed on the task to Nim. Noi has turned to Christianity and is therefore far from pleased when Nim tells her that her daughter Mink (Narilya Gulmongkolpech) could be haunted by a ghost. In fact, the film team also notices that Mink behaves very strangely. Sometimes, she behaves like a child, other times she drinks excessively. When Nim then also finds something in her niece's closet that hints at Mink probably having nightmares, it is clear to the shaman that something is wrong. Mink is getting worse and worse over the next few days and weeks and Noi already suspects that the goddess Ba Yan has now chosen her daughter as a medium. However, she is not willing to accept this. Over time, though, it becomes clear that circumstances are a little different...

Review: It's been a while since I've watched a Thai horror movie. A good fifteen years ago, they had a lot to offer - "Shutter" immediately comes to mind, for example. Since "The Medium" was directed by the same director, you would think that this speaks for the same level of quality. But this movie is also a mockumentary. Therefore, it makes fun of documentaries while also trying to sell a horror flick. I usually have a bit of a problem with that, as it often does not work out. Still, the story was co-written by Korean director Na Hong-jin and he also co-produced this movie. His "The Wailing" is one of the best Korean horror flicks of the last decade. And as it did in that very movie, shamanism plays the lead in "The Medium" too. What this might look like in Thailand could be a novelty for most people, and that is also what aroused my interest.

Unlike other productions set in Thailand, the director did not put a yellow filter over the images here. The nature we get to see is not depicted in exaggerated lush colors either. He wants to keep up the illusion of a documentary film being produced with a small budget, and this works pretty well. Nevertheless, this does not diminish the beauty of some landscape shots, in which the connection of shamanism and nature spirits is conveyed quite nicely. In shamanism everything has a spirit, and so nature itself exudes more life than is normally the case in other movies. Yet, the style of "The Medium" is responsible for one of my biggest problems with indie productions: the shaky camera work. This could cause some headaches for viewers who have a problem with that too, especially because the movie also plays with focus/sharpness. This affects the otherwise well-done directing job in a negative way.

With its run-down ruins of an old building and the dim lighting, the finale gives the scenery an animalistic, Stone Age-like atmosphere, which toys with our primal fears. All this is realized quite nicely. Special praise goes to actress Narilya Gulmongkolpech, who initially only comes across as a pretty face, so that Mink seems to be a poorly fleshed-out teenage character. But Gulmongkolpech's transformation is impressive, and watching her performance you are almost afraid that she might have come a little too close to madness during the movie shoot. Be that as it may, at the end of the day "The Medium" stays true to its genre and does not really surprise us. As a slightly different horror flick, however, I can definitely recommend it. Personally, the shaky camera style and the slow introduction bothered me. In addition, the mockumentary genre doesn't really do much for me. Accordingly, this review is probably a bit more negative than others might be - but fans of the genre are more than welcome to add an extra point.

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The medium (2021) film review: shudder’s shamanistic mockumentary is far from middling.

From director Banjong Pisanthanakun and writer Na Hong-jin comes a Thai-Korean, Shudder exclusive feature exploring the thin line between humans and spirits – and what happens to those who cross that line without appropriate psychic protection.

Presented as part travel documentary and part found footage, The Medium takes place in Isan, the northeastern part of Thailand. Isan is a region with important cultural history, steeped in religious rituals and rites – and a landscape perfectly primed for ominous folk horror. After studying the lives of shamans across the country, The Medium’s film crew decide to settle down and record the life of the titular medium, Nim (Sawanee Utoomma). Nim is a shaman, a vessel to provide interaction between the villagers and a mysterious goddess named Ba Yan. Differing from horrors based in Judeo-Christian theology, Nim’s possession is a benevolent one; it is a great privilege for Ba Yan to reside in her soul and Nim’s love for the being is palpable.

Through interviews and observations, we learn that Nim and Ba Yan were united through a process referred to as ‘shaman inheritance’, in which a spirit chooses a familial bloodline to exist alongside. Nim’s sister Noi (Sirani Yankittikan) confesses that she was actually next in line to receive Bayan but instead converted to Christianity to avoid the responsibility of being a shaman. One of The Medium’s most thought-provoking themes is the tension between Christianity and shamanistic religions and the liminal spaces where both – or neither – can peacefully coexist (a theme also explored by Na Hong-jin in his 2015 feature The Wailing). For generations, Ba Yan’s transition between women has been peaceful – until now.

The heart and soul of The Medium is found in intensely moving and frequently disturbing performances from Nim and her family: Noi, her brother Manit (Yasaka Chaisorn), and her niece Mink (Narilya Gulmongkolpech). The family must band together when Mink, who is presumably next in line to receive Ba Yan, starts to display distressing and erratic behaviour after the death of her father. Her symptoms include outbursts of violence, dangerous sexual promiscuity, and explosively vomiting black bile – all signs that point to a more malevolent presence making a home for itself within Mink.

At just over two hours long, The Medium is riddled with an abundance of twists and turns that lead us deep into the thickets of the Thai jungle as Nim, her family, and the film crew all try to define and subdue the spirit (or spirits) now residing within Mink. Fans of South Korean horror will be no stranger to long runtimes, and thanks to the deft storytelling of Na Hong-jin, the narrative feels distinctly reminiscent of other titans of Korean horror cinema; fearless, pulling no punches and constantly looking for opportunities to tug at the heartstrings – and chill the blood.

With such a long runtime, it would be easy for the film to fall into repetition, or to leave its audience frustrated and bored. The Medium prevents this by lulling you into a false sense of security in the first two acts with an onslaught of slow burn creeps (and subverting all expectations with an unexpected death) before all hell breaks loose in the third. As Mink succumbs to her possession, the film crew set up a selection of cameras around Noi’s home, and we are delivered a slew of truly terrifying scenes as Mink’s waifish, languid body cracks and crawls around at night in an unnatural way reminiscent of Japanese onryō (Pasanthanakun’s Shutter also paid tribute to J-horror).

While the use of night vision to instill fear isn’t particularly new or innovative, The Medium’s nail-bitingly oppressive atmosphere breathes a new life into the trope, as does the extremely impressive performance from Gulmongkolpech. It’s a role that demanded a lot from her; requiring Mink to switch at breakneck speed between childish folly, screeching violent rage and exhausted, aching depression. Couple this with an intense weight loss and demanding choreography, and Mink is a performance up there with Linda Blair’s Regan MacNeil as an example of iconic portrayals of possession.

When the time comes for the final ceremony, The Medium explodes into a white knuckle spectacle of fiery plumes, rhythmic chanting, mangled bodies, and buckets of blood, as Mink’s fate depends entirely on the trust and faith of those around her. An effortlessly eerie score from Chatchai Ponhprapaphan amps up the scares by switching between restraint and silence, and despondent wails and drones.

However, The Medium’s final heart-breaking horror comes in the aftermath of the chaos, in the form of an interview with Nim, bookending the film with her wisdom. In a moment of extreme vulnerability from the woman who has (for the most part) retained a steadfast composure for the sake of her family, she reveals to the audience something for us to quietly ponder long after the credits have rolled: in the face of pure evil, is faith alone enough?

For those who enjoy their horrors on the bleak and bloody side, with a heavy helping of familial drama, The Medium is certainly above average. The Medium is available to stream now on Shudder.

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‘The Medium’ (2021) Review – ‘A layered and wholly engaging horror rollercoaster’

• By Mike Vaughn
• October 13, 2021
• No Comments

The Medium (2021)

Directed By: Bangjong Pisanthankakun

Starring: Narilya Gulmongkolpech, Sawanee Utoomma, Sirani Yankittikan

Plot Summary: A documentary team follows Nim, a shaman based in Northern Thai, the Isan area, and encounters her niece Mink showing strange symptoms that seem to have been of inheritance shamanism. The team decides to follow Mink, hoping to capture the shaman lineage passing on the next generation, but her bizarre behavior becomes more extreme. The Medium is the latest feature from genre-jumping Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun whose feature debut, the acclaimed ghost story Shutter, co-directed and co-written with Parkpoom Wongpoom, has been remade in three languages, including the 2008 Hollywood remake directed by Masayuki Ochiai.

I recently expressed my love for the found footage horror subgenre in my review for documentary The Found Footage Phenomena (2021). One of the most interesting aspects of that film was how it touched upon international found footage horror. The Medium (2021), a Thai-Korean film utilizes this visual style, is a refreshing and fascinating offering. From the outset, I will say that this film requires your utmost attention. Thankfully though, even as someone who didn’t have much if any knowledge of Thai religious practices, the film does a good job at laying everything you need to know. On the face of it, Medium is very much a standard possession movie with trappings you’ve no doubt seen a hundred times before. However, thankfully the movie does a lot to set itself apart from countless others.

Director Bangjong Pisanthankakun takes rich cultural and religious aspects to weave a layered and wholly engaging horror rollercoaster. This is a slow-burn of a film and I think it does a good job at establishing characters whilst providing some excellent emotional stakes in the form of a mother-daughter through line. Indeed, there really are some harrowing and heartbreaking moments among the supernatural hijinks. Bangjong truly builds up to one hell of a frenzied, nightmare-inducing finale. The Medium obviously touched a nerve within its country, as it is currently the sixth highest grossing Korean film of 2021. The biggest issue I found is the movie clocks in at just over two hours, and I think the filmmakers could have cut a good 15-20 minutes to give it an overall tighter focus. Furthermore, there are plot points that feel like they could have been fleshed out. While 2016’s The Wailing is a superior movie, they both have the same kind of eerie, and unflinching presence throughout.

The Medium perfectly weaves its heritage to craft a haunting and mesmerizing film.

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(Movie Review) 'The Medium' drags into abyss of fear of supernatural power

By Kim Boram

SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) -- "The Medium" is a rare cinematic collaboration between South Korea and Thailand, bringing together the two countries' horror masters Na Hong-jin of "The Wailing" (2016) and Banjong Pisanthanakun of "Shutter" (2004).

Measuring up to the reputation of the production crew, it is scary and frightening enough to elicit fear and disgust and evoke viewers' nightmares even at home through its effectively visualized spiritual possession and rituals.

This image provided by Showbox shows a scene from "The Medium." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

"The Medium" starts with a documentary team that follows Nim (Sawanee Utoomma), a shaman based in a rural town in deep Northern Thailand, who looks like an ordinary middle-aged woman.

The sorcerer succeeded the role of an intermediary between god and the secular world from her maternal grandmother and aunt, as her elder sister Noi (Sirani Yankittikan) refused to become the inherited shaman years ago.

One day, during a funeral of her sister's husband, Nim sees her niece Mink (Narilya Gulmongkolpech) showing strange symptoms out of nowhere. Nim and Noi suspect that those are signs of the family inheritance of shamanism, as both had experienced years ago, and Mink is about to become the next medium.

The documentary team is thrilled about the timing, as they can catch the moment of spirit channeling, and asks the family if they can film the daily lives of Mink and other family members.

Noi, who doesn't want her daughter to become a shaman, makes all-out efforts to drag Mink out of the spiritual inheritance as she did in the past, but Mink gets more sucked into the enigmatic power.

From here, the movie, which is presented as a documentary, moves its focus to Mink from Nim.

The camera records how Mink, a bright, pretty girl in her early 20s, becomes more bizarre and grotesque as she is possessed by ghosts and evil.

Her crazed and bloodshot eyes and gore-drenched scenes that she causes keep the viewers terrified about demonic possession by a supernatural and primitive power that they cannot see.

The suspense and thrill based on shock-and-awe tactics continue until the end of the movie, leaving a string of questions unsolved, such as what is behind Mink's dreadful behavior and who is responsible for it.

The movie employs docudrama-like storytelling to maintain the pretense of reality from the beginning, with its surveillance camera footage and handheld shots amplifying the horror in a more intense way.

Moreover, Thailand's exotic scenery and hot and humid weather create a cloudy and gloomy atmosphere, making spiritual connection and mediumship look more visceral and intuitive.

Thai actors, unknown to Korean viewers, and their language beef up the strangeness and unpredictability in the horror movie.

From a broader point of view, "The Medium" reminds viewers of "The Wailing" to a large extent, featuring supernaturalism, exorcism and occultism to create visualized horror with rain, mud and blood.

But the Pisanthanakun-directed movie crossed the line that Na, the producer of the latest project, had drawn five years ago. The 41-year old director, who gained worldwide recognition for his directorial debut horror "Shutter" and "Alone" (2007), mixes incest and cannibalism in "The Medium," based on the original story written by Na.

It is more violent, sexual and bloody compared to "The Wailing," as Na said in a press conference that he tried to "persuade Pisanthanakun not to be too cruel."

"The Medium" will hit South Korean screens on July 14.

This image provided by Showbox shows a poster of "The Medium." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

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Movie Review: ‘The Medium’ — It’s proof Asian horror will always reign supreme

This review contains spoilers for ’The Medium’.

Horror works best when it’s left up to the imagination. Show the viewers the eerie movements and uncanny contortions of possessed victims, litter scenes with macabre objects and animal corpses, and linger on shots that show how an everyday item is a little, well, off. That’s the recipe for Thai-Korean horror film The Medium , directed by Shutter ’s Banjong Pisanthanakun and produced by The Wailing ’s Na Hong-jin.

Framed as a documentary about shamanistic practices in northern Thailand’s Isan area, The Medium employs a fly-on-the-wall shooting style to lend a sense of authenticity to the events depicted, which further intensifies the horror and terror of the movie. I do advice viewers inflicted with chronic vertigo or migraine to exercise due caution—some of the camera shots can get incredibly janky.

The Medium begins fairly innocuously (as much as a horror movie can) as a film crew documents the everyday life of Nim (Sawanee Utoomma), a shaman of the goddess Ba Yan. The travel documentary aspect of the film lulls you into a false sense of security as you experience what life is like for the villagers and Nim. Foreign films are our only window to travel during this pandemic, so even if it were indeed a documentary about the shamanistic practices of the rural areas of Thailand, it would still be an effective one. 

For all accounts and purposes, Nim leads a fairly idyllic life, albeit one filled with mysticism and rituals. But all that is upturned when she has to return home and help her sister Noi (Sirani Yankittikan) and niece Mink (Narilya Gulmongkolpech). 

And yes, there is family drama (is there really any better type?) when the family’s legacy is unearthed concerning the inheritance of Ba Yan’s shamans. Here’s when Mink starts exhibiting classic tell-tale signs of becoming the next shaman of Ba Yan and is also where things start going horribly wrong for the family.

With The Medium , horror exists in the small things—a quiet invocation here, a superstitious nod there. Unlike Western horror films, where the supernatural lives in its own discrete realm, the tacit understanding in The Medium that we live in a world of unseen spirits makes it all the more relatable—and terrifying when the scares hit. Even the director noted the similarities between the shamanistic practices in Asian countries , showing how ingrained this is in Asian culture.

Once the movie goes into full swing, however, Mink’s possessions are violent, gory, and unnerving. Thanks to the handheld camera, we don’t always get a clear shot of what she’s doing, creating this sense of helplessness. As more victims get possessed, the film builds to a terrifying crescendo—all without ever showing us what exactly is possessing all these people. The camera lingers shakily on the characters’ backs, making us wonder what is happening to them as we slowly inch towards yet another victim.

It was foreboding enough that when the usher suddenly popped up to do mask checks in the cinema (good on you, Golden Village!), I let out a soft shriek. For the avoidance of all doubt, I was wearing my mask properly, but the folk three rows in front of me weren’t. Tsk tsk.

As with all such documentary-style horror movies, there are scenes in The Medium when the night vision mode in the camera is turned on, and others that capture the perspective of CCTVs installed in the victim’s house. If I were to point out the eeriest parts of this movie, the six documented nights leading up to Mink’s spiritual cleansing would easily fit the bill. 

Every second that the screen is lit by the characteristic green glow of a night vision camera becomes an exercise in unhinged terror. The cameras capture Mink first under the stairs and then hovering over her mother as if ready for a lip-smackingly tasty midnight snack. By the fourth night, I was quite done. On the third, I was all packed up and ready to leave.

But even before the more blatant frights, The Medium manages to unbalance and unseat you with skilful juxtapositions of the supernatural and the ordinary. Mink goes into fits of violence while on a celebratory parade, and when she goes missing, the villagers search for her desperately as a beautiful tapestry of fireworks go off in the sky. It’s disconcerting and subtly wears you down for the terror that is about to follow.

The film’s grand finale does go a little overboard, however, as it goes into full-on The Ring-Ju-on-Shutter horror mode. For a movie that’s been primarily subtle about its scares, the last Act is, in a word, excessive. That’s not to say it isn’t scary because it’s so terrifying that I had to look away from the screen several times (the usher was no longer around). It keeps you at the edge of your seat without ever relenting, gripping your attention tight within its grasp with no signs of letting up. Ever.

As a scriptwriter, I appreciated the film’s closing scene—an “interview” with Nim. For anyone who’s been deeply religious, her reflections on her doubt and her faith cut deep to the bone. Given how many are turning away from religion in recent years , this seemed a particularly relevant and contemporary issue to have been raised, albeit for just a short scene. It added an extra dimension to Nim’s characterisation and her actions and shed new light on her actions in the movie.

The Medium’s style, drama, and setting make for an absolutely horrifying movie that shocks and unnerves. There’s blood, incest, ritualistic practices, night vision cameras, animal sacrifice—all ingredients that make for a film that fully intends to keep you up at night for the next few days. 

It emerges as a fresh contender in a space that’s been chiefly inundated with Western horror movies. I say it’s time for Asia to reclaim its golden days of horror, and The Medium may very well pave the way for that.

The Medium Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun Writer: Na Hong-jin, with screenplay credits for Chantavit Dhanasevi and story credits for Choi Cha-won. Main cast: Narilya Gulmongkolpech (Mink), Sawanee Utoomma (Nim), Sirani Yankittikan (Noi), and Yasaka Chaisorn (Manit) Running Time: 2 hours 10 minutes Genres: Horror

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The Medium – Shudder Review (4/5)

Posted by Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard | Oct 13, 2021 | 3 minutes

THE MEDIUM on Shudder is a horror movie from Thailand. It’s a bit too long, but other than that, it’s extremely efficient. In other words: Make sure you give this Thai horror movie on Shudder a chance. Read our full The Medium movie review here!

THE MEDIUM is a new Shudder horror movie from Thailand. The style is a mockumentary (shot as a documentary but being fiction) and it works really well in this setting. At first, it’s about a shaman and then it’s more about possession, spirits, and demons.

Also, the horror elements work really well and it does not shy away from throwing some crazy curveballs.

Continue reading our The Medium movie review below. You will want to give this Thai horror movie on Shudder a shot. It’s worth your time (most of it anyway).

A true genre-hybrid

As mentioned above, The Medium is shot like a documentary. This means it’s both in the POV category and could also be described as “found footage”. However, more than anything, this plays out like a horror movie.

Think The Taking of Deborah Logan for a reference in terms of genre-hybrid and storytelling style. If you’ve watched  that movie, then you’ll know just how brilliantly this approach can work. If you haven’t, then you seriously need to remedy that. For your own sake, because you’re robbing yourself of an awesome horror movie.

For The Medium , I can’t help but mention that I found it to be a tad too long. However, there is quite a lot to unpack, so it makes sense. Imagine a true-crime documentary series that has been rolled into a longer film instead, and you get the gist.

The burden of being a shaman

Interestingly with  The Medium , is the fact that the main character is a shaman. She’s being interviewed about how she became a shaman and it’s apparently something she’s inherited.

In fact, her sister  should  have been the shaman for the Goddess, she’s connected with. The entity she essentially works for as a shaman. However, her sister wanted no part of the shaman business and converted to Christianity to avoid it. What happens next is the core subject of the movie, so I won’t get into it.

Let’s just say that it gets pretty damn dark fast!

Watch  The Medium  on Shudder!

Basically, we follow this female shaman, who does  not hold back when it comes to critiquing all the “professional shamans” who put on shows. Who knew the shaman business was such a competitive area?! In any case, the shaman in our movie is named Nim and she’s all kinds of amazing and no-nonsense. She’s great!

Sawanee Utoomma portrays Nim and has to do so in a very natural and relatable way. Particularly because this is shot like a documentary. At many different times throughout The Medium , Sawanee Utoomma took my breath away with her intensity and heartfelt portrayal.

Banjong Pisanthanakun is the director of  The Medium and he also took part in writing it with The Wailing director Na Hong-jin. Even if Banjong Pisanthanakun’s name doesn’t sound familiar, you might know one of his previous movies, if you watch Asian horror films. Banjong Pisanthanakun co-wrote and co-directed the 2004 horror movie Shutter (2004) , which you’ll definitely want to check out as well.

You may know the US  Shutter remake from 2008 , which starred Joshua Jackson and Rachael Taylor, but the original is the better of the two. And no, I don’t always think originals are better than the remakes as some sort of rule. I watch all movies objectively – though obviously a remake will be compared to the original.

The Medium is out on Shudder from October 14, 2021, in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as via the Shudder offering within the AMC+ bundle where available.

Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun Writers: Banjong Pisanthanakun, Na Hong-jin Stars: Sawanee Utoomma, Narilya Gulmongkolpech, Sirani Yankittikan

A documentary team follows Nim, a shaman based in Northern Thailand, the Isan area, and encounters her niece Mink showing strange symptoms that seem to be of inheritance of shamanism. The team decides to follow Mink, hoping to capture the shaman lineage passing on to the next generation, but her bizarre behavior becomes more extreme.

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About The Author

Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!

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Hitler’s project: “Making Germany great again.” The Nazis’ characterization of criticism from the media: “Fake news.” Hitler’s mountain retreat in Berchtesgaden: “It’s sort of like Hitler’s Mar-a-Lago, if you will.”

Donald Trump’s name is not mentioned in the six episodes of “Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial,” a new historical documentary series on Netflix. But it dances just beneath the surface, and occasionally, as in the examples above, the production’s cadre of scholars, popular historians and biographers can barely stop themselves from giving the game away.

The series was directed by the veteran documentarian Joe Berlinger (“Paradise Lost,” “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster”), who has a production deal with Netflix and has given it popular true-crime shows like “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” and the “Conversations With a Killer” series.

In promotional material, Berlinger explains his decision to step up from true crime to total war and genocide: “This is the right time to retell this story for a younger generation as a cautionary tale,” he says, adding, “In America, we are in the midst of our own reckoning with democracy, with authoritarianism knocking at the door and a rise in antisemitism.” In other words, you can’t make a documentary about Germany in the 1930s and ’40s without holding the United States of the 2010s and ’20s in your mind.

To that end, Berlinger has made a deluxe version of the sort of history of Hitler, the Third Reich and the Holocaust that for years has been a staple of American cable television. The information is not new, but the resources available to Berlinger are reflected in the abundance of material he deploys across nearly six and a half hours: archival film, most of it meticulously colorized for the series, and audio; staged recreations with a sprawling cast of actors; and the copious roster of interviewees.

A new telling of an old story requires a twist, of course, and Berlinger has several. The American journalist William L. Shirer serves as the series’s unofficial narrator, despite having died in 1993 — an A.I. recreation of his voice recites passages from his many books about the period, and occasionally his actual voice is heard in excerpts from radio broadcasts. He is also represented onscreen by an actor in scenes recreating the series’s other primary framing device, the first Nuremberg trials in 1945.

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'Hitler and the Nazis' recounts Third Reich's horrors for the Netflix generation

Riveting six-part doc — rich with footage, commentary and newly released audio — aims to keep the atrocities and the lessons of a dark time from fading from memory..

Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring in one of the many historical photos presented in “Hitler and the Nazis.”

Courtesy of Netflix

Even with the vast and ever-growing library of books, feature films, documentaries and TV series about World War II, even with such powerful reminders as the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, there is a legitimate concern that as the decades pass, the heroics of the Allied powers and the atrocities of Hitler and the Third Reich will be lost to time. In 2018, a study conducted by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany found that 41% of all respondents and 66% of millennials didn’t know what Auschwitz is.

A moment here to let that sink in.

That study is one of the reasons the skilled documentarian Joe Berlinger (“Paradise Lost,” “The Ted Bundy Tapes” ) directed the riveting and essential six-part Netflix documentary series “Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial.” Expertly weaving in archival footage, dramatic re-creations, interviews with esteemed journalists and historians and audio recordings from the Nuremberg Trials (many of which have only recently been made public), Berlinger paints a stunningly effective portrait of Hitler’s rise to power, the mass murders and other horrors committed by the Third Reich — and the stunning testimony at the trials of some of Hitler’s most vile and unrepentant henchmen.

The series also benefits greatly from its reliance on the reportage of the late William L. Shirer, one of the few American correspondents who was reporting from Germany during Hitler’s rise to power and in the early stages of the war. (Shirer’s epic, 1,250-page book “The Rise and Fall of Third Reich,” was published in 1960 to great acclaim and best-selling success and is still hailed as an important work.)

Through the use of AI technology that enables Shirer to “speak” as narrator, as well as dramatic re-creations in which Balázs Kató portrays Shirer, we get the visceral feeling of being at Shirer’s side as he covers Hitler and the war from close proximity. (As is the case with most dramatic re-creations in documentaries, the actors portraying Shirer, Hitler, Göring, et al., don’t speak their lines. We see visuals of them re-creating scenes, while actual writings and recordings provide the dialogue. It’s an effective technique that sidesteps sensationalism.)

• ‘Masters of the Air’ a pulse-pounding WWII series from ‘Band of Brothers’ team

“Hitler and the Nazis” toggles back and forth on the timeline, alternating between a chronological study of Hitler’s rise to power and a number of pivotal events in World War II to the 1945-1946 Nuremberg trials. Shirer was the classic intrepid reporter, going to great lengths to get scoops — but he also was an impressive wordsmith, e.g., his description of Göring in the courtroom: “At first glance, I scarcely recognize him. His faded Air Force uniform, shorn of the insignia and of the medals he loved so childishly, hangs loosely on him. And gone is his own burliness, his old arrogance, his flamboyant air. How a twist of fate, I marveled, could reduce a man to size.”

(Another poignant touch: Much of the score was created from the compositions of Holocaust victims, with Vincent Pedulla and Serj Tankian from System of a Down reorchestrating the material.)

In re-creations, Balázs Kató plays reporter William Shirer, whose writings are central to the documentary.

The series is filled with unforgettable passages, as when we see how hundreds of German-Jewish refugees aboard the German liner St. Louis were turned away in Cuba and then denied entrance to the USA and had to return to Europe, or when we hear about the mass executions of innocent men, women and children and see actual film footage and photos documenting these atrocities. When the French agreed to surrender in 1940, Hitler insisted the armistice be carried out on the Compiègne Wagon, the same train carriage in which the Germans surrendered in the 1918 armistice, and that the carriage be taken from a nearby museum and placed in the exact same location as in 1918. Bearing witness to this moment and broadcasting it back to the USA: William Shirer.

• ‘One Life': Anthony Hopkins magnificent as a man who kept his WWII heroism under wraps

At the Nuremberg Trials, after U.S. Chief of Counsel Robert H. Jackson delivers his powerful and famous opening statement, the despicable likes of Rudolph Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Albert Speer plead not guilty and either feign ignorance of the depths of the horrors committed by the Third Reich, or blame it all on Hitler, who of course by that time had committed suicide. They are cowardly to the end.

Shirer reflects on being in Germany in 1939, when the war started: “The Germans seemed so strong then, that a lonely American on the streets of Berlin wondered whether the forces of democracy, of decency, would ever rally in time. Now, one’s thoughts turn to the future, to put our minds and our hearts to work on a better world, one in which, above all, there should be no more wars.”

Humankind is still working on that. In the meantime, “Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial” is a timely reminder that anyone in present day who embraces even a trace of the Third Reich’s ways is either an ignorant fool or a racist and antisemitic hatemonger.

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, furiosa: a mad max saga.

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“The question is, do you have what it takes to make it epic,” says an undaunted Chris Hemsworth . It’s a call to action that comes toward the end of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” George Miller ’s apocalyptic epic western prequel to “ Mad Max: Fury Road ” that could, of course, be directed at Miller himself. Because this film is here to give you more: more gravity-defying chases, more high-flying stunts, more deeply felt pathos, and, somehow, an even greater spirit to push the limits of what the frame can hold—employing Christian iconography and Arthurian legend to craft an entrancing story that still manages to surprise, even if we already know of the bleak future its guiding us toward. It’s simply one of the best prequels ever made.  

Broken into five chapters, each denser than the last, the film begins with a very young Furiosa ( Alyla Browne ) picking fruit from a tree near her bucolic homeland “The Green Place.” A biker gang arrives to forage the land. And though Furiosa ably attempts to sabotage their bikes, she is captured, causing her mother ( Charlee Fraser ) to venture out into the desert wasteland to retrieve her. A crazed chase ensues, one of the film’s many expansive set pieces, that sees Furiosa’s mother pursuing her daughter’s kidnappers over sand dunes and through a sandstorm, to the steps of a hideout belonging to the messianic figure Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). This is the beginning of a decade-long feud between Furiosa and Dementus that involves revenge, grief, and the desire to return home. 

To do any further summarizing would, of course, not only spoil the film, but would also say that the narrative beats are necessary. They’re not. That doesn’t mean “Furiosa” is illogical, rather that, more than anything, Miller is telling an emotional story of how a once virtuous child became a hardened woman. That kind of arc matches well with the film’s operatic sensibilities as we’re introduced to the origins of wasteland fortresses like Gas Town and Bullet Farm, and taken to the Citadel helmed by a younger, more imposing Immortan Joe ( Lachy Hulme ). Other characters like Immortan Joe’s bumbling sons Rictus ( Nathan Jones ) and Scrotus (Josh Helmen) return, and tips of the hat are given to fan favorites from “Fury Road.”

Surprisingly, the older Furiosa (a striking Anya Taylor-Joy ) doesn’t appear until an hour or so in the film. That might inspire immediate disappointment in some, but it shouldn’t: Because Alyla Browne as the adolescent Furiosa is so absorbing, often recalling a young Jodie Foster in her mixture of otherworldly intelligence and relentless confidence. The groundwork she lays is so seamless that by the time we leap forward to Taylor-Joy’s take on the character, it required a few beats before I could tell the difference between the two actresses. 

Miller is so assured at reading an audience, he even crafts an elongated chase that sees Furiosa driving across the wasteland with Praetorian Jack ( Tom Burke ) on an oil run that gives Taylor-Joy and the character the perfect entrance: a hard-push in for a worthy close-up. Though Burke is on screen for a relatively short time, he and Taylor-Joy build quick chemistry as two lost souls who believe that paradise still exists somewhere in the world if they follow the map of stars tattooed on Furiosa’s forearm. 

If it feels like Hemsworth is an also-ran, he isn’t. Which is odd to say because he is saddled with a terrible wig and an obtrusive prosthetic nose, and even disappears for long stretches. Still, whenever he does show up, he might be the best part of “Furiosa.” He doesn’t just get the best, more instantly quotable lines. He has never been more physically commanding, first as a poised messiah and swindler, then as a blow-hard politician, then as an emperor with no clothes on. The combination of Dementus’ wit, callousness, and cold calculations is a persona Hemsworth has worked on for some time and it all comes together here for an unforgettable villain turn.  

I can certainly nitpick about what elements I prefer in “Fury Road” as opposed to “Furiosa.” There’s far more VFX in the latter, causing me to miss some of the thrills Miller inspired with his unflinching use of practical effect. I also think that “Fury Road” acts on a subtler thematic level, which is saying something, because the visual language in that film—for as immaculate as the craftsmanship is—basically bashes you over the head. “Furiosa” goes one step further; every line of dialogue flags the metaphorical importance of every scene. And yet, it’s easy to ignore these tiny grievances not only because you’re left marveling at the big swing Miller is taking, but also because his interest in this world, these characters, and this type of big, bold storytelling is so infectious. There’s also a character named piss boy, so this really is a movie with something for everyone. 

No one knows how to do scale better than Miller. Margaret Sixel and Eliot Knapman ’s editing is breathtakingly seamless—quickly building both rapport between characters and gnarly deaths with equal tenacity—to the point that DP Simon Duggan ’s eloquent photography of these desolate death valleys, matched by composer Tom Holkenborg deafeningly propulsive score, wholly immerses you in way that isn’t needlessly showing. Each large set piece feels necessary, aware of space and story, and brimming with a camera that takes delight in knowing exactly what kill shot or angle of the many battles we want to take in as it swoops between lunging bodies, massive infernos, monster trucks, big rigs, and over sand dunes. 

Much will be written about “Furiosa” on a thematic level, such as how it subverts the Biblical apple scene for a well-earned ending or how it speaks of our present environmental, militaristic, and regressive political reality—particularly why we go to war and the fecklessness of the leaders who take us there. But this is also just a big, entertaining popcorn movie, told with a sense of adventure and play. Miller isn’t here for tawdry melodrama, algorithmic plotting, or art designed for the small screen. “Furiosa” aims to blow you away. And it does. To Valhalla and beyond. 

This review was filed from the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. It opens on May 24th.

Robert Daniels

Robert Daniels is an Associate Editor at RogerEbert.com. Based in Chicago, he is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) and Critics Choice Association (CCA) and regularly contributes to the  New York Times ,  IndieWire , and  Screen Daily . He has covered film festivals ranging from Cannes to Sundance to Toronto. He has also written for the Criterion Collection, the  Los Angeles Times , and  Rolling Stone  about Black American pop culture and issues of representation.

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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

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Anya Taylor-Joy as Imperator Furiosa

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Review: The Force is not with new Jedi-centric 'Star Wars: The Acolyte'

"Star Wars" is a complicated beast.

Sometimes it's dark, complex and ambitious, like Disney+ series "Andor" or "The Last Jedi" film. Sometimes it's rousing, epic and feel-good ("Return of the Jedi.") And sometimes it's just weird, silly and unsatisfying (prequel "The Phantom Menace").

So perhaps it's only fitting that the prequel to that prequel, Disney+'s new series "The Acolyte" (streaming Tuesdays, 9 EDT/PDT, ★★ out of four) falls into that last category. Full of logical fallacies, hokey dialogue and nonsensical plots, "Acolyte" feels entirely of a piece with the worst elements of the prequel trilogy, which many hardcore fans love to hate, even 25 years later. The series, created by "Russian Doll" producer Leslye Headland, certainly has ambition as it tries to tell a showy story about the mythology and magic of the Jedi and the Force. But even the best of intentions can go awry.

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All the sci-fi/fantasy jargon, dramatic costumes, brightly colored lightsabers, fancy hairdos and ominous villains Headland can stuff into "Acolyte" can't make a good story on their own. There has to be some emotion and depth to the characters and their woes. There has to be more than perfunctory plot points. There has to be a sense of adventure and wonder. And there has to be something that captures the feeling of "Star Wars," not just the aesthetics. "Acolyte" doesn't have it, no matter how hard it tries.

A century before Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and Qui-Gon (Liam Neeson) felt a disturbance in the Force in "Phantom," a rogue "Force-user" is hunting and killing Jedi masters across the galaxy. At first thought to be former Jedi Padawan Osha (Amandla Stenberg), it turns out the Jedi killer is her twin sister, Mae (also Stenberg), long presumed dead after a mysterious fire when the two were children. The blaze resulted in the death of their family and Osha being taken into the Jedi order. (This "twist" is revealed in the first few minutes of the series premiere.)

Determined to bring in Mae or Osha (or both) and figure all this out is Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae, "Squid Game"), who trained Osha before she left the order. He's joined by a handful of other colorful and utterly forgettable Jedi: Is Mae out for revenge for what she believed happened to her family all those years ago? Or is there a more nefarious power brewing in the galaxy? There's the pickle, and a flashback episode featuring Jodie Turner-Smith as the girls' mother, Aniseya, and the leader of a "witch coven" doesn't provide many answers.

It's all a little too complex (witches, in this galaxy?) and a little too simple (ah yes, the old evil-twin twist). The reveal of Mae comes too early in the series, removing much of the mystery element that makes "Acolyte" unique in the ever-expanding "Star Wars" canon. There are too many characters with too many quirks to make them stand out from one another. You'll be hard-pressed to tell the difference between various aliens paired with Charlie Barnett's Jedi knight Yord.

But "Acolyte" has its moments. The final scene of Episode 4 (the last made available for review) captures a real sense of horror and fear when a villain is introduced. Perhaps that bodes well for the final four episodes in the season. Jung-jae and Stenberg make a great pair, and the former nicely proves his acting chops in English (he won an Emmy for "Squid," which was entirely in Korean). And it's always nice to see "Matrix" star Carrie Ann Moss, who appears briefly in two episodes, wielding a lightsaber as if she's done it all her life.

Certainly a segment of the "Star Wars" fandom will devour every frame of "Acolyte." For them, the complex mythology is the meat of the meal, not a frilly and silly garnish. But superfans can forgive a lot of sins. Some genre TV series can make their mythology and internal world-building more interesting and engaging than this (Amazon's late, great "The Expanse," among many others). As it stands, though, the Jedi lore is obtuse and dull. It needs spicing up.

Like the young Padawans (the "Star Wars" term for students or apprentices) that are omnipresent in the series, "Acolyte" has a great deal of potential. "The Mandalorian" made "Star Wars" a Western. "Andor" made it a revolution . "Acolyte" could have made it a great work of fantasy and mystery.

But mostly it's a great big sigh.

ATLAS Is a Trite and Tonally Confused Mess

Atlas , Netflix’s new sci-fi space war movie about artificial intelligence gone rogue, is such a trope-filled mess, it would be easy to say it feels like an A.I. wrote the script. It would also be accurate. When it ended I genuinely checked to see if the film lists real human writers in its credits . It does, but that does not make me feel better about mankind. Atlas is tonally confusing and rampant with cliché ideas. It also thinks it’s a good idea to keep Jennifer freaking Lopez in a glorified chair for more than half its runtime.

It’s hard to quantify Atlas because it has no idea what it actually is. It never decides if it’s trying to be a fun, schlocky, big budget elevated B-movie or if it’s a more serious action film full of important social commentary. I’m not even sure its stars know, because their performances indicate they were all acting in a different movie.

Lopez prevents this bizarre film from being a disaster with a good showing as Atlas Shepherd, a brilliant, funny, introverted analyst with a troubling past that makes her hate artificial intelligence . She’s strong, vulnerable, and charming. She’s having a good time most of the time. The other times she’s giving the part the emotional heft it needs. Meanwhile, Mark Strong and Sterling K. Brown play military commanders who are clearly in a far more serious film. That might not seem so out-of-place opposite Lopez if not for the fact the usually fantastic Simu Liu plays the first and leading A.I. terrorist, the cartoonish villain Harlan, as though he’s hoping Atlas will end up on Mystery Science Theater 3000 .

Like a lot of this film, I’m confused by Liu’s choices. I honestly don’t know if he is bad or if he gave the exact performance director Brad Peyton wanted. Either way it doesn’t work.

In fairness to Liu, very little in this movie works. The predictable script is riddled with ideas about artificial intelligence and sci-fi points that were trite 30 years ago. It’s also a CGI-fest of varying quality where a million things go “boom” without much of it mattering but most of it feeling silly. The screenplay, which also features some hammy dialogue, also has plot holes so big you can fly an intergalactic spaceship through them. At one point an A.I. supercomputer with all of the knowledge in the world doesn’t know something everyone does because the plot needs it not to know. That supercomputer also forgets a “step” during a clearly defined, easy procedure. It’s not funny in anyway, despite trying to be. It’s just needlessly stupid.

“Needlessly stupid” is also a perfect way to describe what the movie asks of its star. Jennifer Lopez spends more than half the film, and roughly 50 straight minutes at one point, in a mech suit. From her chair she navigates a knockoff Pandora planet while endlessly talking to an A.I. program that has the most uninteresting, bland, robot voice imaginable.

That voice choice is actually an interesting idea (maybe the film’s only). By not having it sound human, At las forces us to reckon with what it really means to be alive. A robot who can think and feel on its own while clearly being a robot is harder to accept as alive than one who sounds like us. The problem is that idea doesn’t work on screen. The voice is instantly boring, even grating, even before most of the movie is Lopez and “Smith” having a continuous, (not-so) witty back-and-forth.

Also sometimes the movie asks her to square up and robot box ten minutes before she delivers a big emotional speech about whether computers have souls. Atlas is like if Blade Runner , Castaway , and Starship Troopers got drunk together on a case of original Four Loko. That sounds fun until you remember those movies shouldn’t even be hanging out together let alone drinking poison.

Ultimately Atlas either needed to be much dumber or much smarter to be good. It also needed to let Jennifer Lopez walk. But its biggest sin might be what it ultimately says about the possibility of artificial intelligence at a time when corporations are force feeding useless A.I. garage down our throats. Despite its lazy comic book baddie, this film loves artificial intelligence. It loves it and its possibilities oh so much. And it thinks its affection for A.I. will give the movie a heart it desperately wants to have.

Like humor, action, ideas, and insight, it does not have any heart. All it has to offer is proof humans are still entirely capable of making a bad movie without A.I.

Atlas hits Netflix on May 24.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who typically loves Simu Liu in everything. You can follow him on  Twitter  and  Bluesky at @burgermike . And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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A new ‘Hunger Games’ book — and movie — is coming

FILE - Suzanne Collins arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Nov. 17, 2014. Collins is returning to the ravaged, post-apocalyptic land of Panem for a new “The Hunger Games” novel. Scholastic announced Thursday that “Sunrise on the Reaping” will be published March 18, 2025. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

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NEW YORK (AP) — Inspired by an 18th century Scottish philosopher and the modern scourge of misinformation, Suzanne Collins is returning to the ravaged, post-apocalyptic land of Panem for a new “The Hunger Games” novel.

Scholastic announced Thursday that “Sunrise on the Reaping,” the fifth volume of Collins’ blockbuster dystopian series, will be published March 18, 2025. The new book begins with the reaping of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, set 24 years before the original “Hunger Games” novel, which came out in 2008, and 40 years after Collins’ most recent book, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”

Lionsgate, which has released film adaptations of all four previous “Hunger Games” books, announced later on Thursday that “Sunrise on the Reaping” will open in theaters on Nov. 20, 2026. Francis Lawrence, who has worked on all but the first “Hunger Games” movie, will return as director.

The first four “Hunger Games” books have sold more than 100 million copies and been translated into dozens of languages. Collins had seemingly ended the series after the 2010 publication of “Mockingjay,” writing in 2015 that it was “time to move on to other lands.” But four years later, she stunned readers and the publishing world when she revealed she was working on what became “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” released in 2020 and set 64 years before the first book.

Collins has drawn upon Greek mythology and the Roman gladiator games for her earlier “Hunger Games” books. But for the upcoming novel, she cites the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume.

“With ‘Sunrise on the Reaping,’ I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the easiness with which the many are governed by the few,’” Collins said in a statement. “The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day.”

The “Hunger Games” movies are a multibillion dollar franchise for Lionsgate. Jennifer Lawrence portrayed heroine Katniss Everdeen in the film versions of “The Hunger Games,” “Catching Fire” and “Mockingjay,” the last of which came out in two installments. Other featured actors have included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland.

“Suzanne Collins is a master storyteller and our creative north star,” Lionsgate chair Adam Fogelson said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more fortunate than to be guided and trusted by a collaborator whose talent and imagination are so consistently brilliant.”

The film version of “Songbirds and Snakes,” starring Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, came out last year. This fall, a “Hunger Games” stage production is scheduled to debut in London.

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A horrifying story of a shaman's inheritance in the Isan region of Thailand. What could be possessing a family member might not be the Goddess they make it out to be. A horrifying story of a shaman's inheritance in the Isan region of Thailand. What could be possessing a family member might not be the Goddess they make it out to be. A horrifying story of a shaman's inheritance in the Isan region of Thailand. What could be possessing a family member might not be the Goddess they make it out to be.

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• Na Hong-jin
• Narilya Gulmongkolpech
• Sawanee Utoomma
• Sirani Yankittikan
• 185 User reviews
• 87 Critic reviews
• 6 wins & 2 nominations

• Santi's disciples
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia The first and only South Korean film that is completely Thai-spoken.
• Connections Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Exorcism Movies (2023)

User reviews 185

• CinemaClown
• Oct 18, 2021
• How long is The Medium? Powered by Alexa
• July 14, 2021 (South Korea)
• South Korea
• Official site (Japan)
• Âm Hồn Nhập Xác
• Northern Cross
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 10 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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When Edgar fails to arrive at school, Ledroit is put on the case. Still haunted by a lost Black teen, Ledroit is driven to get the Andersons a different outcome. This is no easy feat in a city determined to discard what is deemed unsavory, and everyone involved with the case is hiding something. As Ledroit chases down leads, slowed by inadequate technology, red tape and his own pain, the horrors of NYC’s government policies come to light. It becomes clear that misconduct and violence at the highest levels are complicit in harming the city’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens.

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